Cassandra fell sick this week so she asked Carson to write Burgh Bites.
It’s no secret that Pittsburgh is almost in an oversupply of fried chicken spots that all have very good food. Some are national chains like Raising Canes and The Eagle, while others like CHiKN and Wings and a Prayer are exclusive to Allegheny County.
Mad Chicken may belong to the camp of chains, as it has 20 locations throughout the country, but any Downtown eats that aren’t just Jimmy John’s or Arby’s are worth a try.
From the start, Mad Chicken is one of the few places besides Genoa Pizza close to campus that stays open late. While much of Downtown and the rest of Pittsburgh – besides Southside’s East Carson Street – seems to go to bed at 8 p.m., Mad Chicken is open until 2 a.m.
Granted, it’s not as close to campus as Genoa’s. However, it’s a difference of maybe five minutes of walking – three if you walk fast.
If you like high quality chicken that isn’t dry and won’t break the bank, then maybe you should try running to Mad Chicken – this isn’t your mom’s boiled chicken.
Starting off with the sides, you have a ton to choose from, whether it’s waffle fries, mac and cheese or even rice, which is not a common find at most fried chicken spots in the city.
The waffle fries look delicious as soon as you get them and smell just like well-made potato fries should smell. The fries taste pretty good, but even as a basic side dish at $3.99, it could be done better. Unlike their chicken, these waffle fries were a bit drier than one may expect and didn’t have the craziest, most mind-blowing flavor ever.
However, they still taste good enough to be enjoyable and are quite crispy. Don’t expect much seasoning, as they’re just covered with a pinch of salt. There were at least eight ketchup packets in the bag of food though, so at least they give you something to try and add onto the flavor. It is important to note that the waffle fries are the cheapest side dish on the menu.
There are a lot of options for potential main courses at Mad Chicken, such as sandwiches, bowls, wraps and tenders. For the sake of this review, a sandwich and a bowl were chosen. According to the person at the order counter, the “Mad Fries” bowl and the “Mad Classic” sandwich are two of the most popular items at this location.
The sandwich of choice this time around is the “Mad Fire” sandwich. At $11.99, it’s supposed to be one of the biggest but also one of the spiciest on the menu. It was big in size but not in spice. It took a while to even be able to eat the toppings on the sandwich because it was so overloaded with chicken – the problem of the top bun continuously being pushed further back until the contents of the sandwich fell out was all too real.
Mad Chicken’s menu proudly states that all the chicken they serve is non-GMO and all natural, which shows. The meat is white but not dry and juicy, but not slimy. The skin is rather crispy but not to the point where it is reminiscent ofNashville-style chicken. You will surely get a mouthful of these tenders even when eating a sandwich, so perhaps it’s not all bad that there are so many.
Sadly, the bread is the worst part of the sandwich. It’s not inedible or horrible but it lacks flavor and is solely to blame for everything falling out of the sandwich; the strength of the bread just isn’t there.
While the tenders on the sandwich are great, they don’t have much on them besides melted cheese and what looks like a little bit of pepper. Once you finally get to the toppings and the “mad fire” sauce, the taste is decent but underwhelming. It is very surprising that the Mad Fire sandwich is advertised as their spiciest when it had almost no spice whatsoever – no “fire” to speak of. This is basically just a well-made regular chicken sandwich grossly overhyped by its namesake.
Unlike the Mad Fire sandwich, the “Mad and Cheese” was a maddening success on almost every count. At $11.99, you get to choose which sauce to drizzle onto the pieces of chicken and mac and cheese. Their “Mad Chipotle” sauce pairs very well with this option. The chicken on its own is just as good as in the sandwich, except this time the sauce drizzles and the texture from both the chicken and mac and cheese work together nicely.
The Mad Chipotle sauce has a bit of a spicy kick to it unlike the Mad Fire sauce, as this has noticeable heat. While the chicken and mac and cheese go together well, the mac and cheese on its own tastes almost exactly like the kind you can get at Kickin’ Chicken at the Point Café – very gooey cheese but still tasty regardless. The sauce you choose may ultimately overpower the chicken and mac and cheese flavor, but the texture combination alone is good enough.
While you have plenty of fried chicken spots to check out in Pittsburgh or right outside Downtown, Mad Chicken is definitely worth checking out and saving money compared to the other options.
