Louisiana Fried Chicken: Good Chicken Average Sides

Restaurant: Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken
Address: 2001 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 9/21/16

UPDATE 8/21/17: The same owners have a new location at FM 1464 and Bellaire near Aliana. Went and got two pieces with a friend a few weeks back. We enjoyed the chicken.

Background:
Salam/hey guys! This review will consist of another addition to the halal fried chicken scene in Houston: Louisana Famous Fried Chicken. For the past 5 years, there has been a boom in the availability of halal fried chicken among the major chain restaurants across America. In the Houston area, this is the fourth chain restaurant to feature halal chicken. This however is the first one to have a FULLY halal menu, including the sides. At KFC (now only the FM 529 location), only the bone-in chicken and some of the sides are halal. At Church's Chicken (only halal location is now in Pearland), only the bone-in was halal, like KFC. Finally at Frenchy's at the Beltway and Richmond, all the chicken was halal, but only two sides. This is also the only chain to have more than one halal location (the other halal location is on Veterans Memorial)
Now I know about this place for two reasons: 1) the heavy promotion of it on Facebook, and 2) me receiving an email from them about trying it out. Now I got to go here because of a contest that was taking place by Sister Sadaf of "My Culinary Adventures" (website: http://www.sadafsculinaryadventures.com/). I participated in it and won $25 worth of food. So before heading for my 6 PM class, I decided to go there.



Let The Experience Begin!
The restaurant is located right next to I-45 on Fannin. It's very tricky to get to the restaurant if you're not coming from UH, where you have to turn onto St Joseph or Pease from I-45 to get to Fannin, or from downtown, where you have to just turn onto Fannin. Oh, and if you're not in the left most lane at the Pierce intersection, good luck trying to turn around. It's a pain in the butt. Once you get inside, you don't feel as if you're in a normal fast food place. It was sparkling clean. I then got a message on Snapchat from my friend asking if he could come along. I said yes (BIG MISTAKE). At the last minute, they said they couldn't make it. So I decided to make the order



Let's Eat!
I ordered dirty rice, fried chicken with bread rolls, a cup of gumbo, and coleslaw. The fried chicken was enough to share with everyone. It was also filling. So $20 for that amount of food was a good bargain.



Menu: https://www.facebook.com/pg/lfcfannin/menu/?p_ref=pa&ref=page_internal
Not only is there fried chicken, there are Cajun options as well such as gumbo and jambalaya! It was nice to see that there was a halal version of dirty rice, since it usually contains pork. I find it interesting how they have fried rice on the menu.

The Verdict:
The chicken is really good. We really enjoyed it. The gumbo was good as well. The dirty rice and the coleslaw could have been better. No complaints about the service at the restaurant. I appreciate them for being patient.



Conclusion:
Louisiana Fried Chicken has great chicken. They also have a halal location at Veterans Memorial Drive. I'd visit this location again for the fried chicken and also try their jambalaya. I hope they get more halal locations.



Grading:
Service: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 16/20 = 80% (B)
Pricing: $ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Louisiana Fried Chicken
2001 Fannin Drive, Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: (713) 497-5545
Website: none. They have a national website, but none specifically for the Houston location
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lfcfannin/
Timings: Mon-Fri: 10:30 AM - 11 PM; Sat & Sun: 11 AM - 11 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Frenchy's Chicken: Good Chicken, Bad Side

Restaurant: Frenchy's Chicken
Address: 10414 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77042
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 11/5/15

Photo Credit: http://www.blacknews.com/images/frenchys-logo.jpg

UPDATE 8/11/17: The Frenchy's at 7955 Barker Cypress Road (Barker Cypress near Longenbaugh) uses halal chicken! They have a two piece for $1.49 deal, which is great! Had them a few days back and it was awesome.

