# Sick of fighting for fried chicken **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359 "2013-03-08T09:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/1 "2013-03-08T09:45:45Z")
Nearly every single time I go to a fried chicken place it turns into a fight to get some decent sized pieces, the employees act put out that you’d want to choose your piece and will even make absurd excuses for why you can’t have the big ones. “gimme that breast” “oh sorry this was already paid for…these here too” “”:rolleyes:chicken in the pan has been paid for?!?" “yes” “ok is any other piece here paid for yet?” “no” “ok…gimme that nice center breast there(hey I found a big center breast woo)” puts center breast in my box but then before giving it to me puts in the original breast piece I picked.:smack: “oh I made a mistake here is the bigger piece you wanted” “:rolleyes:you sure you didn’t just want to keep that big center” I’ve seen wings the size of my thumb folded up, once I was given a breast that I wish I had taken a picture of, I mean it looked like someone had ripped the ribs off a chicken breast and fried only the rib bones.:smack: It gets really tiring having to fight with employees just to get decent pieces of chicken. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/2 "2013-03-08T09:54:06Z")
Oh funny anecdote my wife just thought I was nuts and harassing the poor chicken shack workers, then she decided she wanted fried chicken last night. She was at the counter for a good five minutes. When she came over she was OUTRAGED at how she basically had to demand decent chicken, she was like did you see what they gave me the first time? $5 USD for fried pigeon?!? 😃 Who is nuts now muwahahaha? ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/3 "2013-03-08T13:16:02Z")
Consult Abed; he has a solution for you. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/4 "2013-03-08T13:43:16Z")
Damn. Now I want some fried chicken. From a real restaurant, not fast food. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/5 "2013-03-08T14:09:37Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Damn. Now I want some fried chicken. From a real restaurant, not fast food. There’s also the lesser-known, controversial method where you cook some yourself. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/6 "2013-03-08T14:09:51Z")
I’ve never had this problem. Where exactly are you going that the employees are possessive of the chicken? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/7 "2013-03-08T14:28:36Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > There’s also the lesser-known, controversial method where you cook some yourself. Now a days (at least where I live) it’s cheaper to buy the fast food stuff. And when you throw in the convenience factor, hell, it’s a bargain. When I’m in the mood for fried chicken, I’ll make my own sides at home and then swing by Popeye’s and buy whatever multi piece they have on special. Never dropped more than a $10 bill. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/8 "2013-03-08T15:03:50Z")
At least you got some real “pieces”. One time a few years ago we did drive-through at KFC to take to a family picnic. We ordered a six-piece mini-bucket and opened it only when we got to the picnic, twenty minutes later. What did we get for our six pieces? Four wings and two scrawny backs. It was too far to go back and we were hungry, but we never used that KFC again. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/9 "2013-03-08T15:07:54Z")
I find it hard to believe that an employee would make an argument that a piece of chicken on the tray was already paid for. Op must be just unluicky ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/10 "2013-03-08T15:08:39Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > At least you got some real “pieces”. One time a few years ago we did drive-through at KFC to take to a family picnic. We ordered a six-piece mini-bucket and opened it only when we got to the picnic, twenty minutes later. > > What did we get for our six pieces? Four wings and two scrawny backs. It was too far to go back and we were hungry, but we never used that KFC again. Backs? At a KFC? What year was this, i never heard of anyone selling backs. As to the OP, I too would like to know where this strange chicken shack is. I frequent Popeye’s and the pieces are quite large. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/11 "2013-03-08T15:13:31Z")
