(This college football season, Arizona football beat reporter Justin Spears is trying out popular restaurants in towns the Wildcats are playing in. Up next: Utah.)
SALT LAKE CITY — Leading up to the Arizona Wildcats' Big 12 opener against No. 10 Utah, I roamed around downtown Salt Lake City during the madness of FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention and walked to a popular SLC chain: Pretty Bird Chicken.
Restaurant: Pretty Bird Chicken
Food: Chicken sandwiches, tenders, nuggets and wings
The rundown: Founded by award-winning chef Viet Pham, who defeated Bobby Flay twice in Iron Chef America and Extreme Chef, Pretty Bird Chicken became a Salt Lake City staple in 2018. Pham opened the original location in downtown SLC, where I attended, and opened locations in Sugar House, Midvale, and Park City. The Pretty Bird Chicken menu is simple: a chicken sandwich (medium, mild, hot or super hot), wings, nuggets, tenders and a tender roll. Sides include fries, Mexican street corn salad, cider slaw and pickles.
The order: Hot chicken sandwich and fries with ranch
Pretty Bird Chicken has evolved into a Salt Lake City hotspot since it opened in 2018.
The final verdict: We have a This Ain't Tucson first: a perfect meal, which speaks volumes considering I'm a chicken sandwich connoisseur. The chicken sandwich featured a seasoned and breaded chicken thigh as the centerpiece with cider slaw, pickles and Pretty Bird sauce as elite complementary parts — almost like having an offensive line littered with all-conference players protecting the face of the franchise (chicken). The pickle chips were dense, crunchy and flavorful and the slaw had the perfect amount of cider. Coupled with well-done fries, Pretty Bird ranch and a Coca Cola, it wasn't a complicated meal but it'll go down as the highest-rated meal in our second-year food series. 10/10
