Ray Charles Reportedly Said The Best Chicken-Fried Steak Came From This Now-Struggling Chain Restaurant

When it came to meat, the late Ray Charles was a big fan of chicken-fried steak — a Southern comfort food of fried steak topped with delicious gravy. In fact, during one particular show years ago, he just had to have it. Speaking to the San Diego Reader in 2011, Brian Lewis, the manager of New York's Humphrey's bar and concert showcase, recalled having to fetch Charles the dish from a now-struggling breakfast chain, as they were unable to make it in-house.

"Ray Charles was doing two back-to-back shows on the same night," Lewis shared. "In the middle of the first show, his manager told me, 'Ray wants a chicken-fried steak. And he wants two orders of it as soon as he comes offstage, before he goes on for the second show.'" After learning from the on-site chef that he couldn't make it, Lewis and his team rushed to Denny's for an order, which they re-plated and served to the unsuspecting Charles. "He said it was the best he ever had," Lewis revealed.

Of course, Charles seemed to have a thing for fried food in general. His favorite Creole restaurant in New Orleans was Dooky Chase's Restaurant, which he referenced in his 1961 hit "Early in the Morning." His favorite dish at the venue was red beans and rice with, you guessed it, fried chicken. Even years after his passing, Charles' red beans and rice is still available on the restaurant's lunch menu and comes with two pieces of fried chicken and one side. Still, for Charles, nothing beats a Denny's chicken fried steak.

When we ranked seven restaurant chains to find out which served the best chicken-fried steak, we, too, were big fans of Denny's version. In addition to appreciating that the dish was available both as a breakfast with eggs and hash browns and as a dinner with two sides, customers enjoy the chicken's crunchy exterior and flavorful coating. "Denny's actually has a fire chicken fried steak," one Reddit user proclaimed, and we (along with Charles) concur.

Back in the day, Denny's — which took the entertainment world by storm — was one of the few breakfast-focused chains around. And the brand had the clientele to show for it. However, after several decades of service, this once-thriving chain is no longer at its prime. In fact, in late 2025, as consumers shifted their attention to healthier options and trendy, local cafés, Denny's announced plans to close over 150 locations to combat a slump in sales. Since then, in an apparent effort to revive the restaurant, an investor group purchased the chain for $620 million.