Food Network's Guy Fieri opening his Chicken Guy! restaurant at the Mall of America
The menu focuses on freshly prepared chicken tenders, served a la carte or in sandwiches.
Another TV food star is coming to the Mall of America.
Following brick-mortar iterations of "Wahlburgers" and "Cake Boss" (in the form of Carlo's Bakery), Food Network behemoth Guy Fieri plans to open an outlet of his Chicken Guy! mini-chain at the Bloomington mall in early 2020.
"As one of the top tourist attractions in the country, we are thrilled to open our next Chicken Guy! at Mall of America," said Chicken Guy! co-founder, Robert Earl, in a statement. "It is a city within a city, bringing an extensive range of food, shopping and entertainment to visitors from across the globe. We are confident that Chicken Guy! will be a perfect addition to the mall."
The menu focuses on freshly prepared chicken tenders, which follow a brining formula that calls upon lemon juice, buttermilk, pickle brine and herbs. The chicken is pounded and breaded, and then fried or grilled.
The tenders are served in sandwiches (where will it land in the recent Popeyes vs. Chick-fil-A smackdown?), skewers and salad bowls, and paired with a selection of nearly two dozen sauces, from "Nashville Honey Hot" to curry mayonnaise.
Side dishes include seasoned fries, mac-and-cheese, fried pickles and coleslaw, and the dessert menu features vanilla soft serve ice cream topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Apple Jacks breakfast cereals.
The restaurant will be located at Culinary on North, the mall's (new-ish) third-level food court, adjacent to Piada Italian Street Food.
Chicken Guy! (yes, the exclamation point is part of the name) debuted at a Walt Disney World resort in 2018. Two more outlets opened last month, at a Washington, D.C. football stadium and a Miami shopping mall.
Deep-fried puffy tacos, dough ‘knots’ and s’mores ice cream sandwiches scored high on our list.
