The Unsung Southern Fried Chicken Chain Customers Love For Its Loaded Mac And Cheese Bowls

Consult any diehard fan and you'll discover that not all fried chicken is created equal. From Huey Magoo's (affectionately known as the "Filet Mignon of Chicken") to fan favorite Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, every beloved Southern chain is bringing something unique to the table. But, when a mac and cheese craving strikes, the destination has to be Slim Chickens ... that is, if you're lucky enough to live near one. The Slim Chickens menu centers around its hand-breaded tenders, which are made from 100% all-natural ingredients. The tenders get soaked in a Southern-style buttermilk marinade and freshly breaded to order, and it's those tenders that set the chain's ultra-creamy mac and cheese apart from other competitor offerings.

Slim Chickens' Tender Mac & Cheese Bowl comes topped with chopped pieces of hand-breaded chicken tenders and a generous serving of shredded cheese. The bowl is also available (for the same price) in a hotter version that features spicy tenders. The chain's Buffalo Mac & Cheese Bowl ups the ante even further, adding fried onions and scallions to the mix and covering the whole thing in both Buffalo and Cayenne Ranch sauces. The Buffalo-flavored bowl is also offered in a zestier version that includes spicy breaded tenders.

On TikTok, user @gristlemedia reviews the chain's Tender Mac & Cheese Bowl, giving it an 8.5 out of 10 rating. The taste-tester waxes poetic with descriptors like "creamy," "thick," and "satisfying," ultimately concluding, "THAT is how a chicken place should do mac and cheese." The comments section of the TikTok video is filled with similarly enthusiastic praise for the menu offering. "Their Mac & cheese is superior," writes one customer, and another adds, "Slim Chickens is better than Raising Cane's."

This regional fried chicken chain's national presence may be a lot smaller than Church's and Popeyes. But, as Anthony Bourdain knew well, the mac and cheese from a fried chicken joint is an entity unto itself — a thing of beauty, if done right — and according to fans, Slim Chickens is serving up loaded mac bowls that leave competitor chains in the dust. Elsewhere on social media, a Facebook post sounds off adulation for the Buffalo version of Slim Chickens' mac and cheese bowl. "Y'all did NOT lie about this one!!! 10/10," the poster writes. "Mac n cheese tastes homemade!!!" 

There are currently 214 Slim Chickens locations in the U.S. (as per data analytics firm ScrapeHero), the bulk of which (34) are in Texas. The remaining 180 locations are scattered across 32 other states, distributed in handful-sized smatterings few and far between. In other words, if you happen to live near a Slim Chickens, you belong to a minority demographic and you are the envy of chicken fans nationwide. Foodies in a Reddit thread are already lamenting what they will do if the Buffalo-flavored mac and cheese bowls are ever pulled from the Slim Chickens menu (no signs of discontinuation in sight for now, but still). According to fans, it's that good. Perhaps best of all, the price is right, too. At a Slim Chickens location in Houston, Texas, the Buffalo Mac & Cheese Bowl Meal (which comes with Texas toast and a medium drink) currently costs $9.99. The Tender Mac & Cheese Bowl Meals run for $8.99.