Chicken Express

Horrible!!! Spent $ 30 for a family get together to get cold, rubbery chicken, cold hard rolls. and get this… The gravy hadn’t even been cooked! Someone actually mixed the mix and water together and put it in a container, passing it off as gravy. It tasted like cornstarch still. What are these kids doing during their shift? I’ll never go back.

Bad, Bad, Bad is an understatement. And both time I’ve tried this chain it has been a bad experience. The chicken is like rubber, telling me it old. The skin is over salted telling me no one really cares how it taste. I tried the fish, over salted. I tried the chicken livers — hard as a rock and cold. And I was staving at the times I tried them so that tells me to cross it of my list forever.

I don’t get why everybody is hating on Chicken Express. I go here multiple times a week and everything is perfect! The employees are always friendly and the foods great! I’d call it a buy.

Look, I understand a fast food chicken place isn’t anything special in terms of expecting a nice meal for your family… but I AT LEAST expect to eat at a place that WANTS me to eat there and GIVE THEM MY MONEY!
If you are a Chicken Express fan then you know of the Tuesday special of 10 pieces of chicken, no subs, no sides, no rolls, for $ 6.99. I typically go to the one that is off of Davis but I was in the area and I thought I would try my luck at the Hurst location… boy, did I make a bad decision!
After waiting in a drive-​thru line that felt like the line at the DMV, I finally got to the speaker and waited another 3 WHOLE minutes until I heard a peep. This was of course after numerous, «hello? Anyone there? I have money, want to buy chicken.» Finally a very rude girl says, «yes? go ahead now.» I then kindly ask if they are doing the Tuesday special, expecting a nice, or at least an indifferent, «yes sir we are. 10 pieces, no subs, etc…» but instead this is what I hear:
(very rude girl) «NO, we don’t have any specials here!»
(Me) «Thank you very much.»
Hand goes on gear shift, I put it in first and I PEEL out of there and head to my lovely Davis location Chicken Express to find my wonderful Tuesday special sold to me by people who WANT me to give them my money for chicken.
This is THE WORST Chicken Express I’ve ever been to and I will NEVER go back. If you are the manager of that store and you come across this, I hope you have the decency as a HUMAN to shut the store down and hire some competent and enthusiastic people who ACTUALLY LIKE RECEIVING MONEY!
If I could give this place Negative Stars I would! Stay away!

Not that I make a point of looking for them but whenever I am in a different part of the country, regional chains invariably catch my eye (especially, those that I have never encountered).
On my travels in Texas, I have noticed a Whataburger hamburger joint, a QT convenience store, or a Kroger supermarket everywhere I look. They are literally everywhere (there nestled in with the ubiquitous Walmart, Target, and Home Depot outlets that dot the landscape).
While I have not patronized any of those establishments so far, I did, however, venture today into a Chicken Express restaurant, a popular local chain, when accompanying others on a picnic run. We had been looking for something along the lines of KFC or Popeye’s (aiming for middle of the road, familiar fast food for a horde of people).
Chicken Express really came in handy when we couldn’t locate anything else. It’s a Texas based chain of fried chicken restaurants (with locations in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia).
Using Popeye’s as a reference, the chicken at Chicken Express struck me as being very similar. However, the chicken tasted less seasoned; but, it was crispier than I remember Popeye’s chicken being.
The catfish filets, which seemed like a good choice, were thoroughly dressed in cornmeal, very crispy, but just too salty for my tastes (as well as being a bit too compressed).
We also secured an array of sides, which consisted of French fries, Cole slaw, hush puppies, fried pickle slices, and Chicken Express’ ever popular fried corn nuggets. The fries, Cole slaw, and hush puppies were ordinary and seemingly like those available anywhere.

The fried pickle slices, which seemed novel to me, were kind of clunky (with the batter not really adding much to the experience). I would have enjoyed the pickles more, quite frankly, if I had simply reached into a jar and ate them as is. The corn nuggets, which were essentially fried nodules of creamed corn, ended up being a big hit. To me, they tasted alright (mushy and creamy with a firm, battered exterior).

The best of the lot, in my opinion, were the dinner rolls. They were just so light, airy, and pleasing to the palate. Ultimately, they were a good complement to the heavy punch of the chicken and catfish.
In the end, our picnic dinner was just another fast food outing to me (and one that I would not go out of my way to repeat). However, I am glad that I was able to try Chicken Express and to, at least, seem more like a local for the duration of my meal.