This fast-casual restaurant is not just flippin’ some mighty tasty burgers, it has also fired a salvo into the chicken sandwich wars with its Hot Chick’n. And while hamburgers and shakes are the marquee items for this chain, their seasonal, limited-time-only spicy chicken sandwich is worth checking out when it is on the menu. Here’s the official description straight from their website:
Our Hot Chick’n is a crispy, antibiotic-free chicken sandwich dusted with our own guajillo and cayenne pepper blend that took months to perfect. It’s topped with our own cooling cherry pepper slaw that let’s our spice blend’s flavor really shine, plus pickles for added crunch and acidity—all cradled by our classic, toasted non-GMO potato roll.
This sandwich offers a whole breast filet, and like the Popeyes sammy (read about that one here), it is a thick piece of chicken. But while it has the girth, it comes in a little bit smaller on the width. There is still plenty of sandwich here to chomp on and it is really quite tasty, though. The spices blend together well to give it a good depth with a nice finish. (Too high falutin, that? You’d think I was reviewing a fine wine here.) The sandwich has a taste similar to Nashville Hot chicken, though without as much of the tang because it is not covered in sauce. The slaw adds some texture and a bit of sweetness as well as a cooling counterpoint to the heat. For the most part, I am not typically a big fan of pickles on sandwiches, but they work well with spicy chicken and add a nice tartness here. It only comes with a couple of slices, though, so you may want to request extra pickles when you order
The sandwich comes in three levels of heat: Hot, Extra Hot, and Fire. The first time around I ordered the extra hot which has a good kick that lingers for a bit, but it won’t send you running. The second time I went with the Fire version and that brings the heat! Chiliheads will not need a fire extinguisher nearby while eating this (average mortals just might, though), but it does pack a good spice punch that will stick with you a while. A nice, cool drink would definitely be a good companion with this sandwich, and they do serve beer on tap at Shake Shack (with some good local brew choices). Or one of their shakes made with their own frozen custard can help ease the heat as well.
Overall, the Hot Chick’n succeeds at combining good taste with good heat, exactly what I am looking to highlight on this site. And with the three heat levels, you can adjust to your own tolerance and still enjoy the sandwich. The average mortal will probably want to go with the Hot version, while those looking for more heat can kick it up a level or two. At 560 calories, it is one of the lower-cal chicken sandwich options and won’t break your diet. But a regular order of fries adds 470 calories so tread lightly with your add-ons, otherwise . . . you won’t be treading lightly.
The sandwich sells at my local Shake Shack for $7.39 and the combo meal with a soft drink comes in close to $15. That is somewhat pricey for just a sammy and the whole meal has you shelling out sit-down restaurant level money (though at least you save on the tip). For the cost, I’d like this better if the sandwich was a bit larger, but I can still see myself grabbing the Hot Chick’n another time or two before this one fades away again into limited-time-only-ville.
Shake Shack is a fast-casual restaurant that specializes in hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and of course milkshakes. It actually started out as a hot dog stand in New York City in 2001, but has since expanded far beyond its origins. It has locations nationwide and across the globe, and you can check to see if there is one near you at their website.
Tale of the Tape:
Serving Size: 1 Sandwich
Calories: 560
Fat: 31g (9g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 33g
Carbs: 38g
Sodium: 1220mg