Popular Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken Menu Items Ranked Worst To Best
There are certain foods that don't just fill our bellies; they fill our souls as well. These comfort foods find a way to nestle inside our gut and offer a type of nostalgic sensation that's hard to pass up. Macaroni and cheese and chicken pot pie are a couple of examples. Another delicious food that inspires a bit of tranquility and peace is fried chicken; one spot that's been slinging up that fantastic fried stuff since 1966 is Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken.
The menu at Lee's has all sorts of great comfort food. When you get the urge to really dive into a meal that's going to put you in a pleasant mental spot, Lee's is a solid option. However, just because all the food on the menu seems like it'll be a grand slam, the truth is that there are some items that are more than satisfying, while others might end up letting you down. The next time Lee's comes calling, keep this list of its menu items — ranked from worst to first — in mind.
Butterfly shrimp
Shrimp are among the most popular and versatile snacks from the ocean. These succulent little morsels of flavor can be prepared in so many different ways, and you can pop a bunch of them back without feeling like you have a stomach full of cement afterward. Shrimp are pretty freakin' awesome. If you find yourself at Lee's looking for a seafood option, butterfly shrimp is one item available. However, you'll quickly realize you made a mistake after biting into the first one.
There are several issues at play here, which is super unfortunate because a properly prepared basket of butterfly shrimp is absolutely delicious. First off, the shrimp at Lee's are often very small and don't have that juicy succulent burst of flavor they should. Instead of a delicate texture, they feel rubbery and too chewy to thoroughly enjoy. To make matters worse, the breading on the shrimp is way too thick, and seeing as the shrimp are small, this may result in a mouthful of the fried batter. They're super greasy and off-putting, and make you feel like you just took a sip of the fry oil instead of a bite of plump crustaceans.
Country fried steak
Steak on its own can be a dense, heavy food. When a steak is plopped down in front of you, you know you're in for a decadent meal. But as soon as you think that steak can't possibly get any richer, the country fried steak knocks on the door and proves you wrong. If you're looking for a meal that's going to roundhouse kick your hunger with intensity, you can always try the country fried steak at Lee's. However, just because you can doesn't mean you should.
The biggest issue with this country fried steak is the texture of the meat. After the slab of beef emerges from its vacation in the deep fryer, it takes on a super tough consistency. Your jaw muscles have to work overtime to tear through each bite, and the effort just isn't worth the resulting flavor. The meat is pretty bland, and the fried breading on the outside adds a greasiness that's totally unappealing. You have to gnaw through every forkful, and there's hardly any payoff in terms of taste.
BBQ chicken sandwich
On its own, Chicken doesn't pack a huge wallop of flavor, but it does a splendid job at taking on the flavor of whatever sauce you add to it. There are plenty of sauces that enhance the flavor of cluckers, but barbecue seems to be one option that really pairs perfectly. Who doesn't love a tender piece of chicken smothered in a zesty barbecue sauce? If barbecued chicken is your thing, then you might feel obligated to try out the barbecue chicken sandwich at Lee's. We implore you to give this a hard pass instead.
The sandwich comes with chunks of chicken dressed in a healthy layer of barbecue sauce. The photos of this sandwich make it look like one heck of a saucy good time, but in fact, it's the opposite. The chicken chunks fall on the dry side, and there's nothing else on the sandwich to offset the texture. You'd think the heaping amount of barbecue sauce would assist in offering some hefty moisture, but the sauce never seems to penetrate the chicken and just coats the outside of each piece. The sauce doesn't taste terrible, but it doesn't have nearly enough of a zesty kick.
Fried Pickles
Pickles are one of those ingredients that act like little culinary superheroes when it comes to helping to offset any rich flavors a dish might suffer from. The vinegary bite that a pickle offers slices right through an oily, overwhelming taste with ease, allowing your palate to never feel like it's overflowing with a greasy sensation. At Lee's, pickle enthusiasts have the option to order up a batch of fried pickles. Frying these vinegary spears is a unique way to have the richness of the deep fry and the sharp bite of a pickle all in one experience. But this isn't the experience you're going to write home about once it's over.
Maybe you've seen fried pickles before in the form of chips. A lot of restaurants will dice the pickles into little coins before dropping them into a jacuzzi of hot oil. Lee's, however, fries the whole spear. The issue with these is the amount of fried breading on each spear. There's too much of it, and the grease from the crispy batter ends up completely overtaking the zesty flavor of the pickles. Your palate is slammed with an oily flavor but never quite gets that relief of the vinegar it wants so badly. These pickles basically defeat their own purpose. Fried pickles are a great idea, but when the execution is this poor, they're not worth ordering.
Spicy Jumbo Dippers
Not everyone enjoys a blast of spice in their meal, but those who love to tempt their taste buds with some heat know just how many rungs up the flavor ladder a great punch of pepper can give a meal. If you're looking to wake that palate up a bit with some fiery flavor, your attention might wander to Lee's Spicy Jumbo Dippers, served as a basket of boneless fried chicken with a kick of heat. Sadly, if you're a heat seeker, this is one menu item that will do nothing except disappoint you.
First of all, we need to get one thing straight so there's no confusion: The quality of the chicken and the flavoring here is pretty solid. That's not the issue. The chicken is fairly juicy and there isn't an overwhelming amount of breading. It's the lack of heat that causes the issue. When you read the word "spicy" on a menu, you should be able to expect whatever item that describes will, in fact, taste spicy. And when you're craving something hot and get the opposite, it really doesn't matter if the rest of the dish is clicking. The Jumbo Dippers lack that one aspect spicy food fans crave, and that makes the entire experience a bummer. There's a slight tinge of heat here, but not enough to deserve the word "spicy."
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Mashed potatoes and gravy are two best friends that need to stick together. Mashed potatoes on their own have a wonderfully silky, coat-your-mouth texture that can add much comfort to a meal. But when you splash a really well-made gravy on top, they reach a new level of flavor altogether. The combination pairs well with fried chicken, so you bet your bottom dollar that Lee's offers customers mashed potatoes and gravy as a side dish. But before you start feeling any enthusiasm, just know you'll likely feel a bit slighted by this menu item.
The texture of Lee's mashed taters is perfectly fine. They're wonderfully soft and delicate and almost melt in your mouth. That's how a bowl of mashed potatoes should feel. However, the gravy here tastes like it's overflowing with a week's worth of sodium. As soon as the goopy brown stuff hits your taste buds, you'll be grabbing some water to offset the extreme salt taste. You can almost feel your blood pressure spike after each bite. Pairing this side dish with an already-salty piece of fried chicken makes for too much sodium to enjoy.
Fried Livers
Liver is one of those foods that is extremely polarizing. Just the word alone is enough to freak some people out, and the taste can be slightly metallic, which is enough of a reason for many people to avoid the stuff. But for those who do enjoy liver, they're able to look past the off-putting word and enjoy the densely rich texture and intense taste. At Lee's, customers have the option to snag themselves an order of fried livers. Now, if you're a huge fan of liver, this might not be a bad option. But you really have to love the stuff. Everyone else should stay away.
To say Lee's fried livers taste intense is a gross understatement. Even fans of the food might find themselves unable to enjoy the rich taste. Liver on its own can be overwhelmingly rich, but when the pieces emerge from the deep fryer with a layer of fried batter, the richness increases tenfold, and that's when things can get a little aggressive. The texture of the liver is creamy, as it should be. The creaminess works really well when paired with the crispy batter, but that metallic taste is really strong and not everyone is prepared for it.
Chicken Sliders
When you're not really feeling up to tackling an entire sandwich but still want something with a bun, the slider swoops in like a superhero to give you exactly what you crave. Sliders are small, so they won't overwhelm you. You can enjoy one of them and still have enough room in your stomach for other items you're in the mood for. Lee's offers up its chicken sliders to anyone who wants a tiny handheld vessel of flavor, and even though they won't blow your socks off, they do a solid job of delivering some good flavors.
Each sandwich comes with a breaded filet of chicken, pickles, and a chipotle ranch sauce. The chicken is super crispy and decently juicy. There's something about biting into fried chicken and really hearing the sound of the crunch that makes it even tastier. The pickles do their due diligence to help offset some of the richness from the chicken's fried batter and the chipotle mayo. While the mayo isn't as spicy as you might like, it lends a creaminess that works really well against the crispness of the chicken skin. Overall, these sliders will satisfy your craving for a fried chicken sandwich. Plus, if you love the flavor, you can eat two or three without bursting your stomach.
