As you make your way down the Kolb Road and Speedway intersection, a small sidewalk sign canβt help but catch your eye.
The words βdonuts and fried chickenβ are printed across the A-frame, jumping out at anyone who drives by.
Itβs hard not to swerve into traffic as you take in the odd combination, images of pink-frosted doughnuts and golden-brown drumsticks dancing around in your head.
Chicken and waffles have become a socially acceptable combination of salty and sweet flavors, but doughnuts and chicken?! Something about those two foods coming together is enough to leave you with a puzzled look on your face, trying to think of the ways the two can partner up.
Soon, the curiosity takes over and you find yourself parked outside of Young Donuts, located at 1043 N. Kolb Road. You walk into the small shop, welcomed by the smell of freshly fried chicken and the smiling faces of the owners, Robert and Terry Villelas.
The hypnotizing and unmistakable smell of fried chicken leaves you drooling as you scan the glass cases filled with gigantic tiger tails, cinnamon sugar dusted Long Johns and good, old-fashioned maple glazed doughnuts.
As you pick out your doughnuts, you canβt help but fall victim to the savory smell and you order a two-piece meal to go with your morning treat.
But this isnβt your average fast-food fried chicken. This is Broaster Chicken, which means you're guaranteed to get a good-sized piece with a crispy exterior and a juicy interior. When youβre alternating between the sweet, fluffy flavors of a doughnut and the savory, fall-right-off-the bone chicken, youβll be thinking, βWhy arenβt more people doing this?!β
Currently, Tucson is home to at least three doughnut shops with a special Broaster oven in their kitchen, serving up delectable doughnuts and fried chicken that kick your sweet-and-salty cravings to the curb.
Before we get into the deliciousness, hereβs a quick rundown on what exactly Broaster Chicken is. As the wise, former Tucson food reporter Andi Berlin once reported, a Wisconsin-based company invented the Broaster oven, which is a sealed pressure cooker. This special cooker is able to fry the chicken in a way that results in less grease, yet you still get that crunchy outside and moist inside.
Itβs these three shops β Young Donuts, Alvernon Donuts and Queen Donuts β that use this particular brand. The company sends over the oven and special coating, leaving it up to the shops to marinade the chicken for multiple hours, add the special coating and then toss it into the pressurized oven.
A short time later, youβll have chicken thatβs got all the juicy goodness sealed inside, but without a bunch of grease running down your arm, Robert Villelas said.
Alvernon Donuts has doughnuts and fried chicken.
Alvernon Donuts
Youβll feel like youβve stepped inside a time capsule when you walk through the doors of Alvernon Donuts, located at 1450 S. Alvernon Way.
The bright-red building has vibrant orange booths, memorabilia that cover the walls, leafy plants that add a pop of color to the dining area and, most importantly, a huge glass case filled with a variety of doughnuts. It has a charming, Wes Anderson-esque vibe that makes you feel at home.
Since 2003, Operan Kem and his family have been running Alvernon Donuts, which has become a staple for those in midtown looking for a sugary start to their mornings.
When Kem initially took over the doughnut shop, he was not a baker and put his trust into the former owners to show him the ropes. A four-week training period turned into two after they stopped showing up, leaving Kem to figure out what it takes to make a good doughnut.
It was up to him to see what worked and what didnβt. After tasting a few of their mini glazed doughnuts, itβs safe to say Kem knows exactly what heβs doing.
David Tineo sat in one of the bright-orange booths early Thursday morning, deep in conversation with Kem as I walked in. As a frequent customer, he raved about the doughnuts, saying the uniqueness of the shop is what keeps people in coming in.
βWhat makes the place unique that you can't replace by corporate is the feeling of welcome and familyness,β Tineo said. βEverybody knows each other. There's a sense that you feel at home and the service is excellent. They care about you and they're very attentive.β
To make these delicious doughnuts, Kem and his family are in the kitchen at midnight, hard at work baking, delicately frosting the tops of doughnuts and making sure their maple Long Johns have a crispy slice of bacon on top.
But itβs at 10 a.m. when things start to get crazy. That's when itβs time for chicken.