I used to like KFC (while trying not to think of what my cardio system thought of it), but over the years they’ve gotten so expensive and the service and produce so erratic that I gave up on them - probably to the health good. For every time I went in and got value for my money, 50% more than just about any other equivalent fast foot stop, there was a time I got greasy little chunks served by a server so surly it would darken the rest of my day. The two best places I’ve found for fraahhd are, oddly enough, select Chinese buffets and grocery store delis. Most are meh, but if you find a good one, they’re really good and they tend to be consistent. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/12 "2013-03-08T15:13:46Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Backs? At a KFC? What year was this, i never heard of anyone selling backs. It was in the late 1980’s - I wonder if the store had run out of stock and ran down to the local supermarket and bought the cheapest stuff there. Anyway, they were totally meatless pieces. That KFC closed shortly afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/13 "2013-03-08T15:22:48Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’ve never had this problem. > > Where exactly are you going that the employees are possessive of the chicken? The place where the employee was due to have lunch soon and wanted that piece for himself. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/14 "2013-03-08T15:41:38Z")
KFC around me has gone so far downhill most of them are closed. Last time we went there (we had picked up my son from the airport - he was coming home on leave) and got there around 7:00 in the evening (he had reqeuested it). They were out of everything we wanted. No extra crispy. No original recipe. It would be 20 minutes to get the pieces (I don’t remember what they call them - popcorn chicken? Chicken nuggets? Yeah - they’re that memorable.) and the baked stuff had been sitting out for awhile - it didn’t even look appetizing. We ended up at McDonald’s. Popeyes is better - their pieces are pretty small, though, but at least when we we had a graduation party for the kid when he finished “A” school they gave us a deal on 60 pieces and had it waiting for us when we picked it up - they are actually not bad for when we’re doing a big group of people. Plus they work with whatever coupons we have and apply them to large orders. Husband really likes them - me not as much. I don’t like chicken much anyway, though. I won’t go to Brown’s. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/15 "2013-03-08T15:43:47Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > i never heard of anyone selling backs. I’ve seen it at one place, [White House restaurant](http://www.whitehousechicken.com/aboutus.html) in Barberton, OH. I’m not sure if that’s standard for Barberton chicken, but it sounds like it is. (Barberton is somewhat well-known for its fried chicken. One recent book on American fried chicken–the name escapes me–even had a whole chapter dedicated to Barberton.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/16 "2013-03-08T15:45:21Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > It was in the late 1980’s - I wonder if the store had run out of stock and ran down to the local supermarket and bought the cheapest stuff there. Anyway, they were totally meatless pieces. That KFC closed shortly afterward. I recall a rash of problems with KFC franchises in that era - several big franchisees were busted for buying substandard chicken from alternate sources instead of the (more expensive and profitable for the mothership, duh) approved ones. That was also about the time the franchises were rebelling against paying a fortune for the secret spice mix (which they knew, and Poundstone confirmed, was exotic salt, pepper and flour). The problem was they couldn’t admit the mix was so common without collectively shooting themselves in the foot. (KFC chicken looks and tastes the way it does far more because of the cooking process than any fancy ingredients.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/17 "2013-03-08T15:53:48Z")
_You gotta fight For your right For friiiiiiiiiied… Chicken!_ ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/18 "2013-03-08T16:02:13Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Where exactly are you going that the employees are possessive of the chicken? Yeah, I’d be wary of any establishment that has an employee choke point. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/19 "2013-03-08T17:06:10Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > There’s also the lesser-known, controversial method where you cook some yourself. Deep frying ain’t easy. Messy as hell, and one little slip up and you’ve got FIRE. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359/20 "2013-03-08T17:06:46Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > and the baked stuff had been sitting out for awhile - it didn’t even look appetizing. > . The current no skin grilled crap is way too salty, the brining is a bad mistake. They should just bring back the[rotisserie gold,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBN1ZCjGXss) that was kick ass good. Back in the 90s mrAru was stationed on lower base for his shore duty and on Thursdays I would stop and pick up a rotisserie gold deal for the 2 of us and we would hang out in his office on base and eat before SCA fight practice. I can think of maybe twice in 18 months where the chicken wasn’t up to par for any reason. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-fighting-for-fried-chicken/652359.md?page=2)