As a food blogger, I have a pretty open mind when it comes to food and what I am willing to eat. My philosophy is to always try something if it is being offered to me. That being said, I grew up not really liking fried foods and as an adult I rarely eat deep fried or junk food.
I get a lot of incredulous looks when I tell people that, but honestly there is a lot of really good food out there that isn’t deep fried! That is not to say I never eat it, but when I do it’s very rare. But, all that changed after I tried The DownLow Chicken Shack.
I went here with B on a sunny Sunday afternoon and I had my stance on fried chicken forever changed (at least when it comes to getting fried chicken here!). We came during Car Free days, so the restaurant was only serving their Chicken On a Bun, fries and drinks. However, that didn’t deter us at all because the sandwich was what we were here for!
This deceptively simple sandwich was packed with intense flavour. I got mine HOT (you can choose from four heat levels) and it was SPICY. I felt that the spice worked really well though. It wasn’t spicy for the sake of it, there was a build of heat before it really hits you. The slaw and pickles really helped to counteract the spiciness and to add balance to the sandwich.
The restaurant was very busy the entire time we were there. The restaurant itself is small with seating for about 20 people inside, and 15 people outside on their patio. Everything is self-service, but servers were always milling about to clean up tables, refill the water dispenser and to inquire about your meal. There was a constant queue out the door, but I want to highlight the great service that we received even though it was a mad house. The owner Doug, was friendly and energetic and you can tell that he really cares about his customers and their experience.
Would I come back? Absolutely. I thoroughly enjoyed my Chicken Sandwich, so much so that I am still thinking about it. If you haven’t tried out this gem yet, what are you waiting for?