Recently, there has been a trending debate brewing among the walls of Charlottesville High School between two chicken places. The Raising Cane’s versus Zaxby’s debate is heating up by the minute. These two restaurants have taken over the Charlottesville “Chicken Strip” which consists of four restaurant chains: KFC, Popeyes, Cane’s and Zaxby’s.
Despite offering largely the same menu, the two chicken joints contrast one another. Raising Cane’s is universally known for their unique texas toast, and their special “Canes Sauce,” which keeps the customers coming back. Having the perfect sense of crispiness, the Canes toast is the best option within 20 miles of Central Virginia. One of the unknown secrets of Canes is the sandwich combo, but using toast as the bread. The more controversial options on the menu are the chicken and french fries. The chicken is rather soft, and seemingly undercooked, especially compared to its new competitor Zaxby’s. The most underrated portion of a Canes meal? Easily their ice. Their ice adds an element that most restaurants do not have. Overall, though, the atmosphere combined with the scrumptious texas toast will keep customers coming back, regardless of the new competition just down the road.
Zaxby’s strengths contrast those of Canes. Their fries, in my opinion, surpass canes significantly. Although both crinkle cut, Zaxby’s fries surpass Canes primarily due to the portion size and the seasoning. Canes skinny french fries fail to fulfill my appetite, whereas I was not even able to finish my fries from Zaxbys. The other strength of Zaxbys is purely their chicken. Although it doesn’t have the same satisfaction of being able to use Canes sauce, the crispiness satisfies the customer much more than that of Canes. The downfall though, is the horrendous toast. Zaxby’s toast is no better than getting a slice of white bread and sticking it in the toaster at home. This not only makes for a worse meal, but also limits the options for combos, as the sandwich combo is not nearly as satisfying.
The two chains will both have plenty of success on the Charlottesville “Chicken Strip,” but in my opinion Canes gets the slight edge. The texas toast is an absolute game changer. Look for Zaxbys to take over as the most popular restaurant on the strip, though, as Charlottesvillians could ultimately value their chicken and fries over the rest of the meal.