This Chicken Item Is The Worst Side On Burger King's Permanent Menu

Hitting the drive-thru? Our ultimate Burger King ordering hack is "skip the chicken fries." In Tasting Table's ranking of eight Burger King sides, the chicken fries landed in sixth place, making them the lowest-rated option on the chain's permanent menu. The crispy tacos and cheddar ranch tots ranked even lower, but luckily, these back-of-the-pack sides are available for a limited time only. As for BK's disappointing chicken fries, we're scratching our heads as to why they landed a tenure spot.

The appeal of Burger King's chicken fries relies heavily on novelty. Breaded chicken strips shaped like French fries offer a playful concept. They're also easily dippable — and, indeed, a generous dunk in sauce is pretty much the only way to make these dried-out sticks palatable, according to our taste-test. "I still found the chicken portion quite dry (if not a bit chewy)," wrote our reviewer. "This side's peppery exterior is only made better with something herby like ranch, Buffalo sauce, or even the sweet tomato-y marinara." Fans of dry, flavorless, unpleasantly chewy chicken will find much to love here. All others, steer clear. They don't really taste like anything. Still, it's worth mentioning that this offering used to have well-deserved hype. At one point, what is now arguably the worst Burger King chicken item even had its own cult following.

For better or worse, chicken fries are one of the most recognizable items on the BK menu. But, apparently, they've fallen off over time. BK first debuted its chicken fries in 2005. For reasons unclear, they went away in 2012 (a controversial move that sparked some backlash from fans) and then returned as a limited-time item in 2014. Since 2015, chicken fries have remained a permanent menu item. According to forlorn fans, however, they simply aren't as good as they used to be.

In a Reddit thread, one user lamented, "Got some chicken fries today they were nothing like I remember. Did they change them within the last couple of years? They use[d] to be so good, the ones today were very bland." A frustrated commenter agreed, "They haven't been really good in a long time. They're just something different to get now." A post in a separate thread echoes similar criticisms: "Very bland. There's no flavor or spice on them. I don't feel like I'm eating chicken when I eat them." We put chicken fries in last place in another BK menu ranking (this time focusing on chicken-based items) for their consistently dry, bland arrival. Foodies are better off sticking to BK's mozzarella fries — the side that ranked first-place in our lineup for its perfectly crisp breading and gooey cheese pull. Plus, the mozzarella fries are roughly the same size and shape as their skippable chicken counterpart.