Rock stars of rotisserie chicken, C.R. Chicks has been dedicated to crafting ridiculously tender, beautifully seasoned birds since 1992. And they rarely tinker with perfection, making very few alterations or additions to their menu — until now.
Now they are taking a walk on the wild side. The hot honey chicken sandwich wild side.
It’s the first new offering from the beloved local chain in approximately four years, says owner Jonathan Luther, who (along with Jon Luther Sr., Dan Bowers, Cole Sones and Thompson Whitney Blake) purchased the restaurant in early 2024.
Introduced in January (yes, I’m a little behind on this one), Luther said its popularity is soaring. Of Chicks’ four regular sandwiches, the chicken breast sandwich, meatloaf sandwich, chicken salad sandwich and the BBQ pulled chicken sandwich, hot honey is “outpacing two and behind two.”
“It’s pretty well received… people seem to like it,” he said.
Enough with the introduction and history lesson. What about the sandwich?
First off, this is not some premade chicken that they scoop out of a cold bin and slap on a bun. Come on. This is C.R. Chicks.
The hot honey chicken sandwich features white meat chicken breast that is pulled off the bone and chopped fresh to order, right in front of you. The chop itself is fairly coarse so you’re getting nice chunks of chicken.
It’s then quickly tossed in their made-in-house honey/siracha sauce and placed on a housemade roll before being topped with a small amount of coleslaw and three or four sweet and sour pickles.
On a side note, and I know I’ve used this analogy before, but the guys at C.R. Chicks are truly like a NASCAR or Formula 1 pit crew. They are so fast and efficient that it’s amazing to watch.
Arriving in front of me with my chosen side (horseradish smashers). This is a true sandwich, not something to be handled with dainty fingers.
Wasting no time, I dug in.
Made from the same recipe as the baguette at C.R. Chicks, the bun is perfect. It’s buttery and blissful, not too firm or soft and it never got soggy.
If you’re scared of the ‘hot’ in hot honey, don’t be. This is definitely more on the honey side. There is a very slight amount of heat, but it creates the perfect balance.
The coleslaw is excellent on top and adds a nice layer of crunch and flavor, but those pickles… dang! They take it to the next level! Sweet and sour, with that fantastic crunch… all together it is an excellent bite.
Though it’s selling well, Luther said “We are treating this like an LTO (limited time offer), those typically go quarterly.”
It is currently available at all seven locations through the end of March at which time Luther said they’ll evaluate and decide whether to keep it on the menu.
C.R. Chicks
Where: seven locations in Palm Beach County
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Information: crchicks.com
Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: C.R. Chicks’ new hot honey chicken sandwich is a soaring success
Reporting by Eddie Ritz, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
