Bottom Line: The Big & Wicked Sandwich from Golden Chick has a nice kick and plenty of flavor and offers some serious competition to the bigger chicken chains.
And so . . . back to chicken. I had over a week of no chicken reviews, but poultry continues to reign among spicy offerings, so I can’t stay away from it too long. There are so many spicy chicken offerings out there, that restaurants are starting to run out of the stuff. Case in point, the Golden Chick Big & Wicked Sandwich. I pulled up to the drive thru and ordered their latest spicy selection only to be told they were out of chicken breast. Fortunately, they still had chicken tenders, so I got a version of the sandwich made with those.
Following is the description of the sandwich from the menu (for the original version):
Our crispy hand-breaded chicken breast loaded with our signature Lotta Zing® spice with 5 pickles and Lotta Zing sauce on a fresh-baked XL Golden Chick roll.
I’ve got to say that I believe that is the first time that I have seen a place specify the number of pickles. I didn’t do a count to hold them to that, though. As mentioned, my sandwich was made with their chicken tenders, three of them, and that still worked out pretty well.
The Lotta Zing® sauce is immediately noticeable when you bite into this sandwich with a sweetness and a bit of tang, tasting like a spicy thousand island dressing. The chicken is well-breaded with a nice crunch and plenty tender throughout (though a little dry in places because these are thick pieces). The Lotta Zing® spice is similar to Cajun seasoning and brings a little extra kick to the tenders. The pickles deliver the required tang and perhaps intensive research determined that six would have pushed them over the edge while four would have come up short.
The bun is what seals the deal for Golden Chick sandwiches because these are extra-large versions of their luscious rolls which by themselves are pure heaven. They are pillowy and soft on the inside with a nice sweetness and a buttery taste and just a bit of chew to the crust. You could put pretty much anything in one of these rolls and it would taste good! Note that even though this is a sizeable bun, those tenders were pretty big as well and kept falling out. Don’t try to eat it while driving!
This sandwich has a kick right away that comes from both the seasoning and the sauce. It goes beyond the Mild level on my scale but doesn’t quite reach Medium. Still, the heat is noticeable and it lingers in your mouth for a while so that you know you have eaten something spicy. A little more heat might be welcome (maybe some jalapenos would have been a nice addition?), but this is still quite good as it is.
Golden Chick is limited on the nutrition info it offers, but I can tell you pretty confidently that this sandwich does not count as diet food. The three tenders alone clock in at 270 calories (a single breast filet is likely in the same range) and then you add 210 cals for the Lotta Zing sauce and a regular roll is 160 so the extra-large is likely double that or more. I threw in a side of fried okra (that counts as a vegetable, right?) which adds 317 calories, so I have some penance to pay in the gym.
But it is worth it because this is one heck of a good spicy chicken sandwich and as the Golden Chick chain continues to expand it will really start challenging some of the bigger poultry slingers out there. The Big & Wicked sammy is of course limited-time-only, so head to the drive thru and pick one up when you can. The combo for the sandwich with a side and drink is $7.99 and the tenders version I got was a little more at $8.69. That compares favorably to the other fast food joints out there, and I like supporting Golden Chick because they are a Texas original (they started just up the road in San Marcos). You can check for a location near you at their website.