HHJ Eats: No Name Chicken

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — No Name Chicken ran an interesting campaign to prepare for their recent expansion to a second location on Watson Boulevard, catching the eyes of staff at The Journal. The premise was simple: bring a rubber chicken and score five free wings.

My husband and I went “undercover” to the restaurant; at first, we went to scope out the promotion, unfortunately, not prepared with the rubber chicken, but once we walked in, we figured we’d eat there anyway.

So, did No Name Chicken live up to their name, or should we say, lack thereof?

The first thing I noticed was the storefront at their Bonaire location. Brightly colored and neon, it certainly is an attention grabber and stands out among the other stores in the shopping center.

Even with competition from restaurants nearby, the store was busy for a Monday night. Multiple tables were already occupied, but the wait for our food wasn’t too long. For both my husband’s order and mine, we waited about ten minutes.

I chose the restaurant’s real chicken tenderloin sliders with fries and coleslaw. My husband went for chicken wings and street fried rice, requesting Yum Yum sauce for his wings and for me to dip my fries in.

By far the hardest part for me when ordering at wing stops is choosing a sauce; No Name did not disappoint with the selection, which ranged from classics like BBQ, to more interesting names such as Gangnam Style and Orange Panda. I opted for Orange Panda and Peach BBQ and my husband chose Peach BBQ as well.

Drinks were separate from combos, but they had an overall good selection. We paid about $15 per person.

Once we grabbed our order, we sat down in restaurant to eat, noticing immediately the decorations, neon lights and pictures on the wall. We chuckled at many of them and for a while could not stop talking about the décor.

The atmosphere overall was energetic and brightly matched the colorful and attention grabbing storefront. With 90s alternative playing on the radio, it transported me back to my college days when I would listen to Nirvana religiously.

It was time to eat and just based on how it smelled, we definitely felt the need to pray over it and be thankful for what we were about to tear into.

And it was heavenly! My chicken tenders were cooked perfectly — were tender, pun intended — and the sauces I chose were a perfect blend of sweet and tangy. It wasn’t too overpowering and complemented the roll they were on.

The fries were seasoned; while fries normally aren’t something to write home about, I didn’t find myself needing to dip them in sauce to spice them up. (Side note: I did try the sauce. They don’t call it Yum Yum sauce for nothing.)

Finally, the coleslaw was a two-bite portion. It was nothing groundbreaking, but still tasty and a welcome addition to my meal.

I didn’t taste my husband’s food, but he was also raving about it. So much that he went up to the counter and ordered more. Later, he told me the fried rice was some of the best he had.

Google reports give this place a 4.5 average, and I would have to agree with their assessment. I liked the music, but found it loud and I was unable to hear my husband at times. The fact that my husband ordered more food made me think that his portion size may have been too small for the price.

Overall, No Name Chicken gave me a good meal and I had a good time at the restaurant, which is honestly what I look for whenever I choose a quick bite to eat. If you like chicken, I would definitely give this place a try.

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