MAA'S CHICKEN — Restaurant in Washington

There are so many things wrong with this place and the red flags are all there. They were closed for months for health violations like poor lighting, flaking paint in cooking areas, inadequate water pressure, etc. But then their Instagram stated they were re-opening on a specific day. My coworkers and I were excited to try it out but when we went, it was still closed. Then it was nothing for months. No update on social media. No sign outside explaining anything. Just a dark store filled with random construction stuff. When they finally opened, the disappointment cannot be understated. The first red flag is all the AI-generated images for their menu and advertisements. Not only should that be concerning but it’s also misleading because the actual style of fried chicken is not like the images. The images make the chicken seem like southern style buttermilk flour crust fried chicken. Maa’s is more like burnt panko breaded chicken like an Italian chicken parm. The chicken fingers my coworkers got were super dry and salty. I went a few weeks later and it was a little better but not by much. The fries are clearly an afterthought. Probably a frozen bag they get from somewhere else then just re fry and douse in salt. By the time you start eating, the fries are completely limp. The sandwiches are a fraud too. Again, the menu images make it seem like you’ll get a big fat chicken thigh or pounded breast as the patty. Nope. Just two chicken fingers shoved into the sandwich. The bread was decent though.

Other issues: No air conditioning so it was super hot inside. The yellow boxes are the cheapest paper material I’ve ever seen. Unless you open the box right then and there and eat it right away, it will get soggy and crumble in minutes. The shop itself is messy with construction equipment all over the floor and back kitchen area. They dont have any kind of labeling system for the boxes so when they messed up my order amongst a bunch of other orders, they had to open every box to check what was in it. A simple sticker system would make things so much easier. Also, it wasn’t fast at all. Waited over 35 minutes for just an order of 3 tenders and a sandwich and there was only two other customers in the store. The staff were clearly disorganized and ill-equipped to handle even a minor rush of orders. The whole place gives “money laundering” vibes. They also had signs saying “give us a 5 star review for a free tender” which is no doubt what’s motivating a lot of the 5 star reviews on here.

The fact that Washington city paper named this the best fried chicken over places like Honeymoon, Doro, and Roaming Rooster is laughable and probably a result of some kind of bribe for free tenders to the writer. Avoid this place at all costs because there are so many better fried chicken spots...

I stumbled upon this place on my way to Metro and ordered to go. The guy there was really nice and it didn’t take too long to make the food. One weird thing I noticed was that the prices advertised on the overhead screens are lower than the actual prices when you go to order on the tablet…..why?

The food it itself was pretty good! Since I ordered to go, it took a few minutes before I actually ate the food so the fries were definitely soggy. However, 5 mins in the air fryer and they crisp up very nicely and almost exactly resemble McDonalds fries. They were delicious!

The Chicken tenders were also very good! They had a great flavor with very strong taste of black pepper which I loved. One thing I will say is that the chicken was a bit tougher than I would have liked. It took some effort to fully bite through the tender (maybe because it was a little dry). I ordered mine at Medium heat but didn’t get much spice so will probably opt for spicier next time.

All in all, I think this place is pretty good. I think the ambience of the inside could use some work — like more art work or pictures rather than just chicken boxes but since they are so new, I’m excited to see how they will continually develop overtime. I would recommend this place as an easy 7/10. Try it out and see if...

Step it up, yall. Owner should be embarrassed. We noticed it on the way back to our hotel and the bright colors and splashy logos caught our eye. On entering you realize it looks like somebody threw up enough decor to hide the walls and then assumed we’d all just be distracted by the large TV screen menus. The drink fridges are alarmingly empty other than a shelf of cans of coke and Diet Coke. There’s not much seating, which would be expected since this seems more like a grab and go situation, but should you choose to try to eat in, you’ll deal with a 12” wide table that looks like a 12x2 someone nailed together in their garage. The food?? Well, the fries are great, but nothing special. The chicken doesn’t have a ton of flavor but the breading is really nice and crispy. We wanted to try the sweet potato fries and Mac and cheese, but these were “sold out.” They were also out of ranch and honey mustard, and the ice machine doesn’t work. The food has potential but the rest of the experience ruins it. The people running this show need to step it up big time, and anyone considering trying it should just hop across the street to Five Guys or Jersey Mikes if you want to be sure you can order what you...