Two popular fried chicken chains have opened in Vancouver creating traffic backups and long lines. I visited both to try their food and find ways to avoid long waits.
Both restaurants have touching origin stories. Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane’s, worked as a boilermaker at an oil refinery in California and on a fishing boat in Alaska to raise funds to start his first restaurant at Louisiana State University in 1996. He named his business after his Labrador retriever who would visit the construction site.
Dave’s Hot Chicken has a similar rags to riches story. Three childhood friends in their 20s used their combined savings of $900 to start their business in a parking lot in East Hollywood with a couple of folding tables and a portable fryer. Thanks to Instagram and rave reviews from a reporter from Eater LA, lines began forming down the street and around the block.
I arrived at Raising Cane’s (12601 S.E. Second Circle) around 11:45 a.m. on a weekday. A police officer and two security guards directed traffic as I turned off East Mill Plain Boulevard. Customers can’t immediately turn right into the drive-thru lane. They need to go straight, turn around and get in line. A couple of cars ignored the police officer and just turned into the drive-thru line. I saw ample seating outside and inside the restaurant but nowhere to park that wouldn’t lead to getting stuck in the parking lot. I noticed people walking from the Applebee’s parking lot (which was mostly empty) to Raising Cane’s despite many signs saying not to park in neighboring parking lots.
I waited about 30 minutes from the time I got in the drive-thru line until I got my food and headed out. I’ve had Raising Cane’s before at the chain’s Portland location, which also has long lines. Chicken tenders are dry by nature because they’re made with breast meat. Raising Cane’s makes up for this by offering thick tenders in a flaky crust served with a creamy sauce seasoned with a heavy sprinkle of black pepper. Meals range from $10.29 to $17.27 and include crunchy crinkle-cut fries and Texas toast. Those sides are stellar, but the sauce is everything. Check your bag and make you got sauce. Maybe order extra.
A few days later, Dave’s Hot Chicken opened at 7904 N.E. Sixth Ave. in Hazel Dell. I followed a tip on social media and ordered ahead on the restaurant’s website. This proved crucial to my success of getting in and out of there in under 15 minutes. According to the site, my order would be ready at 12:15 p.m. which was 15 minutes after I placed it. I was surprised that workers could get it ready that quickly. Although I was skeptical, I headed over and found a spot at Parkrose Hardware nearby. The parking lot seemed to be filling up, but there were some open spots and I didn’t notice cars circling around seeking spaces. Dave’s Hot Chicken wasn’t generating the crazy car traffic that I saw at Raising Cane’s.
By placing my order online, I got to skip the increasingly long line in the restaurant and went instead to the side window where online orders are processed. There were only six other people in that line. My order wasn’t ready at exactly 12:15 p.m. but it arrived not much later.
Dave’s features Nashville hot chicken, which is brined in a blend of seasoning, floured, fried and then covered in a paste spiced with cayenne pepper. This recipe was created by Black communities in the South. It’s served on slices of white bread with pickle chips. Meals range from $4.99 to $14.99.
Customers can choose anything from no spice to reaper. Reaper level requires filling out a liability waiver that basically says you acknowledge eating this food could be harmful to your health and you won’t hold the restaurant legally liable for any health issues caused by eating the reaper. I like spicy food, but eating something so potentially hazardous that it requires signing a health waiver seems a bit extreme to me. I tried mild, medium and hot versions of these tenders. The “lite mild” had some seasoning that gave it a bit of flavor but wasn’t spicy. Medium was a mix of sweet and spicy, but not very spicy. The hot level of seasoning hit the tongue — but not the back of the throat — with some immediate fire and then a slow burn. I thought it was a nice flicker of spice but nothing crazy.
I really liked the pickle chips and bread. They temper some of the heat and also add a bit of vinegar and crunch. I found Dave’s sauce to be a bit on the sweet side. I favor bitter and salty to sweet flavors. I also tried the cauliflower tenders. I like that they offer a vegetarian option. It wasn’t as tender on the inside and crispy on the outside as I would’ve liked, but the spice was OK. (I ordered it hot.) It’s a nice option if you’re not eating meat or cutting down on meat consumption, but if I’m going to go to Dave’s I’m going to get chicken and order it hot or possibly extra hot.
Was the effort to get these fried chicken tenders worth it? This question requires a bit of introspection. I noticed on both expeditions that there are two different types of customers. There are the people who don’t mind scrolling on their phone and waiting for food. They are calm and know that there will be food for them sometime in the future. Then there are those who get anxious if food isn’t coming to them soon or if there seems to be a bit of chaos in its distribution. They have the fearful look of someone slipping into survival mode like a cornered animal in the wild. (I typically witness this at Costco.) What I have to say, dear reader, is that if you go to Raising Cane’s you must figure out which type of customer you are because once you get into the drive-thru line you’re stuck there until you reach the window and get your bag of food. It’s like planning a crime with a group of people: There’s no backing out once the whole caper gets started. At Dave’s, you can duck out of the line in the restaurant.
If you’re really curious and can wait patiently for food, I think you should give Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken a try. You could wait a few months and see if the initial excitement at the Vancouver restaurants dies down. Or you could get a fried chicken dinner at Krisey’s Kitchen food truck (13510 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd.) instead.
Krisey’s has prepared excellent fried chicken for years. The fried chicken thighs here are infinitely more flavorful than white meat tenders. Krisey’s meal, featuring two tender boneless chicken thighs coated in a well-seasoned, craggy, crunchy batter with a mound of equally flavorful potato wedges and daily dessert (like cheesecake, salted caramel toffee cake and chocolate Heath cake) beats the two other places that recently opened. A meal at Krisey’s is $20 and is much easier to get.
Just call ahead and your order will be ready at the time you’re told to come by and pick it up. If you’re determined to eat fried white meat, Krisey’s also offers fried chicken breast. I always ask for hot sauce. I like to eat it with my hands while sipping a Diet Coke, cold beer, or chilled Champagne, depending on my mood and the occasion.
