Rowdy Rooster - East Village — Restaurant in New York

Sharing this because of how many times I've gotten food here. It might not sound like it at first, but the best item on their menu is the dark meat chicken pieces. I know its a hot chicken shop and people are expecting a sandwich will be the best choice for them, but there's a few reasons why you shouldn't go for that.

When they put the chicken in the sandwich, it loses its crispiness. The shop does such a good job with their breading (idk if they double-fry or they just lay it on thick) but the crunch factor is insane with chicken peices as is. When they put it in a sandwich, I assume they use the same chicken peices. However, by sheer virtue of it being layered in sauces immediately takes away the crispy factor. I'm talking instantly. I remember taking a friend here and they got the big sandwich while I stuck with my go-to chicken pieces. We dined in and got to do a side-by-side comparison as both our meals came out at the same time. Because of the sauces in the sandwich, the breading became soggy, and it felt like I was chewing through another layer of bread. Maybe this experience is not consistent with other people's observations, but it was a huge turn off for me, and I understand why people might not be huge fans if that was their first impression. My friend ended up still liking their meal, but I don't think they realized what they were missing out on.

I've been talking about crispiness a lot but Rowdy Rooster also uses great seasoning. I think they changed it from 5 spice levels to 3, but honestly that makes sense to me - I have no idea what the difference between a 2 or 3 is on a 5-level scale, but you sure as hell understand that a 1 will have minimal spice compared to a 2 while a 3 will make you sweat. I'm south asian (though I wouldn't say I'm accustomed to the type of spices they use) and sometimes I have a hard time handling the heat on a 2. I will say though that they spices they use are flavorful. They add a really satisfying savory flavor to the crispiness and the chicken. They are a bit inconsistent with how much spice they add on a 2 - I've had days where I've started sweating from the heat vs days where I notice parts of the chicken are unseasoned. I can assuredly say that the overall experience is enjoyable, and even when I feel heat from the seasoning, it's never the suffocating kind that comes at the expense of the flavor.

The reason I went on this whole rant about the seasoning is because none of it comes through when you buy the sandwich. All the wonderful seasonings disappear and dull out when they add the yogurt sauce. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of yogurt sauce, but having tasted the chicken as is, its a shame none of it comes through to you on a sandwich.

The real hack is to get the dark meat chicken pieces with an extra piece of chicken. Technically, when you go to ring it up, it's 3 peices, but every time I've ordered, be it online or in person, they always give me 4. Without fail. I'm really glad they do because 3 wouldn't be enough. The total comes out to ~$15 and you're left with great tasting chicken that will fill you up - what else...

Update: Visited again, food continues to slap! Still 5/5. They have combined some of the heat levels so they are down from 5 levels to 3 now so I'd just get the hottest one if you like heat or mildest one if you don't. Middle one is definitely mid. Also masala "fries" are bhaiya or aloo pakoda depending on where in India you're from. I'm sure there's other names too but don't expect your usual fries topped with spice. They can be missed honestly. Mango lassi is delicious and doesn't taste artificially sweet/syrupy sweet, it tastes authentic and normal sweet that just adding fruit to yogurt would impart. 10/10 will return here until I die or it closes shop. Also Chintan(person behind this incredible spot) if you're reading this, I'd love to meet you!

Not too long ago y'all heard about the fried chicken sandwich wars, compared the McDonald's, chick fil a, Popeyes and the likes. Well step aside every fried chicken sandwich ever, the king is in town. Big rowdy is absolutely the best fried chicken sandwich in town. I won't just make claims here, lemme back it up. What's crucial in a fried chicken sandwich is the chicken piece fried to perfection with it being crispy and not too thick but crunchy batter on the outside and moist on the inside, and some places will season their chicken coating and chicken with basics like garlic powder, paprika and onion powder. This place dresses up rowdy in hella Indian spices. Now understand I am saying spices aka flavor not the misnomer of heat. However when it comes to heat, this sandwich packs a ton of punch if you ask for it. I got #4 heat (rascal) and man this got me sweating. It was stupid delicious in flavor and tons of tasty heat. If you're going for more a chick fila or Popeyes hot sandwich then go for #1-2 on their heat list. Lastly bun was toasted very well and kept up the structural strength well with the heavy chicken in it. Came topped with marinated onions cilantro and yogurt mint chutneys which were perfect to compliment the sandwich. One complain though that they should add fries to menu with Indian masala or even the same fried chicken spices sprinkled on potatoes. I do hope to see a drinks + fries for like a $3-4 upgrade to sandwich combo for it to be more of a meal but all in all this needs to be an...

Big recommendation from my friend so came to try its chicken sandwich when I had a occassion to come to the city.

I think what’s unique about their sandwich is the sauce. It is Indian cuisine type of creamy and yet also spicy kind of sauce that goes into the sandwich. They also executed it well in a way that the sauce doesn’t necessarily overwhelms the chicken, which sometimes happens with other places for general burger or sandwich. Chicken, by the way, was very crispy and juicy, no complaint.

If you are not good at spicy taste, I would recommend going for spicy level 2. Level 1 might be too bland. If you are used to spicy taste, you are mostly fine for level 3 in my opinion. Level 4 or 5 is certainly not my territory, so no comments. Good luck if you are gonna try.

Minus one star is just due to my own preference. I’m mostly against the foods that require whatever types of efforts. Their chicken sandwich can get really messy while eating, so I need to be careful while eating and def need bunch of napkins.

Would have gone to this place on regular basis if it were in my neighborhood because picking it up and eating it at my home would make it a lot less troubled for how messy it gets. Highly recommend if you are in the negihborhood, but be mindful that it will be very hard to get a sit inside.

UPDATE: revising my star to 5 because just ordering chicken (not chicken sandwich) is much more what I would enjoy from this place and it gets much less messy

UPDATE2: Do not let your curiosity make you try spicy level 5 if you want to remain existing in your human form. 여기 치킨의 맵기 레벨5는 불닭x3의...