Yesterday, City Editor Laura got a first taste of local award-winning chef Ashley Christensen’s fast-casual chicken restaurant BB’s Crispy Chicken. After 2 years and ~2,000 iterations of the brand’s chicken sandwiches, the spot is finally opening on Sat., Oct. 30.
The restaurant, located in Midtown East at 2920 Sherman Oak Pl., is the first quick-service style concept for the James Beard Award-holding chef.
Let’s cut right to the chase — I tried three different chicken sandwiches, two salads, chicken “dunkers,” three different sides, and a milkshake. Oh, and 12 sauces.
The low down
The “shatteringly crispy” chicken sandwiches come on a toasted brioche bun + the classic options are topped with thick-cut pickles.
Four of the house-made sauces feature blends made with TABASCO sauces — try scorpion red Fire if you dare. Other sauces include yum yum, southwestern ranch, honey mustard, and Texas smoky BBQ.
The must-tries
The BB’s Triple Play let’s you try all three side items — sweet potato waffle fries, sea-salt brined french fries, and crunchy cheese curds. Pro tip: Dip the sweet potato waffle fries in dijonaise.
I asked Ashley what her favorite sauce was, and her go-to was the buttermilk ranch. The green jalapeño, mango sweet + sour, and cheddar mayo sauces are also at the top of my list.
What I’m ordering first on Saturday
Sandwich-wise, I tried the BB’s Pick, the Hot Honey, and the BBQ Cheddar with grilled chicken.
The Hot Honey stole my heart — but I’ll definitely be trying a sandwich with pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes next. I sampled the pimento cheese + I’m still dreaming about it.
Starting Saturday, BB’s will be open every day 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Two other locations are already in the works for the chain — Durham’s University Hill + Cary’s Parkside Town Commons.
The Durham location will come first, aiming to open by March, followed by the Cary location a few weeks later.
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