Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Andy’s Frozen Custard focus on specialties | Grub Scout

The Grub Scout
·4 min read

I always like to wait until the University of Tennessee is on a break of some kind before venturing out to any restaurant on Cumberland Avenue. Since the kiddos are out for the holidays, I decided to hit up Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, which shares a space with a Panda Express franchise. The Grub Spouse accompanied me for a lunch outing, and after finding a parking spot a block away (thanks, Christmas), we queued up to study the menu signage.

This won’t take long to explain: Raising Cane’s specializes in chicken fingers, and you can get them either in a basket or on a bun. That’s about it. The Box Combo comes with four fingers, Cane’s Sauce, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, slaw and a regular drink. The Caniac Combo is very similar, except it includes six fingers. The Spouse ordered The 3 Finger Combo ($8.99), which is pretty self-explanatory.

Menu offerings at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers on Cumberland Avenue include The Sandwich Combo, which is three fingers between a choice of Texas toast or a toasted bun, and also includes fries and a regular drink; and The 3 Finger Combo, which includes three chicken fingers, Cane’s Sauce, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, slaw and a regular drink.
Menu offerings at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers on Cumberland Avenue include The Sandwich Combo, which is three fingers between a choice of Texas toast or a toasted bun, and also includes fries and a regular drink; and The 3 Finger Combo, which includes three chicken fingers, Cane’s Sauce, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, slaw and a regular drink.

I went with The Sandwich Combo ($8.64), which is three fingers between a choice of Texas toast or a toasted bun. I went with the bun. This meal also includes fries and a regular drink. We claimed one of the many tables in the spacious dining area and waited until our name was called.

I didn’t really have expectations of any kind going into this, but I have to admit that despite operating inside a tiny wheelhouse, Raising Cane’s does a good job with what it has to work with. Both our items were served nice and hot, and the fingers themselves were very satisfying, both in taste and texture. There was nothing special about the fries, but they got the job done.

I’ve had comparable chicken-finger products at familiar restaurants like Zaxby’s, Chick-fil-A, Popeye’s, etc., and I feel that Raising Cane’s either holds its own or surpasses any of those mentioned. The food product in general reminded me of what The Spouse and I sampled at Super Chix earlier this year, and I recall leaving that place with surpassed expectations. The same goes for Raising Cane’s. Yes, it’s fast food, but I give it solid marks for what it is.

Since there’s only so much to say about such a limited menu, I decided to add Andy’s Frozen Custard to our lunch outing. (This also mirrored our trip to Super Chix, which serves frozen-custard treats in house.) Andy’s is a new dessert stop on Kingston Pike in Bearden, and since The Spouse and I are huge frozen-custard fans, this was a no-brainer way to wrap up our meal experience. Customers may order at the drive-through or walk up to an outside window. There’s no inside seating.

Andy's Frozen Custard on Kingston Pike in Bearden serves concretes (a vanilla base with mix-in toppings) and Jackhammers (concretes with center-filled toppings) as well as familiar offerings like shakes, malts, waffle cones, cups, sundaes and splits.
Andy's Frozen Custard on Kingston Pike in Bearden serves concretes (a vanilla base with mix-in toppings) and Jackhammers (concretes with center-filled toppings) as well as familiar offerings like shakes, malts, waffle cones, cups, sundaes and splits.

Similar to eateries such as Culver’s and Freddie’s, Andy’s does most of what it does in the dessert realm with frozen vanilla custard. Options include concretes (a vanilla base with mix-in toppings) and Jackhammers (concretes with center-filled toppings) as well as familiar offerings like shakes, malts, waffle cones, cups, sundaes and splits. Any of these can be embellished with a choice of more than 30 toppings.

The Spouse decided to try one of the seasonal treats, the Santa Brownie, which is frozen vanilla custard and brownie pieces topped with hot fudge and a candy cane. The Spouse got a medium for $8.19. In order to compare apples to apples, I ordered what I usually get at Culver’s and Freddie’s — a concrete with peanut butter cup pieces mixed in. The medium was $6.64.

Both creations were very good thanks to the bases of rich, creamy frozen custard and proportionally applied toppings. The custard itself is similar to what Culver’s serves, although I have always maintained that Freddie’s custard is just a smidge richer and has a hint more egg flavor. Still, Andy’s does justice to frozen custard. My only criticism is that among comparable serving sizes, Andy’s prices seem to be a little higher than those of its custard counterparts.

So next time you get an odd craving for chicken fingers and frozen custard, consider the Raising Cane’s-Andy’s Frozen Custard tag team. Yeah, maybe that particular mix isn’t likely, but if you’re like me, it’s probably not the weirdest meal combination you’ve ever put together.

Raising Cane’s

Food: 4

Service: 3.75

Atmosphere: 3.5

Overall: 4

Address: 1655 Cumberland Ave.

Phone: 865-974-8585

No alcohol service

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sunday

Andy’s Frozen Custard

Food: 4

Service: 4

Atmosphere: NA

Overall: 4

Address: 6217 Kingston Pike

Phone: 865-314-7417

No alcohol service

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

These two Knoxville eateries have focused menus, but they both deliver admirably in their respective specialties.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Restaurant review: Raising Cane’s, Andy’s Frozen Custard are focused