{"id":34997,"date":"2025-10-12T14:11:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T14:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/usa\/i-tried-spicy-chicken-tenders-from-daves-hot-chicken-and-chicken-guy-the-biggest-ones-impressed-me-the-most\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T14:11:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T14:11:22","slug":"i-tried-spicy-chicken-tenders-from-daves-hot-chicken-and-chicken-guy-the-biggest-ones-impressed-me-the-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/usa\/i-tried-spicy-chicken-tenders-from-daves-hot-chicken-and-chicken-guy-the-biggest-ones-impressed-me-the-most\/","title":{"rendered":"I tried spicy chicken tenders from Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken and Chicken Guy. The biggest ones impressed me the most."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ec0a5dbc4fd10daa98be?format=jpeg\" alt=\"chicken guy and daves hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>I tried hot chicken tenders from Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken and Chicken Guy! by Guy Fieri.<\/p>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>I tried hot chicken tenders from two chains: Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken and Guy Fieri&#039;s Chicken Guy!<\/li>\n<li>Guy Fieri&#039;s tenders were perfectly dippable with a subtle spice level.<\/li>\n<li>However, I thought the tenders from Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken were bigger and more flavorful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Chicken tenders are having a moment.<\/p>\n<p>From McDonald&#039;s to Wendy&#039;s and Taco Bell, several fast-food chains have launched new chicken strips and tenders over the past year.<\/p>\n<p>But for spots like Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken and Guy Fieri&#039;s Chicken Guy!, crispy chicken has always been the main event.<\/p>\n<p>I compared the signature hot chicken tenders from both chains to determine which one offered better value.<\/p>\n<p>I first tried the hot chicken tenders from Chicken Guy!, Guy Fieri&#039;s fast-casual chicken restaurant.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ea411c1f80efbec5553c?format=jpeg\" alt=\"chicken guy hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I ordered three hot chicken tenders from Chicken Guy! in Atlantic City. It cost $10.49, excluding tax, and came with a choice of two sauces.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken, Chicken Guy! is a smaller chain.<\/p>\n<p>There are 19 locations in the US, while Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken operates 245 locations as of 2024, according to Restaurant Business.<\/p>\n<p>The tenders were coated in a crispy layer of breadcrumbs.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ea4d1c1f80efbec55540?format=jpeg\" alt=\"chicken guy hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The tenders were dusted in spicy seasoning that clung to every inch.<\/p>\n<p>I chose two sides of donkey sauce, a blend of mayonnaise, lemon, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and roasted garlic, to pair with the tenders.<\/p>\n<p>The chicken tenders had a slight kick of spices without lighting my taste buds on fire.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ea591c1f80efbec55544?format=jpeg\" alt=\"chicken guy hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The tenders had a subtle kick, but were still mild enough not to have me reaching for my drink between bites. As someone with a moderate tolerance for spice, I thought these tenders struck a nice balance.<\/p>\n<p>However, if you&#039;re a real spice hound, I could see how the lower spice level could be disappointing if you&#039;re looking for a truly hot chicken tender.<\/p>\n<p>The chicken tenders themselves impressed me, but weren&#039;t what I expected of a hot chicken tender.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ea695dbc4fd10daa98a8?format=jpeg\" alt=\"chicken guy hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While I thought the chicken was tender and shreddable, the spice level fell a bit short of my expectations. It was on par with the spicy chicken nuggets from McDonald&#039;s or Wendy&#039;s, but nowhere near as hot as the Original Hot tenders from Wingstop, for reference.<\/p>\n<p>If Chicken Guy! really wants to live up to the &quot;hot tender&quot; name, it might need to bump up the heat.<\/p>\n<p>The hot chicken tenders from Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken definitely delivered on spice, size, and value.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ea785dbc4fd10daa98ae?format=jpeg\" alt=\"daves hot chicken hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I ordered a two-piece hot tender combo, which also came with fries, bread, Dave&#039;s sauce, and pickles, for $15.49, plus tax and fees.<\/p>\n<p>The chicken tenders were so large that it was hard to dip them in the sauce cup.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ea8b1c1f80efbec5554d?format=jpeg\" alt=\"daves hot chicken hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The breading on the Dave&#039;s tenders was thicker than that on the ones from Chicken Guy!, but I thought it added even more flavor to the tenders.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than a dusting of spicy seasoning, the tenders from Dave&#039;s were visibly bright red, an indication of how hot they would be when I bit in.<\/p>\n<p>These chicken tenders were seriously spicy.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8eac1cc993f9955cff18f?format=jpeg\" alt=\"daves hot chicken hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The accompanying side of Dave&#039;s sauce tempered the heat somewhat, but these hot tenders were at the peak of what I can handle in terms of spice.<\/p>\n<p>Similar to a Nashville hot chicken, the spice lingered in my mouth. It brought maximum flavor, but I was definitely feeling the heat.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#039;re looking for a truly hot, high-quality chicken tender, I recommend Dave&#039;s.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/68e8ead41c1f80efbec55554?format=jpeg\" alt=\"daves hot chicken hot chicken tenders\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Erin McDowell\/Business Insider<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The chicken tender itself was big \u2014 almost the size of a half-breast \u2014 juicy, and deliciously flavorful. I also thought the tenders, as part of the combo meal, were a good value, given the generous serving of fries, pickles, and bread, as well as the sheer size of the tenders.<\/p>\n<p>Even though I got three tenders at Chicken Guy!, the two from Dave&#039;s were arguably more filling due to their bigger size and thicker breading.<\/p>\n<p>I&#039;d order both of these tenders again, but if you&#039;re looking for spice, Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken was the only chain that lived up to its spicy name.<\/p>\n<p>Read the original article on Business Insider<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I tried hot chicken tenders from Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken and Chicken Guy! by Guy Fieri. Erin McDowell\/Business Insider I tried hot chicken tenders from two chains: Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken and Guy Fieri&#039;s Chicken Guy! Guy Fieri&#039;s tenders were perfectly dippable with a subtle spice level. However, I thought the tenders from Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}