I kept seeing posts on Facebook about Dave’s Hot Chicken and decided it was finally time to give it a shot. We’ve been to places like Nanu’s in Binghamton, 3-1-Fried in North Syracuse and various fast food fried chicken joints across the country so we figured why not give Dave’s a try?
Immediately upon walking in the door we were greeted and ready to order since we did our research beforehand. Chelsea, despite being lactose intolerant, knew she wanted the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milkshake, so I knew I was going to pay for that decision later. She also decided on a Dave’s #3: One slider, one tender and a side of fries, no spice. The sliders are served with pickles, kale slaw and Dave’s Sauce on a potato bun and the tenders are absolutely massive. Even though she doesn’t typically like any kind of slaw nor pickles on her sandwiches, Chelsea enjoyed every bite and even commented on how well the slaw and pickles went with the chicken. Her milkshake was a basic vanilla milkshake topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal but it all worked well together. We both wanted to try the mac and cheese knowing full well that it isn’t a freshly made dish, but it was actually pretty good. Creamy, cheesy, seasoned with the same mix put on the fries. It tastes like and has the same texture as what KFC’s mac and cheese USED to be before it changed some years back.
Let me preface my order by saying I am not a smart man. I like hot food. And by hot food I mean I occasionally enjoy eating things that human beings are not meant to consume. So when I saw “Reaper” as an option I knew I was going to do something stupid and try it. I went with a Dave’s #2: two sliders with fries, one medium and one reaper. Imagine my surprise when the girl at the counter told me I had to sign a waiver because the reaper is actually that hot. I started with the reaper slider because I figured the medium heat one would help balance out the pain afterwards. Trust me when I say the reaper tenders are NOT for the faint of heart. I’ve eaten Carolina reapers before and have made sauces that made me question my life choices as to why I thought this was a good idea. This was right up there with my own creations in the category of “But why?” I immediately felt the heat and it was definitely HOT hot. The only problem was there was also no flavor with the heat, so it was just unpleasant, but I regret nothing. I only made it about halfway through the slider before deciding I was done, but if the reaper seasoning had some actual flavor to go with the pain, I would have had no problem. I’m just not a fan of “pain for pain’s sake” when it comes to my food. Once my face stopped hurting, the medium slider was actually really good and had a nice balance of heat and flavor. The slaw was crunchy and the pickles gave a nice brine element to go with the crispy tenders, but I think next time I’ll stick with either “hot” or “insanely hot” for my tenders if we make the trip out again.
So yeah. Not my smartest decision but it was still worth it just to say I did. The tenders are delicious, the slaw works nicely and the pickles are a pleasant additive to the sliders. Dave’s Sauce is rich and creamy, tastes like a well-seasoned ketchup/mayo blend. The fries are crisp but not burnt and seasoned very well with their house-blend seasoning. Overall, a solid lunch that made my face hurt and ruined my taste buds for a couple of days. I regret nothing.
7915 Brewerton Rd., Cicero, NY 13039
(315) 915-0015