Scratch Fried Chicken — Restaurant in Greensboro

UPDATE 11/24/21: We tried some new items today and everything was FANTASTIC. I think the owner was working the counter today and let me tell you, she works like a well oiled machine and is VERY nice. We dined in and ordered the fried macaroni cheese bites as an appetizer. Hubs wanted a repeat of the spicy chicken sandwich with potato salad. I wanted to try the chicken strips and fried okra. The strips come in a count of 3 for $6.00 or 6 for only $10.00. I was going to order 3 but Hubs said he wanted one and I immediately thought, “I can’t survive on 2 measly strips” so I ordered 6. Plus, you get double the strips and SAVE $2.00! We sat down to wait and started laughing that we ordered an appetizer in a fast food restaurant. Low and behold, she brought out the Mac n cheese bites ahead of everything else. The timing was impressive but the taste was even better and they were only $5.00! They were large, maybe 2” x 2.5” and maybe 1” thick and breaded and fried to a really crunchy, golden brown. We started chowing so fast I’m not sure if we got 7 or 8 pieces. The inside was packed with the creamy goodness of macaroni and cheese. The side of ranch was a nice touch. I reviewed the sandwich and potato salad before, so I’m moving on to my meal. Again, she brought our food to our table and when she put my tray in front of me, I literally GASPED and put my hand over my mouth. She laughed at my response. These shouldn’t be called chicken “strips”. Chicken “Lunkers” is a much better description. Hubs ate one and I ended up eating only 2. I brought 3 home and they were so big, I was compelled to weigh them. They weighed 6 ounces each! So let’s do that math…I got roughly 2+ pounds of boneless fried chicken, easily 2 meals, for $10 bucks. Now that’s value! The fried okra was lightly breaded and fried just enough that it was crisp on the outside and very tender, almost creamy, on the inside. We will definitely be back! The service and food is primo!

We get in the mood for fried chicken but in the words of T. Swizzle, I’m NEVER EVER EVER going to say, “Sure! Let me run into the kitchen and coat every surface with flour and then I’ll get the oil too hot so it splatters everywhere and while I’m at it, I’ll try for 3rd degree burns”. No. Just. No. What I will do is pull up Google and Yelp to see where my fellow Foodies are eating their fried chicken. Enter Scratch Fried Chicken. We ordered our food to go and we got two of the double fried 4 piece meals. This is only $1.00 more than one 8 piece and you get an extra side. Be prepared to wait 20-25 minutes because they fry your order fresh, you can also ask for an added spice or dipping sauce. We chose honey sriracha dip on the side. We also needed a “relationship saver item”. The RSI is what we share on the ride home so we stop being hangry. We got the spicy chicken sandwich and MAN the sauce was spicy. The brioche bun was perfect, the chicken was large and It had bread and butter pickles which is a really clever flavor addition. My mouth stayed on fire so I wouldn’t order this again but Hubs would. The chicken meals were still crunchy, even after the 25 minute ride home. The breading was very flavorful and was slightly sweet. The chicken meat also had a lot of flavor but was not salty. It was so good, neither of us used the honey sriracha dip. The 4 piece meal comes with one each, breast, wing, thigh and leg, coleslaw and one side. I ordered mashed potatoes and gravy and hubs got the potato salad. Both of these items were highly rated in reviews and they were spot on! They were both SO good and were obviously scratch made. Hubs liked the coleslaw.

We will go back for sure. The service was very friendly and knowledgeable. It is worth the drive and the wait. After all, that’s a lot faster...

The brainchild of Buddalicious Food Truck owner Jimmy Chhay, Scratch is Greensboro’s first chicken-and-donut shop. Given that the city lost both Rise and DonuTime in recent months, its arrival is fortuitous. It also brings a breakfast option and a lower-priced lunch alternative to the Midtown stretch of Battleground. However, neither novelty nor proximity will keep a restaurant afloat in the long run. Fortunately, Scratch has several indicators that point to staying power.

For starters, the selection here is commendable. Regular donut flavors range from simple glazes to pb&j and maple bacon to fritters. Breakfast sandwiches come on your choice of a biscuit, a donut bun (unglazed), or a glazed donut. Chicken is available in dry or wet flavors that evoke Southern (BBQ or buttermilk ranch) and Asian (Siracha honey or Korean) influences.

For my first time out, I went with one of the specialty donuts (caramel macchiato) and a fried chicken, egg, and cheese sandwich on a donut bun. The execution wasn’t flawless, but there was more good than bad. The donut’s icing was deliciously sweet and delivered both of the expected flavors. The donut itself tasted fresh though it was not especially remarkable. The breakfast sandwich was substantially bigger than a McMuffin clone, and the donut bun, though odd at first, held everything in place nicely. The chicken was a thin cutlet, crisply breaded and surprisingly moist. The sandwich as a whole, however, was frustratingly dry, and the establishment should definitely consider offering sauces and/or spreads as add-ons.

Scratch’s pricing won’t leave you feeling gouged. The donuts are mostly either $1.25 or $1.75 (only apple fritters run more). Breakfast sandwiches start at $1.50 with one topping included and 50 cents for each additional topping ($2.00 if that topping is fried chicken). For the quality and quantity, those rates are tough to beat.

Though Scratch is minimally decorated – unadorned tables and bare brick walls – it isn’t an eyesore. Seating, for a donut shop, is more than adequate. The counter staff seemed a bit harried at times, but no one was rude, and food came out relatively quickly (a sign by the menu advises patrons to expect a fifteen-minute wait on fried chicken orders).

All told, Scratch is no Rise, and there is room for improvement, but there are definite high notes, and its concept is one that does more than just sound good on paper. For anyone with an eclectic donut itch, Scratch is...

Wouldn't go there again.

We went for "date night" dinner, just for fun. We knew it was casual, but it's REALLY casual, like, KFC/BURGERKING/MCD's casual. The place faces dead west, and even though most of the front-facing windows had shades pulled down, the dining area was still hot as bathwater.

Staff was very friendly.

Your choices are: traditional flour-dredged fried chicken, batter dipped fried chicken (they call it "double fried"), and rotisserie chicken, with either a sauce or dry rub. Either way, it says right there on the menu board that you'll have to wait 15 minutes for the chicken to be fried to order, so keep that in mind. This ain't "fast food", LOL.

We ordered one 2pc white in traditional with no sauce and mac & Cheese side, and one "double fried" 2pc dark with garlic and herb dry rub and fries for the side. We saw other customers with green beans as their side, and when asked, were told the green beans were pretty good.

We had a taste of the sriracha honey and the korean BBQ sauces. The Korean sauce was awesome.

They no longer have doughnuts or waffles. :( We didn't see any dessert options at all.

The traditional chicken with NO dry rub or sauce was the winner. The double fried with garlic and herb dry rub was NOT good - when I broke open the batter and skin, a puddle of grease came pouring out, and while I don't expect fried chicken to be grease free, this was excessive. The dry rub has sugar in it, which I did NOT expect, and I think the batter also had sugar in it. I am not a fan of sugar with meat.

Surprisingly, the mac & cheese was kickin'! I don't usually like "store bought" mac & cheese because it's usually very bland, but this was nice. I'd buy that again.

Store serves bottled Coke products as well as brewed tea. The ice water had a weird taste to it.

Soap dispenser on the wall in the bathroom was messed up, and some idjit had put regular liquid soap in the foaming soap dispenser, so that was messed up, as well.

Your mileage may vary, but we...