Kentucky Serendipity

Rooster’s Food is Nothing to Crow About 5 May 2014

Last week a friend invited me to join her for lunch at Rooster’s Wings (124 Marketplace Dr., Lexington, Kentucky). I hadn’t eaten there before, and I hadn’t seen this friend for several weeks, so I accepted. We arrived at the restaurant at about 11:40 AM and were promptly seated. The lunch crowd was arriving, and most of the clientele were males wearing dress shirts and ties. My friend and I spent several minutes perusing the menu and she ordered the Char-Grilled Chicken Salad while I selected the Fried Chicken Salad. The Fried Chicken Salad is described in the menus as:

Fried chicken tenders plain or tossed in your favorite wing sauce nestled on a bed of mixed lettuce with cheddar cheese, cucumber, tomato and red onion.
Half Salad $4.59
Full Salad $7.29

We both ordered the Full Salad rather than the Half. Our orders came promptly and were correct. The salads looked fresh. However, that is the only positive thing I can say about the food.

About three bites into our salads, my friend inquired, “How do you like your bowl of lettuce?” Her description was accurate, for I had been served a bowl of lettuce with two thin strips of chicken (each about 1/2″ wide), two cherry tomatoes, two rings (not slices but rings) of red onion, one cucumber slice and about a teaspoon of grated cheese. It is easy to estimate the amount of cheese as it was all in a lump on the side of the bowl. Her salad was the same except hers had about twice as much cheese as mine. This was a very disappointing chicken salad. I have had chicken salads at many casual and fast food restaurants and this was the most meager one I have ever had. My advice is to avoid Rooster’s. If you have a desire for a chicken salad, try Wendy’s Asian Cashew Chicken Salad or BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad, or McDonald’s Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken. Each of these is a better salad — you get a greater variety of items and more of them than at Rooster’s.

On a positive note, I have to say that the service was excellent. Our server was attentive but did not hover; the food was served quickly and as ordered; and our drinks were refilled without a request. Five stars for the service; two stars for the food.
copyright 2012 by the author