It's Bo Time!

Delicious Bojangles strikes again. With it’s amazing chicken and impeccably seasoned fries, local favorite Bojangles just hits the spot, even if it may not be as old as some of the other fast food chains. According to Wikipedia, the first Bojangles was opened in 1977 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The restaurant got its name Bojangles because the co-worker heard the famous song “Mr. Bojangles” on the radio and knew instantly that is what they were going to name the restaurant. Ever since then, Bojangles food has been serving up the best fried chicken and french fries in the business. While a lesser known fast food chain than others, it is by far the best.

Bojangles chicken is fried to perfection. Their chicken is always fried the same way every time and it is not like all those other restaurants. McDonald’s, whose breading does not even stick to the chicken, or buffets with chicken, where their breading is all soggy and nasty after sitting in a pan for hours and hours, those restaurants, and more, do not taste as good as Bojangles with their amazing recipe. For those interested, the recipe is as follows, according to Food14.com: “1 whole chicken, cut into pieces, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup of egg shake, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1 quart vegetable oil for frying, 1 tablespoon paprika powder, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper.

Secondly, the seasoned fries are amazing. They have just the right amount of salt and spice. They are not like those greasy fries from McDonald’s that have been soaked in sugar prior to frying or those nasty, crinkly soggy fries from Cookout. They are cooked to perfection. Their seasoning ties the fries together and makes them delicious. The fries are covered with Bojangle’s seasoning as it is called. The Bojangle’s seasoning is made with “Salt, Sugar, Paprika, Spices (Including Celery Seed), Caramel Color (Sulfite), Natural Flavor (Yeast Extract, Natural Flavors), Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Palm Oil, Extractives of Paprika, Dextrose, less than 2% Tricalcium Phosphate added to prevent caking,” according to the Bojangles website.

Another quality that makes Bojangles so good is its sauces. One can not have Bojangles without its famous honey mustard. It is sweet and tangy and goes with all their delicious foods. Currently, there is no recipe for Bojangles famous honey mustard but there are many copycat recipes online if one is interested. One copy cat website has these ingredients listed: “¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon prepared mustard, 1 tablespoon honey, ½ tablespoon lemon juice.” . Bojangles have many other sauces also, like BBQ and ranch, but the honey mustard is by far the best. The fact that they use real honey and not a substitute like high-fructose corn syrup is probably what makes their sauce so great.

Some people may not like Bojangles because it is not the healthiest. Bojangles does not offer a salad option like many other fast food restaurants do. This limits the amount of people who will choose to eat at Bojangles regularly. Another reason people may not go to Bojangles is because of their customer service. Fast food chain restaurants often have crabby workers, but that is anywhere you go. Despite these two flaws, which all restaurants have flaws, Bojangles is an amazing restaurant. A little fried food every once in a while never hurt anybody and bad service is no reason to deny oneself some delicious food.

Airport High School students both like and dislike Bojangles. Tyler D., a senior baseball and football player, says, “I think Bojangles has great fries and chicken, with some good BBQ sauce, and it’s an overall top tier fast food restaurant.” On the other hand, another senior baseball and football player, Bryson M., says, “I don’t really like Bojangles because it has about three total things to pick from on their menu, and they have terrible service.”

Despite mixed feelings from the school population, this critic stands by his assertion. Bojangles, of many fast food restaurants, by far has the most delicious chicken, fries, and honey mustard. Definitely visit a Bojangles restaurant for a Supreme Combo--chicken fingers, fries, and a signature biscuit--if you are ever near one.