Kemβs relationship with Broaster Chicken goes years back. He uses his own marinade and lets the chicken sit in it for around 10 hours before dusting it in the special coating and letting it cook.
The bone-in option is definitely the way to go. The outside has the perfect amount of crisp, producing the best crunch with every bite. Then the juiciness of the inside hits you. Itβs so tender and moist, it pretty much falls off the bone once you take that first bite. Itβs not only addicting, but you wonβt feel like a giant pile of grease after finishing your meal.
While some people make their own chicken doughnut sandwich using their Long Johns, Iβd suggest pairing your fried chicken with one of their fan favorites: an apple fritter.
Like the chicken, the apple fritter has the perfect amount of crisp, giving the pastry a buttery, crust-like topping. The warm apple and cinnamon flavors come together as the fluffy inside melts in your mouth. Pairing that with a bite of fried chicken is kind of like a modern take on a classic Thanksgiving dinner.
Young Donuts makes the Glazen Sandwich which includes a piece of fried chicken sandwiched in between a glazed doughnut.
Young Donuts
For 28 years, Robert Villelas worked as an art director at KGUN 9. Now he heads to work at 11 p.m. to bake dozens and dozens of glazed and cake doughnuts.
Back in February 2024, Villelas wanted to do something completely different than what he had been doing for almost three decades. He remembers frequenting Young Donuts, feeling like this particular doughnut shop was a local treasure.
He knew this treasure was worth protecting, so he bought it and became the new owner along with his wife Terry.
Like Kem, Villelas and his wife had no experience with baking doughnuts. Thankfully, the former owners taught them everything they needed to learn, and they added their own quirks and special touches along the way, such as unique monthly flavors.
βWe enhanced the doughnuts so we made them bigger and we made them more flavorful,β Villelas said.
When it came to renewing the Broaster Chicken contract, Robert Villelas had never heard of the brand, but when he saw their coveted technique for frying chicken, he renewed it in an instant.
βIt's crazy that a doughnut shop would sell chicken, but we're finding that it works,β Villelas said. βOur foot traffic has expanded and our menu has expanded.β
When I stopped in Wednesday morning, it's easy to tell the couple has established a friendly atmosphere. Terry Villelas was greeting regulars, giving one a big hug goodbye. Many of the trays were left with only crumbs, signifying the end of the early-morning rush.
Soon, I was served their pride and joy: the Glazen Sandwich. A giant piece of fried chicken is sandwiched between a soft glazed doughnut. It was so beautiful I almost didnβt want to take a bite.
This salty-and-sweet combination might leave some apprehensive, but that doubt washes away after the first bite. The pillowy glazed doughnut adds a nice kick of sweetness to the crunchy fried chicken and the sweet-and-savory flavors perfectly melded in my mouth. Somehow, the two balance each other out without feeling overbearing or making you feel like you're enjoying crazy fair food.
I couldnβt help but exclaim, βWow this is good,β as my dog stared at me with wide eyes, sniffing the air to find the source of the fried-chicken scent.
I would also suggest trying their bone-in chicken with one of their cinnamon sugar Long Johns. Itβs almost like youβre enjoying a soft, doughy churro alongside a turkey leg at Disneyland.
Pictured: a chicken leg and thigh, a buttermilk bar and a white sugar doughnut at Queen Donuts.
Queen Donuts
When you pull up to Queen Donuts, located at 5975 W. Western Way Circle, you're greeted with a giant sign that includes the magic words: Broaster Chicken and donuts.
This iconic shop in the Tucson Estates area is run by Sar Oum and his wife, Sue Kan, Berlin once reported.
Pictures on their Yelp page show another retro-esque doughnut shop with glass cases full of all the doughnuts you could dream of.
Right next to the doughnuts is another glass case, but this one isnβt filled with fluffy pastries. This one is full of crispy, golden-brown fried chicken.
Their reviews constantly rave about the perfectly baked doughnuts and the juicy chicken, with many saying itβs a tasty combination. Once you smell that fried chicken, itβs hard not to levitate to the counter and order a few tenders.
Back when Berlin went, she paired her chicken with a buttermilk bar. The sweet cake flavor mixed with the chicken could be a sweeter take on chicken and biscuits, like the ones you may see at fast-food joints.
