This Fast Food Chain "Puts Chick-fil-A's Sauce to Shame," Reviewer Says

Most anyone who's ever tasted a chicken nugget knows a delicious dip is half the equation. So while many Chick-fil-A fans uphold the chicken chain's sauce above all others, one reporter on a travel mission scouted a sauce that he says knocks Chick-fil-A sauce out of the top spot.

If you know, you know: Chick-fil-A's honey mustard has such a distinct taste that lots of customers use it to immerse not only their chicken, but also Chick-fil-A's waffle fries. Now a food reviewer has made a chance discovery of a Southern-based fast food chain, also specializing in chicken, whose sauce apparently deserves more attention.

Insider reporter Frank Olito recently ventured from his hometown of New York to the Midwest, apparently on a mission to learn more about other culture in other parts of the country. While some critics are suggesting that the native New Yorker's observations are a little overgeneralized, one of his takeaways made us look.

Initially, Olito explored three fast food franchises simply to pin down which had the best chicken tenders: Steak 'n Shake (headquartered in Illinois), the Wisconsin-based Culver's (which is loved in different parts of the Midwest), and Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, with its Louisiana roots. He reported that of the three, Culver's served the best chicken tenders, while he was disappointed that Raising Cane's came with much of the breading falling off. The full review of Raising Cane's chicken tenders:

For me, the breading is one of the most important components of a chicken tender. The fact that the breading didn't stay on the chicken suggested to me it was quite soggy. The chicken itself tasted very fresh and delicious, but it didn't make up for the lack of crunch.

What did seem to make up for the underwhelming Raising Cane's experience was the brand's sauce. "The sauce was delicious," Olito says. "In my opinion, Raising Cane's sauce puts Chick-fil-A's sauce to shame."

So what characteristics of Raising Cane's sauce make it such a worthy rival? Some brief online research reveals that Raising Cane's sauce is a favorite for copycats. Some seem to suggest that Raising Cane sauce is a simple combination of ketchup (sometimes specified as exclusively Heinz), mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, and—nodding to Raising Cane's Louisiana origin—creole seasoning, such as Tony Chachere's in specific.

Raising Cane's sauce sounds like a formula that could be worth testing—but if you're looking to keep summer simple, Walmart's selling some of Chick-fil-A's bottled sauces.

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