Zaxby’s and Raising Cane’s. Two fast food giants known for their deep-fried chicken and their even deeper rivalry. It has been long undecided which of these establishments makes the better fried chicken; however, I set out to end this dispute once and for all 

Upon opening the boxes of Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s fried chicken, I immediately noticed that Raising Cane’s fried chicken was larger compared to Zaxby’s fried chicken, which looked slightly shriveled like a raisin. At the same time, it also looked soggy and had less breading; meanwhile, Zaxby’s chicken looked crispier.

Biting into Zaxby’s chicken, I was surprised by how crispy the outside was. It is exactly what I would expect from a good piece of fried chicken. In contrast, when I bit into Raising Cane’s fried chicken, I was met not with a crunch, but with a soggy, wet piece of chicken. It was like they forgot the “fried” part of fried chicken. What Raising Cane’s lacked in a crispy outside, they made up for in taste and quality of chicken. The chicken was very juicy and was cooked perfectly. I could taste spices that they had put on the chicken before frying it. Zaxby’s chicken, however, despite the promising looking outside, tasted like they had left it in the frier and forgot about it. The inside was stringy and bland, as well as being chewy and honestly hard to eat.

Along with ordering fried chicken from Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s, I also ordered fries. Zaxby’s crinkle-cut fries were golden colored with seasoning scattered throughout them and tasted exactly like what you would expect a good fry to taste like. Conversely, Raising Cane’s fries were soggy and bland, with not even a grain of salt on them.

Zaxby’s fried chicken had a promisingly crisp outside, but the actual chicken inside was bland, dry, and stringy. While Raising Cane’s fried chicken didn’t have a crispy outside, the quality and flavor of the chicken inside by far outdid Zaxby’s fried chicken, declaring Raising Cane’s as the better fried chicken.

(Left to right) Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s fried chicken and french fries