Background:
Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my latest review. Today I will be reviewing a fast food place that has it's first location that serves halal meat: Frenchy's. Frenchy's is like a Cajun version of KFC. And interestingly, it is based here in Houston. They started off in the Third Ward and have grown with locations in the city and one location in Beaumont. It was only a few months ago where they announced that all their chicken items were halal. This was welcoming news as the Church's Chicken n Sugar Land had stopped serving halal chicken earlier this year as well as Church's all over Houston. I had made it a point to give the place a try. The time came before I headed to the University of Houston to hang out with one of my best friends since it was his birthday. After finishing for the week at Prairie View A&M, I went to the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
The Frenchy's is located at the gas station on the intersection of Beltway 8 and Richmond. It is attached to the convenience store. I asked about the halal meat, and it was everything! This is better than KFC, where only the bone in pieces are halal. However, the only halal sides are the fries and the mashed potatoes WITHOUT the gravy. It was very nice of them to tell what the halal items were. After looking at the menu, I was ready to order.



Let's Eat!
I ordered the king special, which consisted of three wings, two dark pieces, and fries. To drink, I got water. I paid a price of $10.98. The waiting time was 4 minutes and 23 seconds.



Menu: http://www.frenchyschicken.com/menu
Well, it's a lot like your average fried chicken place, where you have the sides, the chicken, and the drink. The prices are reasonable. A major difference is that you can't tell them whether you want the chicken grilled or fried unlike KFC.

The King Special

The Verdict:

The chicken was actually good. It wasn't as crunchy as KFC, but it was still good. You can definitely taste the Cajun spices when you bite the chicken The fries however were a completely different story. The fries reminded me of Elevation Burger's fries: mostly soggy. I got the BBQ sauce and had some with both items. The BBQ sauce was pretty good. Overall, one thumb up for the chicken and one thumb down for the fries.

The service was great! The people were really nice and they actually helped me out about the halal items. Everything was done professionally, which was rare for a fast food place.

Conclusion:

I would come back only for their chicken. I could definitely make multiple trips here since it is really close to where my internship is when I return to it in the summer. If you want some halal fried chicken that isn't KFC, then you should totally come out and give this place a try! Now that a Frenchy's has halal chicken, let's see whether Raising Canes or Popeye's locations would start serving halal chicken or not.

Grading: 

Service: 9/10

Food: 6/10

Total: 15/20 = 75% (C)

Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information: 

Frenchy's Chicken
10414 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77042
Phone: (713) 784-2117
Website: http://www.frenchyschicken.com/
Timings: Mon-Thu: 10:30 AM - 10 PM; Fri-Sun: 10:30 AM - 11 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

RELOCATED- Fish Skillet- Now Dat is Something Ya Don't See Everyday

Restaurant- Fish Skillet
Original Address: 19221 West Little York Road, Katy, Texas 77449
Buffet or A-la-Carte: A-la-Carte
Date of Visit: 7/9/2013

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UPDATE 8/10/15: They're now open on W Houston Center Boulevard and Richmond Avenue! Everything is halal. I got the chicken, beef sausage and shrimp gumbo, garlic bread, blackened chicken, jambalaya rice, a sauce, and hush puppies. The garlic bread, gumbo, and jambalaya rice were really good. The sauce and the chicken tasted great together, considering the fact that the chicken barely had flavor. The hush pupped were overcooked.
The service was excellent. The people were very nice and helpful. They always had a smile on their faces.

Top left: garlic bread. Top right: gumbo. Bottom: hush puppies, blackened chicken, sauce, jambalaya rice with no meat, garlic bread.

New Grading:
Service: 9/10
Food: 7.5/10
Total: 16.5/20 = 82.5% (B)

New Restaurant Information:

Fish Skillet
12289 W Houston Center Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77082
Phone: (281) 741-7165
Website: http://www.fishskillethouston.com/
Timings --> Mon-Sat: 10:30 AM - 9 PM; Sun: 11 AM - 8 PM
Delivery available

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UPDATE 4/4/2014: This place has closed down. Sad to see it go. Gonna be a long wait to find a place that serves some halal jambalaya and gumbo 


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**ORIGINAL POST**

WARNING: THIS POST MAY CAUSE A FEELING OF HUNGER WHILE FASTING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Background:

