Raising Cane's Wins First-Ever Mashelin Award For Best Fried Chicken Sandwich

If there's one fast food menu item to order when you're getting hangry in the drive-thru, it's a fried chicken sandwich. Every chain has its own spin on this staple, varying the condiments, toppings, bread, and style. To help you wade through all of that poultry, the Mashed Bros (Brian and Scott Wilson) set out on a mission to name the best-tasting fast food fried chicken sandwich.

The Mashed Bros looked for several qualities as they sampled chicken sandwiches. First, they assessed the chicken for outer crispiness and inner moistness. They also preferred to see shiny buns with a "glassy finish." The toppings and fixings were the final elements in their rating system. After driving to 21 different chains, the Mashed Bros awarded Raising Cane's with the first-ever Mashelin Award, determining that this business had achieved chicken sandwich mastery, meeting all of their criteria and beyond.

The Raising Cane's sandwich was praised for its simplicity in ingredients and for featuring a substantial amount of chicken and toppings. Instead of a chicken patty or large slab of meat, this sandwich comes with three Raising Cane's chicken fingers, Cane's sauce, and lettuce on a toasted bun.

When the Mashed Bros had their first bite of the Raising Cane's fried chicken sandwich, the first word out of their mouths was, "Whoa!" It immediately stood apart from the other sandwiches that Brian and Scott Wilson sampled, due to its crispy, plump, juicy chicken and secret sauce.

Raising Cane's was the recipient of the first-ever MashelinAward primarily because of its outstanding chicken. Brian pointed to the "threads" and "fibers" that you can see inside a piece of real, quality chicken – this is what makes Raising Cane's chicken so delicious, after all. "There's a boat-load of nasty chicken out there masquerading as a quality sandwich," he said. "The fibers and 'thread count' or whatever is just an easy way to recognize if you're eating school meat baloney-chicken or actual chicken." 

While Raising Cane's was the clear winner in their chicken sandwich taste test, the Bros agreed that CityBird and Church's Texas Chicken weren't far behind. Scott noted, "I wish there was an award for like 'the best except we liked someone a little more.'"