If you're hungry for the info (and also some great chicken), let's get into it.
Mary Brown's — The winner
I'll be back, Mary.
Victoria Kuglin | Narcity
Price: $11.29 for three
Mary Brown's, I was unfamiliar with your game.
The chain was totally new to me prior to testing, so unlike KFC and A&W, I went in with zero expectations. But even if I had set impossible standards, MB would have knocked it out of the park anyway.
The breading was light, airy, and well-seasoned, but it was the chicken itself that impressed me the most. These thick, juicy slabs of white meat were so easy to dunk enthusiastically in the MB sauce (a mysterious concoction with a hint of smokiness), and way more generous than other spots I tried. And, perhaps most importantly, they were DELICIOUS!
I gobbled them up in seconds and could see myself popping by there again for another dose of these hot 'n' crispy eats. My only complaint? Not enough locations! We need more MB in our lives, stat.
A&W — Passable
We love an extra-large nugget!
Victoria Kuglin | Narcity
Price: $9.82 for three
This classic Canadian chain is all about chicken (the spicy chicken sandwiches are delish and great in a pinch), so I had high hopes for the tenders.
These hopes were dashed — not dramatically, mind you, but when I'm expecting a hefty chicken chunk and I basically get a flattened, elongated nugget, we've got matters to discuss.
I will admit that the breading was good: thin, crispy, and well-seasoned, more of an accoutrement than the main event (the cardinal sin of breaded chicken is throwing off this precarious balance).
Overall, they were very tasty, but after scarfing down the meaty Mary Brown's fingers, it felt like a downgrade. Unlike KFC, the dipping sauce (a creamy honey-mustard with a tangy finish) made these fingers taste better, rather than just palatable, though I'd pick the MB sauce over any others I tested.
These were also the cheapest, coming in at just under $10 for three strips.
KFC — Pass
Still searching for the remaining herbs and spices.
Victoria Kuglin | Narcity
Price: $11.29 for two
When I think of well-seasoned chicken, I think of KFC.
There's just one problem: these chicken tenders were not it.
"11 herbs and spices"? Where are they, KFC? Show them to us! Inquiring minds want to know how you've managed to build a brand based on flavour when these chicken tenders were so lacking (don't ask me how they did it, but even their BBQ sauce was bland).
To be clear, they weren't necessarily terrible — there's a reason KFC holds such a huge market share of the fried chicken market. But ironically, that's exactly why I was disappointed. I wanted bombastic. I wanted mouth-watering. Instead, I got a pair of "meh" tenders that were the same price of Mary Brown's but for a whole chicken strip less.
Now that I'm absolutely stuffed to the gills with what's basically the adult version of a chicken finger, I will leave you with a few final thoughts.
If I've learned one crucial thing during this testing process, it's that just because something is simple, it doesn't mean it's easy. You might be asking, how hard can it be to produce a tasty tender? Despite having access to dozens of different vendors, it's apparently still not easy to find one that hits all the high notes, and that's before we even start talking about price. I
So the next time I need a snack (or a craving hits), I know where I'll be headed — because life is too short to eat bad food, friends.
Related: I taste-tested these classic Canadian snacks and ranked them from best to worst