Macaroni and cheese
Few foods warm both the stomach and the soul quite like a hot bowl of macaroni and cheese. When the right amount of love goes into it, macaroni and cheese hits a massive grand slam in the gooiest way possible. Macaroni and cheese is one of the most popular comfort foods out there, so it makes sense that Lee's offers it on the menu. The creaminess pairs really well with the crispiness of fried chicken, and that's a one-two punch of winning textures. If you love all things macaroni and cheese, you should definitely order up a side of it the next time you're here.
The very first thing you notice when the mac and cheese hits the table is the vibrant yellow color. We eat with our eyes before our mouths, and this color alone screams "delicious." The pasta is cooked really well and never suffers from an overly al dente texture. In terms of the cheesiness, the cheddar does a wonderful job of clinging to every noodle. Other iterations of mac 'n' cheese can occasionally have a runny consistency and pool up at the bottom of the bowl, but here it sticks to the pasta like glue, ensuring that every bite packs in as much cheesy goodness as possible.
Chicken pot pie
Whenever we think of pie, we usually envision a sweet after-dinner treat with a delicate, flaky crust and a rich, decadent filling. When someone busts out a fresh apple pie after a meal, it's almost impossible to resist a slice no matter how stuffed you are from the entrée. But just because we normally associate pie with dessert, that doesn't mean all pies belong after the main course. Lee's has a chicken pot pie on the menu for anyone craving a savory pie, and this thing does a bang-up job of delivering awesome chicken flavor.
Just about every aspect of this pie is worth your money. The outer crust is buttery, flaky, and the perfect thickness. You don't feel like you get an overwhelming amount of crust in each bite, but there's enough of it so that buttery flavor adds an additional layer of goodness to all the ingredients nestled inside. Once you break through that tasty exoskeleton, you're treated to a bouquet of tender veggies and chicken that melt with every bite. The peas and carrots are super soft, and the chicken nearly dissolves from juiciness. This pie more than deserves your hard-earned money.
Pecan pie
Your body can only take so much savory food before one of two things happens: You either need to stop eating entirely, or you have to change the style of flavor you're shoveling into your mouth. This is where dessert comes into play like a sugary savior. The sweet flavor of something loaded with sugar is such a welcome contrast to any rich and salty tastes dinner provided you with. We all know fried chicken certainly gives you a hefty amount of rich and salty flavors, so do yourself a favor once you're done with your main dishes and snag a slice of pecan pie for a little post-meal treat. You will not regret the decision.
Right away you'll notice how dense the pie is, and that means you're getting the right kind of bang for your buck. You want a dessert that's going to pack a hefty amount of sweet flavor, and that's exactly what this pie does. Each bite sticks to the inside of your mouth and really wallops you with intense pecan flavoring. Loads of brown sugar create an almost caramel-like quality that might leave a smile on your face and happiness in your belly. Because it's so dense, the sweet flavor really hangs around in your mouth long after your last bite, so you get to bask in its memory after you begin your journey back home. This is the kind of dessert you return to Lee's for.
Classic fried chicken
It's safe to assume a large fraction of the people who end up standing in line at Lee's do so because they crave fried chicken: Famous fried chicken, that is. Lee's serves up a ton of chicken, from breasts to drumsticks to tenders. The chicken is always fresh and never frozen, and before it's hand-breaded in the restaurant's signature blend of herbs and spices, it's dunked in honey to imbue it with some seriously sweet flavor. This is the stuff foodies dream about.
Fried chicken is the star of the show at Lee's, and every bite you take proves it. The breading on the outside has the perfect crunch. It's super crispy and delicate, and it's not too thick, either. You never feel like you're eating more fried batter than chicken meat. The breading is rich and salty, and the underlying honey sweetness perfectly offset the saltiness. Once you break through the crunchy, flavor-packed epidermis, the chicken underneath erupts with juices. The meat just falls apart on your tongue, and the contrast of the crunchy skin and the soft white protein creates a textural bliss. Do not leave Lee's until you've treated yourself to at least one piece of this chicken.