Ex-Wife’s Famous Chicken (Battle Creek)
5420 Beckley RoadThe thing I really miss about COVID was always riding solo at work. We typically ride two to a car because it makes economical sense but during COVID, there were several times the company put in a one to a car rule just to keep people separated.
I’m not a social butterfly. I like being alone.
I always went more out of my way to find restaurants when I was driving alone because I didn’t have to worry about someone else’s opinion or food tastes. I like to find new places, out of the way places, or little hole in the walls.
My usual co-worker was off a couple weeks ago so they sent someone from Grand Rapids. I was already in Battle Creek when they assigned someone to work with me so he just drove himself to Battle Creek.
When the shift was over, he headed back towards Grand Rapids and I was heading to the ice rink to pick up the boy so he didn’t have to sit through his sister’s skating practice.
First…dinner.
I had a couple of ideas but I saw a Facebook post about a new chicken place that had just opened. I was fairly close to it so I decided to check it out.
Ex-Wife’s Famous Chicken is just to the west of Lakeview Square Mall on Beckley Road on the southeast side of Battle Creek. The restaurant is near Beckley Road in the Minges Creek Plaza. The corner location used to be Beckley Cleaners before becoming this chicken sandwich joint.
Ex-Wife’s Famous Chicken is a fairly new restaurant concept. Right now, there is this location in Battle Creek and the original location in Dearborn but there are plans to expand even further with planned locations in seven Michigan cities including Grand Rapids.
The restaurant is counter service and service up mostly chicken sandwiches. The restaurant had been open less than a day when I stopped in so there was a little bit of a line including a couple of Battle Creek firefighters who were picking up dinner for the firehouse.
I put in an order for a chicken sandwich and fries for myself plus got B a kid’s chicken strip combo. He usually wants to stop at Wendy’s and get chicken nuggets when I pick him up from the ice rink so I thought I’d try something different.
The cost was just under $20 before tip and that included a Pepsi for me too.
Orders are bagged up at the other end of the counter as they come off the line and your name is called. There was quite a back up at the time I was there so it took a little longer than I expected. I wasn’t in a super big hurry so it wasn’t a big deal.
Most people were grabbing their orders to go but there is a decent sized dining room around the corner from the order area. A lot of people were also taking advantage of some outside seating so the inside dining area was mostly being used by people waiting for their food to come up.
It took about fifteen minutes for my name to be called. I filled my Pepsi up one more time, grabbed the bag then headed to the parking lot.
I didn’t want to wait on the sandwich so I opened it as soon as I got t the car. I ordered the “Hot Chick” which is a spicy fried chicken breast topped with slaw, bread and butter pickles, and Nashville hot sauce. I’m not really a slaw guy and really just wanted that crispy, juicy spicy chicken so I slid most of it off. The chicken wasn’t super hot but it had a little bit of a kick to it. The chicken is pretty thick with a really crispy outside but still juicy and tender through the middle.
The fries, called “Freedom Fries” (guh…I thought we were long over that stupid post 9/11 Freedom Fry crap. French fries are named for the way the fries are cut, not after the country) are crispy crinkle cut fries. You can get them spicy or as pepper jack cheese fries. I just got them the standard way. They are super crispy and come with a heavy coating of a delicious seasoning salt.
The chicken tender I got for B is part of the “Child Support” menu. One large chicken tender comes with fries. The tender was huge. I thought about getting the tenders for myself but was a little scared off by the $15 price tag for 4 tenders turned me off. The tenders cost that much because they are huge. A 2 piece tender would be more than enough for most people. Despite the size of the tender, the meat stays tender and juicy during the longer cook time.
Chicken sandwiches have somehow become all the rage the last couple of years. There’s only a few things a place can really do to make their chicken different from all the rest. Ex-Wife’s Famous Chicken brings pretty simple but delicious chicken sandwiches to the table. I’m usually more of a burger guy even if fried chicken sandwiches are an option but I do like to have options since I eat out . Ex-Wife’s Famous chicken is a great option in a sea of fast food burgers.
SW Michigan Dining 