Review: Ezell’s Famous Chicken

Perfectly fried chicken, kid-approved sides and quick service make Ezell’s Famous Chicken a hit. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: We reviewed Ezell’s before Governor Brown closed restaurant dining. Currently Ezell’s is open for pickup or delivery through Door Dash.

Oprah’s favorite fried chicken recently moved into a space in Tigard, right next to Washington Square mall. So my family headed to Seattle-based, family-run Ezell’s Famous Chicken shortly after it opened to see if it lived up to the hype. 

Others had the same idea and the line was out the door when we arrived a little past noon on a Sunday. That said, it moved surprisingly swiftly and we only waited about 10 minutes to order. But we received some bad news when we got to the counter: they were completely out of mac ‘n’ cheese, which my 7-year-old daughter had picked as her lunch. We talked her into a kids’ chicken tender combo ($7.99), which included a roll, a side, and juice or a fountain drink. And I promised to share my mashed potatoes from my chicken tender combo ($7.99) and an extra side of baked beans ($3.49) with her. 

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From on-the-bone pieces to tenders, all chicken comes in your choice of original, spicy or half & half. And each order of chicken comes with a hot, fluffy and slightly sweet bread roll. (And bigger orders mean more rolls.) Another choice: When you select your number of pieces (two-24) you can also pick the cut of chicken you’d like. My husband ordered a spicy three-piece combo, with a breast, wing and drumstick, and potato salad and creamy coleslaw ($10.99). For 5-year-old Cruz’s kids’ combo, we ordered him an original breast piece and corn as the side ($6.29). Pro tip: An eight-piece combo with four rolls and two jumbo sides could easily feed a family of four for $26.49.

After ordering we waited just a few minutes for a table to open up, and just a minute more for a helpful employee to wipe down the table for us. And a few minutes after we sat down, our number was called. Given the line and crowded dining room, we were surprised by how quickly we got our food.

ORDER THIS:
Any of the fried chicken. Plus the potato salad and sweet potato pie!

Once we sorted the meals out, a chorus of “Yums” went around the table. My daughter ate a few bites of tenders, but happily focused on the mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, baked beans, and the irresistible roll. Cruz had a hard time handling his big piece of chicken, but ate more once my husband cut up bites for him. After which my husband didn’t say much, choosing to set to work on his well-breaded and perfectly crunchy chicken. But at one point he did realize his order was not spicy, and in fact Cruz got a spicy piece, so we just swapped pieces around. There was much trying of everyone else’s food.
And I really couldn’t stop eating my husband’s potato salad. 

My husband, who grew up in Maryland and considers himself a connoisseur of Southern fried foods, didn’t think Ezell’s was the best fried chicken he’d ever eaten, but then quickly added, “But it’s pretty darn good.” I also ordered the two desserts, peach cobbler ($4.79) and sweet potato pie ($2.49). The sweet potato pie disappeared before I knew it, mainly because of two kids who for once in their lives decided to try something new after I said they would like it.

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Ezell’s is a long drive for us, but for the quick and friendly service, crunchy chicken, sweet rolls, kid-approved sides and sweet potato pie, we’d make the journey back.

Ezell’s Famous Chicken, 10218 Washington Square Rd., Tigard. Monday to Thursday: 10:30 am-9 pm; Friday and Saturday: 10:30 am-10 pm; Sunday: 11 am-9 pm.

Denise Castañon
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