Salam/Hello guys! Ramadan Kareem to all who follow it! Today's review is something that is unique. Yes today's review is Fish Skillet. What makes this unique you ask? The answer: Cajun food! For those who don't know what it is, Cajun food is the food from the Francophone (French speaking) region of Acadiana in Louisiana. Because of its proximity to Houston, Cajun food is very popular and can be found in many restaurants. There are even frozen Cajun meals that are available for purchase at the grocery stores. The big problem with Cajun food is that pork is very popular with Cajun cuisine. For example, dirty rice has pork pieces, and so does jambalaya and gumbo in other restaurants. Not in this place though! This restaurant has been open for only a month now, so I am assuming this is the first full review for this restaurant.
I had my summer school physics final in a few hours at the local community college and decided to fill up before I took it. I wasn't craving for the usual chicken from KFC or a gyro from Fatoush. I was in the mood of something that was different from the norm. Then I discovered this place, which was only 15 minutes from the community college. After packing up and reading the last of my notes, I went to the restaurant.

Let The Experience Begin:

Fish Skillet is located at the intersection of West Little York and Greenhouse Road. It is located in one of the many strip malls that are present in Houston. The ambiance was like a typical diner. You have tables with chairs and there is a TV. The TV was showing CNN's nonstop coverage of the Trayvon Martin trial. The owner was at the cashier and welcomed me to the restaurant. To be sure, I asked whether the restaurant was halal, and it was. Then came one of my friends from UH. It turned out that his uncle owns the place. Quite interesting. The menu was located on the wall, so I decided to order from there.

Let's Eat!

There were so many options on the menu that it took me a couple of minutes to actually decide what to take. I ended up taking the chicken & seafood gumbo along with the chicken jambalaya rice. Gumbo is a special soup that is very popular in Cajun cuisine. To drink, I chose water as I prefer not to drink Coke products. The price was really good: $8.65 (tax included). While waiting for the food, I sat down and chatted with my friend. He wanted to know what classes he should take for his petroleum engineering major and also inquired about the physics class I was taking at the local community college. He also explained to me that the goal of the restaurant is to provide a halal alternative to a popular cuisine, and that it is difficult to get South Asian families to eat at the restaurant as they would prefer eating at the nearest South Asian restaurant, Khan BBQ and Grill. The wait was decent, 5 minutes and 21 seconds.

Menu: The menu can be found here. PDF required to view -->http://fishskilletseafood.com/menu

Gumbo and Jambalaya with garlic bread.

The Verdict:

Frankly saying, this was an adequate meal. The garlic bread was good, and the Gumbo was gratifying. The gumbo included crab meat, shrimp, chicken, and beef sausage. The broth was cooked perfectly and there was a lot of flavor in the seafood and the chicken. The Jambalaya was a completely different story. Firstly, THERE WAS NO CHICKEN IN THE JAMBALAYA. I understand that this is a new business, but it is important that the order should not mess up because the customers would be dissatisfied. Secondly, the jambalaya was too spicy. I found it very difficult to chew and swallow it down. The spices were so pungent that I had to take deep breaths in order to take bites. Both were washed down with a nice, cold bottle of water.

Conclusion:

Despite the good prices, Fish Skillet has some work to do. First, they should learn to not mess up orders otherwise their business would suffer. Second, MAKE THE JAMBALAYA LESS SPICY. You could do so by putting less pepper or adding more rice. This lapse was made up by the really tasty gumbo. Make the gumbo exactly how I had it, and customers would be pleased. I will give this restaurant a break because it is still in the process of establishing, and is also hiring. I will definitely come back and try the other food again though, and I hope the order would not mess up.

Grading:

Service: 9/10 (only problem was the botched order)

Food: 8.5/10 (gumbo was excellent but jambalaya was too spicy)

Waiting time: 10/10 (5 minutes and 21 seconds = efficient)

Total 27.5/30 = 91.6% (A)

Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information:

Fish Skillet
19221 West Little York Road, Katy, Texas 77449
Phone: (281) 912-7323
Website: http://fishskilletseafood.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fish-Skillet-Seafood/548687161814572
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FishSkillet
Timings --> Sun-Thu: 11 AM - 10 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM
Caters: Yes
Delivery also available

Feel Free To Comment Below!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed