I've had more than my share of mall food lately, but needed to pick up a gift card from Sears today, and a man's got to eat. I decided to visit a little chicken and burger shop in the food court called Cluck-a-Doodle-Doo. They're local and have an additional location somewhere in the OSU campus area. As I approached I was surprised to see the former proprietor of Pop's Country Fare, the previous tenant of Cluck's space, collecting an order of chicken tenders (which he rates quite highly).
Cluck's has an impressive menu of barnyard (and other) animal products, from chicken to burgers to fish, not to mention salads, appetizers (jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks), and interesting sides (waffle fries, mashed potatoes). They also offer vegetarian fare for those crazy enough to forego meat.
All meals are cooked to order, which is a bit awkward in a food court made for fast food. You need to stand around for a few minutes while your food is cooked, but there's no avoiding the situation if you want fresh food and a variety of options.
I went for the chicken sandwich with a side of waffle fries. I was immediately impressed with the sheer quantity of food. I received two regular-sized paper plates on my tray. The first was completely full with a heaping pile of waffle fries. A LOT of fries. Now I like fries. I will get a large order of fries anywhere and NEVER leave one on my plate. But this was really enough for two people who like fries, and I wound up throwing half of them away. Taste-wise they were good but not great. Salted a bit unevenly so that some were extremely salty while others seemed to have none at all. Ketchup is an issue, as they give out a few packets instead of having self-serve condiments. I ran out quickly and therefore turned my attention to the sandwich, which was also a mixed bag.
The chicken sandwich is a nicely-breaded whole breast of chicken, fried and served on an enormous hamberger bun (the radius has to be 50% bigger than a standard bun), with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I wasn't asked if that's what I wanted, though coincidentally, it's what I like. Given that they use an entire chicken breast (long and skinny) and a big, round bun, you wind up with chicken sticking out an inch or so on two sides, and have an inch or so of no chicken on the other sides. Not a real problem, but can make for some messy eating as the chicken slides about in an ill-fitting bun. The larger issue was that they used an entire chicken breast, with tapered ends that get overcooked. Which is a shame because the bulk of the sandwich is excellent. Juicy and well-seasoned, it may be a better sandwich than Chick-fil-A.
My advice is give it a shot, and cut off the ends of your chicken before eating. I think you'll also want to experiment with a different side. You can get fries anywhere, and these are nothing to write home about. See how the mac and cheese or mashed potatoes are. Unfortunately, you may have to try this quickly, as I don't think they'll be around at this location long. There were very few people placing orders during peak lunch hours, and given their very reasonable prices (my combo meal was $6.50), I can't see how they make the balance sheet work, and suspect it doesn't.
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