Baton Rouge’s fried chicken craving is well-documented, and the newest player in this tasty space is Chicken Wagon, a local fast-food concept that opened May 5 on Staring Lane. It specializes in Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches, wings and tenders prepared to order with a choice of heat levels.
“We put a lot of work into it,” owner Moe Badawi says. “It took us about two years of studying the market, working on recipes, traveling and working with artists from Dubai, Jordan and Australia. It had to be perfect.”
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The menu includes five different combos, like the No. 1 Wagon Sandwich, a deep-fried chicken breast piled with coleslaw and pickles on a brioche bun and the restaurant’s signature remoulade-like Wagon Sauce. Like all combos, it comes with crinkle fries and a drink. Other combos include the No. 2 Chicken Tenders and the No. 3 6-Wing Basket with bone-in wings.
Badawi is a veteran of the local restaurant industry. He operates Rio Cantina Mexican Grill locations in Brusly and Prairieville.
Preparing fried chicken might seem straightforward, but getting it right is tricky, Badawi says. His team spent months testing recipes and ensuring the spice combination was both hot and flavorful, and that the batter produced a crispy texture.
“The marinade has about 21 ingredients,” Badawi says. “And we use rice flour as part of the dry batter.”
Each piece of chicken is deep-fried in peanut oil and includes a multistep process that starts with a seasoned marinade, followed by a dredge in seasoned flour. After a quick 30-second trip to the fryer, the kitchen team removes the chicken and dips it in seasoned oil before dropping it into the fryer again.
Badawi says the chicken is seasoned four times before it’s served: in the marinade, the dry batter, the seasoned oil and at the end with a few final shakes of house seasoning.
The Staring Lane space is lively and bold, outfitted with a large wall covering featuring original art created specifically for Chicken Wagon. The colorful imagery feels like a fusion of Looney Tunes and Mad Max, with its signature cowboy hat-clad chicken surrounded by wagon carts, motorcycles and bold splashes of reds, browns, yellows and blues. Badawi says the wagon is a nod to his family’s Middle Eastern heritage and references street vendors that sell chicken by the cart. He’s also a motorcycle enthusiast, hence the bikes.
“I own a Harley, and I wanted something to represent my character as well,” he says.
Having a chicken sandwich, wings and tenders on one menu, along with the option to order five levels of spice, (no spice, mild, medium, hot and extra hot) differentiates the restaurant from others, Badawi says.
As for what heat level to order, he says most customers go for mild or medium. But if you’re serious, try the extra hot.
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Asked to describe it, Badawi pauses, and says, “Phew. Well, personally, it tingles my eardrums.”
So far, Badawi says business has been strong. The restaurant has been selling about 300 meals a day, and is on target to increase that to around 500-600 soon. Badawi says he’s already looking for a second location. The intention has always been to ultimately franchise the concept, he adds.
Chicken Wagon is at 1955 Staring Lane, Suite A. For more information, visit chickenwagon.us.