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Chicken Out Adds to an Already Great St. Louis Food Scene

I am a sucker for a good chicken sandwich. I have written about my many different spicy chicken sandwich adventures before. I love a good fried piece of chicken between bread with some toppings. It is a delight. So when a friend took me to a local chicken sandwich spot in STL, I was intrigued.

The place is called Chicken Out and it is wonderful. There is a local BBQ spot here called Sugarfire, which is dynamite, and the owners of that own Chicken Out. That, to me, is a very good sign. So when I went the first time, I expected a good visit. It went above and beyond. I was wildly impressed.

The menu is fairly simple. There are about half a dozen or so sandwiches, some salads, a wrap or two and sides. This is another feather in their cap for me. When I go to a restaurant with a massive menu it makes me nervous. My anxiety jumps. To me it shows that you do not know how to make a few things great. It shows me you can make a lot of things mediocre, but not one thing really well. So when the menu is small, like Chicken Out, that lets me know that they know what they do, and they know they do it well.

On my first visit I got a chicken sandwich with cheese sauce and bacon. Again, super simple. I am also a sucker for a liquid cheese sauce, so this was an easy order for me. The sandwich was amazing. The chicken breast is fried to perfection, it is juicy and crisp and fills the sandwich. It is a big piece of chicken, but it also feels like the perfect size. Then they add this cheese sauce, it is liquid gold. It is so tasty. It smothers the sandwich but it doesn't take away from the taste of the chicken. And it is messy, but in all the right ways. The bacon is peppered and thick cut. I love bacon on all things, so this is no different. It is a nice salty addition to this already excellent sandwich. Then they use a potato bun. Potato buns are an absolute homerun. I remember the first time I had potato bread. I was a skeptic. Then I tried it and have been a fan ever since. It is not as heavy as white bread. I am a wheat bread fan, but potato bread takes it down. So a potato bun is perfect for me. They are buttery without butter. They have a hint of sweetness. They are the perfect accompaniment to this delightful chicken sandwich. And this is across the board for this menu. My dad loves the chicken burger. It too is on a potato bun, has lettuce, tomato and Duke's Mayo on it. He loves it, and the taste I have had was great.

I had a chicken parm sandwich on a different visit and it was good. It was on Italian bread, had tomato sauce and mozzarella and was really tasty. My son has had their BBQ chicken sandwich, and what makes it so awesome is the way they hold back and do not overload it with BBQ sauce. It is on there, you can taste it, but it doesn't take away from any other flavors.

The chicken fingers are outstanding. They are massive and taste great. The sides are also dope. I have had mac and cheese before. It is creamy and delightful. The potato salad is strong. The baked beans are good. But the trophy for best side is the fries. Fries are pretty common and pretty good at most sandwich or burger spots. What makes Chicken Out fries even better are two things, they are crinkle cut and they have chicken salt. I adore crinkle cut fries. They, to me, just taste better. But this chicken salt, which I have zero idea what it is made of, I love. It is extra salty. It adds a ton of flavor. You do not need dipping sauces. If you want to dip it in anything, get the cheese sauce that oozes out of the sandwich. They are divine.

I am a big fan of this restaurant. I just ate there yesterday and it was as good as the first time. I told my dad that, if Chicken Out is offered to me right now, I am going to pick it. I have been six times now and have gotten the Cheep N Cheddar sandwich three times. I will be trying everything on this menu in the near future. Check this place out if you live here in STL. For non STL residents, find a spot like this to try. Go to local chicken spots and support them. Their food is so much better than chain restaurants and they need your business more. Chicken Out is awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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