First visit to Layne’s Chicken in Parma, and wow — the experience was… something.
Service The woman taking my order had the enthusiasm of a DMV worker on a Monday morning. Honestly, she almost made me turn around and leave. No smile, no “Hi, welcome to Layne’s,” just pure “I’m only here so I don’t get fired” energy. Kinda sad for a brand-new business, because usually new places are overly friendly to lure you back in.
Atmosphere The lobby was clean and fresh (perks of being new), and the condiment station looked like it had been organized by Martha Stewart herself. So no complaints there.
Food Ordered the 3 Finger Box to go. Took about 10 minutes — not bad. I drove 12 minutes home and my food was still hot, so points for that. The chicken? Juicy, flavorful, and fried just right. Fries? Warm, crispy, and not greasy — basically fries that have their life together.
The Texas toast, though… Yikes. It was soggy. Like, “sat in a sauna for 20 minutes” soggy. Looked toasted, tasted like sadness. Probably steamed to death in the Styrofoam box. Pro tip: wrap that baby in foil and let it live its best life.
Overall Layne’s Chicken: where the chicken is juicy, the fries are perfect, and the Texas toast drowned in a steam room. Service had all the warmth of a tax audit, but hey — the food’s good enough that I’ll risk the emotional damage...
Read moreAs a south Chicago transplant I would like to provide a backstory for Layne's. We have all heard about Cain's chicken fingers but those in south Chicago the saga of Layne and Cain Krabowski is well known. Layne and Cain were identical twins born to second generation Polish immigrants. Their father, Boleslaw Krabowski, was all ready well-known as the chicken finger king of Chicago. The brothers built upon Boleslaw's already impressive reputation. Unfortunately scandal broke out and it was discovered that Cain Krabowski had relations with the wife if his brother Layne. This obviously caused a schism in the family. Cain, being the impetuous younger son took what he had saw his father do to create the finest chicken fingers every served in south Chicago and quickly expanded trying to make a quick buck with bland food and forgettable sauce. Layne stayed true to his father's recipe. Focusing not on wealth but serving the people the finest chicken fingers that could be produced by human hands. The spices, sauces, cooking times, all coming from Boleslaw's own recipe book. Is this spot any good? I don't know. But thanks for...
Read moreGood food — just a few things to note if you have young kids ⭐⭐⭐⭐ We had our young grandkids over and decided to try the new Layne’s Chicken in Parma. Service at the counter was friendly and efficient. We ordered two 5-piece meals and one 3-piece meal. They handed us only one 5-piece and the 3-piece. We had to point out the missing second 5-piece, which they made quickly — but with each meal boxed separately, the mistake should’ve been easy to spot.
Once home, our 9-year-old granddaughter — who loves toasted bread — was disappointed. The toast included with the meals tasted more like warm bread with butter, not actually toasted.
The original chicken was hot, juicy, and flavorful. We specifically chose the original (non-spicy) chicken and requested Layne’s sauce. We were surprised to find the sauce fairly spicy. A heads-up would’ve helped, especially since we were ordering for young kids and intentionally avoided the spicy chicken.
Overall, the food was very good. Just a bit more attention to detail and clearer communication would make the experience even better — especially for families with...
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