Brian L.
Yelp
My lunch here was so good that I wanted to share it with my boss and my family. After I'd finished the job I was in town for, I came back for some carry out. Mike Asters remembered me from lunch and noticed I was back again. He started talking to me and was a really cool guy. He was 19 years old when he and his brother opened this place with his father Constatine. Everyone always called him Connie. Now 40 years later, it's still the same great food, but Mike is just about ready for retirement. He told me that there is nobody to carry out the tradition and he warned me that they won't be open too much longer. It's just gonna shut down and disappear. You better get it while you can! Such a shame to see a successful business close its doors, but I'm thinking there's got to be somebody willing to take it over.
Mike told me they butcher only whole birds that come fresh from the farm. This means that they were literally alive just a few days before being served. The exception would be the tenders which are bought separately. They make their own donuts and they go through hundreds of pounds of onions a week for their onion rings. Breakfast is also huge for them.
This is counter order, counter pickup, clean your own mess. The building reminds me of fast food like a Wendy's. They built it themselves 40 years ago, so it's never been anything else. The staff is super fast and you can easily do a 30 minute lunch break. There is a salad bar that looked pretty good. I can get salad bar anywhere. I wanted something special and their chicken is special!
I'm gonna have to compare it to Gus's, because they are my favorite and the reference I use to judge all others. I think Connie's is bigger meat. The skin is incredible. To me, it's more crispy rather than crunchy. Very light and crisp. The skin reminded me a bit of cracklings. None of it was soggy. The meat was juicy and tender and cooked perfectly. Very clean tasting. Much, much better than KFC, Church's, Popeyes, etc.
Where Gus's chicken is spicy and has that explosion of flavor in every bite, Connie's chicken is lacking in flavor. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I was able to fix it with salt and hot sauce. I think some people may prefer this neutral flavor. My wife and I agree it was very good, but we like Gus's better. By the time Gus's brings your food to you, you would have already finished eating at Connie's. I thought it was just as fresh.
The Mac & Cheese is so delicious that I bought a second side of it after I finished my meal. Mashed potatoes and yeast rolls good, but nothing special. 4 piece mixed, 2 sides, roll, drink, and tax $10. Takeout was another 4 piece with 2 sides, an 8 piece, a large side of mashed taters, large M&C, large gravy, 8 yeast rolls, and tax for $30!
