1635 E Baseline Rd, Ste 105, Phoenix, AZ 85042
Review Highlights
Know Before You Go
Harold’s Chicken Shack Restaurant Review
They kept telling me about Chicago-style chicken. So, today I checked out the legendary Harold’s Chicken Shack in Phoenix! The main cross streets are 16th Street and Baseline. It is located in a strip mall. An easy way to tell these guys are from Chicago… pizza puffs are on the menu.
Weapons are not allowed on the premises.
The restaurant is small. Seating is limited. The core operation appears to be set up primarily for takeout orders. For example, the food is served in a bag. Most of the drinks are canned. There is no soda fountain. There is no bathroom. You will not see napkins or condiments on any table.
At Harold’s Chicken, the food is made fresh. On the menu, there is a sign that says, “Wait Time approx. 20min/order.”
When you visit Harold’s Chicken Shack, they may present various wing flavor options: plain, mild, hot, lemon pepper. First-timers should get the “mild sauce on top.” This style of fried chicken is what made Harold’s legendary.
The main push is to sell the wing dinners because it’s on the upper left side of the menu. So, I chose the 8-wing dinner. It is not stated anywhere on the menu, but the dinners include fries and a slice of bread.
My order took about 15 minutes to prepare. As stated, when the food is ready, it will be served “to go” in a double bag: one plastic, one paper.
The food was, no doubt, Justin Leonard Approved. In addition to the 8-wing dinner, I got the Shasta (Kiwi Strawberry) and some type of dessert that was similar to strawberry cheesecake, but not quite the real deal. FYI: The dinners do not include drinks.
Even though I got the mild sauce on top, parts of the chicken were unsauced (this is normal), which gave me a chance to try it plain. It reminded me of Popeye’s, even by appearance of the breading. Not an exact match, but close.
Harold’s mild sauce just made the chicken better. It is similar to a standard sweet and sour… with maybe a hint of ketchup. I would describe the volume of mild sauce on the chicken as being the perfect amount. Overly complicated individuals can also specify light sauce, extra sauce, or sauce on the side.
Buried under the 8 wings were fries and a slice of bread. You can also specify, “bread on top.”
I don’t know where they found these rare Shasta flavors. But they had some stuff you typically don’t find in stores. I didn’t see the regular Shasta Cola flavor.
There were a few options for dessert: Three large butter cookies, pound cake, and not exactly strawberry cheesecake (but good). I would describe it as a simple no egg, no-bake refrigerator cheesecake made with what seemed like a dense whipped cream and cream cheese blend.
Harold’s Chicken Shack is old school. Trendsetters typically don’t copy. So, I was not surprised to see that there were no chicken tenders or chicken sandwiches on the menu. They just do what has worked since 1950, when the great Harold Pierce founded the restaurant. Peace.
