Thunderbolt Chicken Drive Thru
3905 W. Dickman RoadI always seem to have a hard time finding something to eat when I’m in Battle Creek. I know there are places…I just have a hard time finding them for some reason.
I recently stumbled on a Facebook Page called The Carryout Club and all of a sudden, there are dozens of restaurants in the Battle Creek area I can’t wait to try.
I was in Battle Creek for an assignment near the airport a few weeks ago. I had already made a plan when I left that morning on what I was going to do for lunch.
Thunderbolt Chicken Drive Thru is…well, a drive thru chicken sandwich restaurant. They’re located inside JB Whiskey’s on Dickman Road at Base Avenue. There is a little bit of signage you can see from the road but the actual chicken part of the restaurant is on the backside of the building. You need to turn in to the parking lot off Base Avenue before you really see it.
When you pull into the lot, the backside of the building is set up like a pretty typical drive. There’s an order speaker with the small but focused menu right on the back edge of the building.
I was the only one in line so I took a few minutes to look the menu over. Like a lot of these new chicken places, the menu is small. Other than a BBQ & Pickle sandwich, everything on the menu can be deep fried.
I put in an order for the #2 which is the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich. I made the sandwich a meal with fries and a Coke. The cost $10 and paid at the second window in the drive thru lane. The sandwich was made fresh so I sat there for a few minutes after ordering but there was no in line behind me for most of the wait time so the cashier just had me sit at the window until it was ready.
I was heading back to Kalamazoo to eat so the chicken was off limits until then but I could break in to the fries right away. The fries were simple frozen crinkle cuts. Nothing fancy. These are dip in mustard fries for me but as I was driving, just the simple salt would have to do.
I tore in to the sandwich as soon as I got to my chair back in the Kalamazoo office. The sandwich was a pretty thick fried chicken breast covered in a hot sauce topped with mayo and pickles on a white bread bun that was overmatched. The chicken was really juicy and had a lot of flavor. It wasn’t super hot and seemed to get that heat from the sauce the chicken was dipped in and not the brining or breading like many Nashville hot chickens do. It was tasty and at $10, a pretty cheap, complete, delicious meal.
Chicken sandwich places are all the rage now and this is the first one I know of in the Battle Creek area (the restaurant is actually in Springfield). I love the drive thru concept which makes Thunderbolt Chicken and easy stop for lunch or dinner on the go.
SW Michigan Dining 