Krispy Krunchy Chicken – Grand Rapids
4301 Kalamazoo Avenue SEI understand road construction is a necessary evil, but it has been really bad this year on my drive from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids. Pretty much every day since May I have dealt with construction somewhere on US-131. The worst of the construction seems to be the current project between Franklin and Wealthy. On a good day, the traffic is backed up to 28th Street. On a bad day, it could be farther.
I’ve been hopping off US-131 at M-6 when I know the traffic is bad and taking Kalamazoo Avenue towards Downtown. It seems to be quicker than taking the obvious routes (Division or Clyde Park) because everyone else has that idea making those roads just as congested as the highway.
A couple days ago, I saw a sign for a chicken place I had never seen before on Kalamazoo Avenue in a shopping center just north of 44th Street
Krispy Krunchy Chicken is a chicken chain with over 900 locations in 27 states. With that many locations, I have no idea how I’ve never seen one before. The only other location I could find in Michigan is in Ypsilanti.
The deal with Krispy Krunchy Chicken is that they’re not really a stand alone chicken chain. They sort of incorporate their product in to your existing business. A lot of their locations are integrated in to existing convenience stores, restaurants, and grocery stores.
The Grand Rapids location doesn’t really fall in to any of those categories. The store is a stand alone, but they offer other menus items (like ribs on weekends) that aren’t part of the Krispy Krunch Chicken franchise.
The restaurant does mostly carry-out as there really aren’t any tables. Well, there are three pub style tables, but no chairs, so you’d be standing if you’re looking to eat in.
I found the menu board hanging above the warming cases near the counter. There are a lot of meal deals and bucket options. I was tempted to grab a bucket for myself, but I didn’t need to feel like a fatty. Instead, I ordered the #6 which is three pieces of white meat chicken, a biscuit, a drink, and a side.
The chicken at Krispy Krunchy is halal and they proudly display the certificate on the wall next to the cash register proclaiming so.
My total was a little over eight bucks and my bag of chicken came up pretty quickly. I grabbed and headed back to my car to eat as much as I could on the drive.
The fries were pretty easy to eat while driving so I ripped that bag open first. They weren’t really french fries but more like little potato wedges. They had a crispy exterior with a little bit of a cajun seasoning, but the inside was pretty potato-y. The fries were alright, but just not my favorite kind of fried potato.
I had to wait on the chicken until I got back to work . When I ripped open the bag, I grabbed the biscuit first. It was a flaky buttermilk biscuit which would have been great except there is a honey glaze that I’m not really a fan of. I only ate a couple bites. Just not my thing.
The chicken is billed as Cajun-style. The large, tender, juicy pieces of chicken had a Cajun spice under the breading that gave the meat just a little bit of a bite. I was somewhat surprised at how juicy the two wings and breast were. While I didn’t really like the biscuit or the fries, the chicken was quite delicious. The pieces were pretty large and had a nice crispy breading on them.
Not as good as, say Popeyes, but much better than KFC.
Fries
Three Piece White Meat w/Honey Butter Biscuit
SW Michigan Dining 