Mary Brown’s Famous Chicken and Taters has undergone a
rebranding, complete with new logo: Mary's lost her bonnet and sports a blowout
bob instead. If you live in Toronto’s downtown core, it not surprising if you’re
not familiar with the fast-food chain. Growing up in Scarborough, I’ve had my
fair share of take-out from the Canadian restaurant, generally located in the
suburbs.
Subsisting solely on the chicken and taters as a child, the
grand re-opening party was my first taste of their chicken pop-ins ($5.39), Big
Mary sandwich ($5.49), and poutine ($7.99)! My how Mary’s evolved with the
times.
The pop-ins and poutine could easily be combined to make a
winning combination: the chicken bites moist and well breaded, while the
poutine smothered in hot gravy so the gooey cheese curds really gets a chance
to melt. Put the two together and you’d have an epic poutine!
Meanwhile, the chicken patty on the sandwich is thick and
actually a slice of chicken breast – it can flake a part and isn’t the formed burgers
found at some competitors. Although the Big Mary sandwich provides a choice of
regular or spicy, the latter is really just the addition of sriracha mayonnaise
on top. Presumably, using the same patty is much easier for their operations, but
takes away from the spicy experience as the spices aren’t actually worked into
the batter.
As for the taste of their famous bone-in deep fried chicken
and taters itself ($6.99 for three pieces and taters)? It was just as salty and
moist as I remembered … the dry non-greasy skin giving way to the hot chicken
juices. However, I think Mary’s done something to the breading recipe as it’s
not nearly as crusty and crunchy as in the past.
Indeed, their prices are a couple dollars higher than the
Colonel, but the quality is also a step above. After all, even without the
bonnet, Mary can cook … honest to goodness.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 3199 Dufferin Street
Address: 3199 Dufferin Street
Website: http://marybrowns.com/
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