Sharxs Fish & Chicken — Restaurant in Calumet Township

I know. I know. I already know that I said I was done with this fried chicken chain, but I thought that I had figured out how to beat "the system."

It was around dinnertime, on a very cold day, when I decided that since I'm already out and about, and rather than go home and cook I would pick up some chicken. I also decided that I would place the order in the store rather than call it in like I usually do. That way I would be there physically and I could "watch" them cook my chicken.

I ordered a postered special that included two wings, two thighs, and two drum sticks. It came with french fries and cole slaw. What a deal. The total was $2 less than if I'd ordered my usual six wings. I thought that the deal was too good to be true. Once again I am reminded that if something is too good to he true, it probably IS too good to be true. Hunger, mixed with with a desire for instant gratification and plain ole laziness has a way of making one forget. I digress.

When I placed the order, I asked the cashier three times to make sure that the cook didn't over cook the chicken. Some like it hard. I don't. I asked the cook twice to make sure that he didn't over cook the chicken. Both, the cashier and cook, assured me that the chicken would not be overcooked. Great!

You're probably thinking to yourself, "I know how this is going to end." Hold on. It's worse than that.

20 minutes later and my order was done. The cashier asked if I wanted lemon pepper on the chicken. I replied, "Yes." Now, all the while that I was waiting for my food, an inner voice kept telling me to inspect the chicken before she bagged it up. I didn't. Instead, I left a tip. I then hurried home to enjoy my meal. My mouth was salivating overtime the entire 15 minutes it took me to get home.

When I arrived home, I settled myself down with imaginations of crispy delight. I opened the styrofoam container and gazed on a generous foundation of french fries under a mountain of chicken. I immediately grabbed the skin off of one of the thighs and closed my eyes as I popped it into my mouth. I was expecting heaven to fall. I wanted the sweet reward of delayed gratification.

Instead, I began to cough from the sheer saltiness of the chicken. I could have sworn that the women at the restaurant asked me if I wanted lemon pepper added, not lemon salt. Then the thought occurred to me that the much expected ecstasy hadn't happened yet. I recounted that there was absolutely no connectedness between the skin and the flesh. I'm a very good cook and I surmised that something wasn't right. Panic mode started to creep in.

I opened my eyes and looked at the chicken. The flesh was hard, stringy and brown. I took a bite fully expecting the secret service of the Gobi desert to call wanting an explanation as to why I had their property in my possession. It was sadly unfulfilling.

Hunger prompted me to be forgiving. I thought that maybe they'd thrown in a bad piece in order to salvage the inventory. So I picked up another piece and peeked under the skin. The result was the same. Panic is now turning into unfettered chagrin. I followed the procedure for the remaining four pieces with an increasing vexation each time.

I called the restaurant to complain. I stated my frustration and all I got was an, "I'm sorry." I disconnected the call. By this time the chicken had grown cold and hard and--like with so many other fast food joints--noneatable. The french fries had degenerated to a messy mound--also not fit for consumption. I tossed the whole thing and popped a bag of popcorn vicariously substituting the pops for a lesser titillation.

It seems to me that with this particular special they just reheat left over chicken and fries. The thought made me hesitant to try the cole slaw. I'm still trying to figure out how they make toast with no coloration.

They should get credit for cleanliness. Maybe, it was just another off day food wise. (They seem to be having multiple off days here recently.)

This time I mean it. No harm meant; but, I'm done with this fried...

I actually love this place. It used to be really crappy but it has gotten way better customer service wise over the years. And yes that is the correct spelling of the restaurant. You have to look closely at the sign. I'm not sure if they are affiliated with the other sharks locations. The food is a lot better at this location. I'm not partial to it because it's closer to me, it's just better! The inside is well lit and always clean. The people have been nice and I really like them. Anytime I come in they always great me with a smile. There's definitely a lot of people who come in begging for something free. I would loose it if I were them. But they smile on. The prices are very reasonable and the quality is very good! It's as close to home as I have found before.

Score as follows:

Location: excellent 5 Prices: excellent 5 Quality: excellent 5 Customer service: excellent 5 Cleanliness: excellent 5

25 out...

All young kids working that don’t care about service or quality. I received odd looking jumbo wings in all of our orders tonight instead of their usual wings, our mozzarella sticks were undercooked and soaked in grease, and the coleslaw was definitely old. We've been coming here for a long time and the food used to be good. My husband called and spoke to the manager who was a young kid and wanted us to drive the food all the way back tomorrow because they’re getting a regular shipment of wings by then apparently. Which does absolutely nothing for my dinner tonight. I’ll take the hit on the money for the disgusting food and throw it out and never come back. Some places just aren’t...