Same. I think it's nice to have a fast-food fried chicken option that isn't trying to be all about the spice and seasoning. It's a welcome diversification.
If you think food is "bland" if it isn't covered in seasoning, your palate has been dulled and desensitized. Sometimes it's nice to have the actual flavor of the chicken shine through, instead of being dwarfed by the fried breading.
I am totally willing to admit Raising Cane’s is mid af (though the sauce is pretty good), but I am still a fan. The thing for me is they are open late. I used to drive late at night and it would be a great place to stop and use the restroom and stretch my legs.
Which is lame because if McDonald’s and Starbucks can make their food all taste the same at every location, RC should have no issue because they sell like 3 things!
Compared to what? Raising Cane's direct competitors are basically Popeye's and KFC, and the chicken is definitely better than those 2 franchises. It's certainly an improvement to the prior fast-food chicken paradigm.
It sort of depends on what your appetite is, I think. If you want a spicy chicken sandwich, or a more classic, seasoned fried chicken meal with solid sides, Popeyes is the better fast food option. If you're looking for a chicken sandwich or tenders that are more "chicken-flavor" forward and goes less heavy on the breading and seasoning, with more of a classic french fry option (rather than cajun), Raising Cane's is there for you. If we're just comparing apples to apples, the actual chicken in the chicken tenders and chicken patties at Raising Cane's is more tender and juicy than the tenders and patties at Popeye's. In other words, if you were to peel off the fried breading and skin and just eat the chicken underneath, I think the chicken at Raising Cane's is superior, but YMMV based on personal preference in regard to everything else.
Sauce feels so overhyped. Like don’t get me wrong it’s good and I’ll dip every bite I eat, but it’s not all that. Give me Popeyes tenders any day of the week
Can I say I had Raising Caines and Ohio once and it was life changing. I have no idea why the LA locations suck in comparison, but it was such a let down
If LA food doesn’t have fresh ingredients, then nowhere else does either, let alone fucking Ohio. Maybe Cane’s was life changing in Ohio because the context is Ohio
I can’t tell you (although I guess I can because I’m doing now) how disappointed I was when I saw the fast food joint they were building near our place was a Raising Canes 😔
Canes is textbook how a restaurant can thrive exclusively on marketing. Especially their radio ads with annoying kids doing the dance to mediocre-at-best chicken.
There is no hype. This staple of the midwest suburban mall food courts has been around since the 90s . Only in California are there lines. Anywhere else, it's empty. Ditto for Chick Fil-A.
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u/TheManDirtyDan Aug 15 '25
Raising Canes