Crack Shack
 

Good quality, crispy, southern fried chicken can never be turned down. A trip to Las Vegas gives a lot of opportunities to seek out the good stuff. There are a number of decent chicken joints springing up around town. A notable mention goes to Bruxie - if you are after a good chicken waffle sandwich - head there!

On a recent trip to Vegas Crack Shack took my fancy. This is one of six locations for the chain which promises to elevate free-range chicken, and boy do they!

One wet (yes it does rain in Vegas) night we headed for the bright lights of comfort food. You order at a counter as you head inside. You may need a minute or two to digest the menu.

Order placed, we sat looking out at the Strip. Drinks arrived swiftly, and we settled waiting for our buzzer to vibrate contemplating which sauces from the sauce bar to try - all of them of course. Don’t expect waiter service here!

It’s always difficult to not over order food in a place like this, so I am glad we went hungry. The Other Cluck portion of the menu has smaller bites and sides. Devilled eggs are trendy right now, and these promised bite-sized portions of breakfast - they were topped with French Toast crumble and crispy bacon.

The highlight was the chicken oysters. As any cunning chef knows - these are the two pieces of brown meat found on the underside of a chicken and should be snaffled from any roast bird before it leaves the kitchen as a chef’s treat. Here they are brined to make them even more tender and then deep-fried with kale. That makes them kind of healthy, right?

For the main event, we went for a mixed five-piece and a sandwich - the Double Clucker. Safe to say neither of these dishes are first date foods. You need to get in there and get your hands dirty!

We had the chicken pieces tossed in the sweet heat sauce. The chicken was tender and you could definitely tell the difference in quality between this and some high street chains. The coating was perfectly crispy and the sweet heat an excellent back note. Ranch sauce was the preferred dip, but the chicken remained centre stage

The burger was very messy to eat and very filling but delivered on the menu description. There were two generous chicken burgers topped with cheddar, bacon, avocado, burger sauce, pickles and fried onions all served in a toasted potato roll.

Decent quality fried chicken, and extensive beer menu, and a fantastic people-watching location on the Las Vegas Strip. Put this place on your list for your next visit.