DINING OUT
Chicken salad, $9.95/pound; combo specials, $7.50-$8.50; sandwiches, $5.50; soups, $2.95/$4.50.
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
4101 Roswell Road, Suite 811, Marietta. 770-565-3985, chickensaladchick.com.
Chicken Salad Chick founder Stacy Brown started the company in 2008 making chicken salad in her kitchen in Auburn, Ala. Now there are some 85 locations throughout the Southeast, with a dozen new franchises planned for metro Atlanta and Athens. One of the first of that number opened in Marietta this week in the Providence Square shopping center on Roswell Road.
The look: The sassy Southern "chick" concept is clearly pitched to women and, of course, chicken salad lovers. The fast-casual routine means you order at the counter and take a number before your food is delivered to your table. But the dainty decor in the dining room feels much more like a real restaurant, albeit one with the kind of cute signs that instruct men not to feel weird when they ask for a "Fancy Nancy" salad.
The scene: During a recent preview run, the majority of the customers were women, with friends, family and neighbors with children in the mix. But a few brave guys took the plunge, including a burly worker on break from the nearby Home Depot. His mumbling mouthful verdict: Thumbs-up.
The food: The menu is a study in simplicity, beginning with 15 different variations of chicken salad by the pound ($9.95), plus pimento cheese. Riffing on the plain "Classic Carol" recipe for chicken salad, other recipes are also named for real women, including "Jazzy Julie" with cayenne pepper, bacon and cheddar cheese, and "Fruity Fran" with Fuji apples and seedless grapes. Combos ($7.50-$8.50) offer a choice of sandwich or scoop with side salads or chips. For those looking for something other than chicken salad, there are deli sandwiches ($5.50) and daily soups by the cup or bowl ($2.95/$4.50).
The drinks: The beverage menu is as basic as the food menu, with bottled water and juices and self-serve iced tea and fountain drinks.
The extras: Not surprisingly, Chicken Salad Chick does a big catering business, with salads by the pound ($9.95), party platters ($38.99), and box lunches ($10.50), plus dessert platters and beverages by the gallon.
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