Chicken Salad Chick a great place for a light lunch

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Dining Duo are a couple of foodies who enjoy eating out and sampling the local cuisine in the Mid-South. To ensure the reviews are unbiased and that the duo remain anonymous, their identities are masked behind their favorite comic book heroes.

Chicken Salad Chick

3135 Goodman Road

Olive Branch

4 POWS

I’ve been wanting to go back to Chicken Salad Chick for a while, but none of my usual dining companions were interested in going there for lunch. I had been once before, but it has been a long time and I don’t even remember what I had. So I thought it might be time for me to revisit the place.

Luckily for me, Clark Kent wasn’t resistant to the idea of meeting me there. He’s used to eating healthy because of his extremely picky West coast born and bred wife who isn’t much of a meat eater.

Chicken Salad Chick is definitely what I will call - no offense meant - a “girlie” place to eat. I’m not picking on it, but let’s just say that the male to female ratio of people dining in for lunch was very lopsided towards the fairer sex. It’s not really a place that I would normally pick for lunch, but Chicken Salad Chick has one big thing going for it. It’s not fast food. There isn’t anything in there that is fried and I just wasn’t in the mood for a burger or fast food.

Clark, who has eaten at Chicken Salad Chick a handful of times, opted for a scoop of their “Classic Carol” chicken salad, which is made of all white meat shredded chicken, finely minced celery, mayonnaise, and their secret seasoning. He ordered his with extra mayonnaise just in case “because sometimes chicken salad can be on the dry side.” It turned out that he wouldn’t need it. The mild mannered reporter from a great metropolitan newspaper was impressed right away with how fresh it tasted. “This one isn’t dry,” he said. “It’s like they just made it. It’s very good.” 

After asking the girl at the counter about the soup of the day, Clark decided to try a cup of poblano soup to go along with his scoop of chicken salad. He was told that it tasted similar to  chicken tortilla soup and was on the creamy size. The soup had chunks of pulled chicken, corn, poblano peppers and back beans, and was nice and creamy just they he had hoped it would be. “That’s a good soup,” he said. “It has some kick to it.”

Clark liked the choices on the menu and was very complimentary overall of the presentation of the food itself. A server brings it to your table in a basket with a pickle, choice of side, and a sugar cookie to top it all off. “I like how it’s about plating,” he said. “They don’t just throw it together and wrap it up in a paper bag and you’re off. It’s nicely presented. And I like the menu options. It’s not just chicken salad alone. It’s light but healthy options.” While he agrees that Chicken Salad Chick definitely appeals more to a female clientele than other lunch places, he likes the atmosphere of the place. “It’s like a tea shop in a way,” Clark said. “It’s popular with the ladies. They all say hello to each other and it’s just a nice environment to sit down and eat a sandwich.”

I will confess, I’m not a big fan of chicken salad or grape salads, and pimento cheese isn’t something that I normally order either. But nevertheless, I decided to try their spicy pimento cheese sandwich. I didn’t know what pimento cheese was until I moved down south. I’ve had pimento cheese finger sandwiches a few other times so it wasn’t like I was trying it for the first time. 

I was impressed with their spicy version. The grated sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheeses combined with jalapeños and a smidge of their creamy house dressing had a nice spicy kick to it that didn’t burn your mouth or require a couple of drink refills to put out the fire, and was overall very tasty. I got mine on wheat bread which was toasted to perfection. I was glad to see it came with a pickle spear, and for my side I added BBQ chips to round it out. Maybe next time I will try one of their soups or perhaps go with another scoop of pimento. Clark and I also enjoyed the sugar cookie, which he thought added a touch of Mayberry to the lunch. 

The biggest surprise was the pice. The bill came to just a little over $24 total - for two - which is super reasonable. You’re going to spend about $15 today anywhere you go for lunch today - even at some fast food places. The big difference is that you are getting a fresh and healthy alternative to fried and greasy fast food.

Overall, I thought the portions at Chicken salad Chick were just right and that it was a nice light but filling sandwich. Clark even thought about getting some chicken salad to go, which they have in nice deli sized containers if you are wanting to take some with you. 

We give Chicken Salad a solid four POWs and we both agree that we would go back. But just remember something, if you don’t like chicken salad or pimento cheese or salads with grapes and broccoli and are looking for more sandwich options, then Chicken Salad Chick isn’t the place for you. 

4 out of 5 POWs

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