Turbo Chicken — Restaurant in Portage

Super conflicted about what score to give this place. If compared to Kelvin and Co, it should be a 1-star, but it's a different restaurant and is pretty good for a chicken and tater-tot place.

Good Things: -They definitely try a number of ways to fancy-up the chicken sandwich and tots, and some of them are fantastic. However, if you want a fancy chicken sandwich, full order of fancy tots and a malt, it's going to be more than $20. If you're not getting the fancied-up versions, sister-restaurant Burger Bros would be a better choice for chicken sandwich and fries. With just a normal Turbo sandwich and tot combo at around $10, I end up feeling like it wasn't enough lunch. Tater-tots are also so boring without getting a fancy one. Bros has excellent seasoned fries that don't taste like school lunch. The brisket mac bowl at Kelvin would never disappoint this way.

Bad Things: -It's far, far away from town and is not great for dine-in. I miss Kelvin being downtown (and then 10 minutes from downtown (and then briefly maybe downtown again (and then closed))), but again, this isn't Kelvin. -As mentioned before, pricey. I just look at my $7 order of tater-tots sometimes and shake my head a little bit. -It's anything but Turbo. At, uhm, a popular recently closed-down brisket place, you could just get in line, order food, eat food. Why call the slowest restaurant you open Turbo? -It's a chicken sandwich. This alone should warrant a 1-star review. Every joint in the world has come out with a fancy chicken sandwich in the past few years. There are similar unrelated restaurants in town that I would argue make a better chicken sandwich albeit not as fancy as some you can buy at Turbo. You know what you don't see at every single restaurant? Brisket.

TL:DR -Kelvin and Co. was original, delicious, had seating (more when it was downtown) and not out by the airport. -Turbo Chicken is pretty good, but you will be amazed how quickly chicken and tater tots adds up to like $50. -You closed the...

All I can say is “Wow”!!!!!!! We have always driven by this place on the way to and from work. Finally we decided to embark on a legendary journey. The Journey to try Turbo Chicken.

The family was hungry and we wanted to try something new. All I can say is that I am forever changed by trying this place. We walked in and were immediately greeted by the owner. He was super friendly and just a genuinely nice guy. The restaurant was super clean and the employees were diligently working their stations. The place smelled of “Heaven”. Everything sounded so good.

We looked at the menu items and I decided to try the turbo burger, my wife ordered the turbo chicken sandwich and we decided to splurge and get their loaded bacon, cheese, onion and ranch tots. We also decided to try their special, which was chicken bites with their barbecue and Nashville hot sauce. We were so hungry. We could barely contain ourselves on the drive home. It smelled so good.

Once we arrived home, we unleashed the boxes of pure gourmet delight. This food is amazing!!! Everything about it. The quality, presentation and best of all, the taste! Never had I eaten a burger this delicious, and from a chicken restaurant too. The Turbo sauce was such a great compliment to this juicy double cheeseburger. Wow!!! The tots were amazing and were so addicting. From the tanginess of their own recipe ranch dressing down to the smoked bacon and cheese coating the tots. My wife couldn’t stop raving about her juicy chicken sandwich. She loved everything from the buttery brioche bun to the juicy hand battered crispness of the chicken with the tang of the turbo sauce. OMG!!! The chicken bites were so tender and juicy and the made from scratch sauces were to die for. My 15 year-old son, who is extremely picky. Was in love! He said this chicken is even better than BW3!

This journey had solidified this family as true fans and followers of what is known as...

Today was my first time to Turbo Chicken, and I can say that they've got a customer for life!

Service: ★★★★★ Gary was incredibly helpful and super nice, giving us recommendations and answering all of our questions about the menu with genuine interest. My buddy mentioned it was my birthday so Gary threw in some sweet corn pasta salad for free! Such a small gesture that meant so much. Customer service at its finest.

Taste: ★★★★★ The chicken is incredibly good, and is high quality. this might sound weird, but the chicken tastes very clean, which I believe might be the fact that the fry oil is fresh, the meat is higher quality, or something. It's hard to explain, but try it and you will see! All of their sauces are made in house, as is their chili. I ordered the chili cheese tots with fried chicken and it was no joke. The tots are a full meal (which Gary let us know beforehand, thanks again man, good looking out!). The tots are perfectly crispy, and are well seasoned. The chili is savory and slightly sweet, so yummy.

If you get the chicken strips, don't be fooled by the quantity. It's two HUGE strips that are basically half a chicken breast! The buffalo sauce is MONEY, as is the gochujang aoli.

Turbo Chicken is owned by the same folks who own Kelvin & Co. so you can expect the same level of quality and service that you would get from them. I am seriously impressed with Turbo Chicken, and will be returning soon. It beats the hell out of a certain chain chicken restaurant with certain questionable morals, that's for sure.

The next time you are in the mood for a chicken sando, you could wait in a long line for a manufactured chicken patty slapped in a bun by a high school kid, or head a few blocks away and support a local business serving hand-crafted chicken sandwich made with care and skill. I know which one I'll...