Vancouver’s original Hot Chicken brand, DL Chicken, is kicking off its fifth anniversary celebrations with a brand new menu, officially launching on International Fried Chicken Day, July 6, 2023. Going toe-to-toe with its classic Hot Chicken Sando? Several new fresh-flavoured sandos, DL Popcorn Nuggets with housemade dipping sauce, Truffled Fries, and Spiced Mac ‘n Cheese.
“Celebrating five years of DL Chicken is kind of surreal, as it truly feels like it was just yesterday that we opened our first location on the Drive,” says Doug Stephen, who co-owns DL Chicken, Downlow Burgers, Vennie’s Sub Shop, and The Drive Canteen with wife and partner Lindsey Mann. “In the past five years, we’ve probably served almost 500,000 sandos. It’s a great feeling, and we wouldn’t change it for anything. We also thought the five year mark was a great time to refresh our menu, and can’t wait for the community to give them all a try!”
DL Popcorn Nuggets are brand new to the DL menu. A definite nostalgic item, Stephen spent more than a month testing and perfecting the two-bite favourites. The nuggets use 100 per cent hormone-free chicken raised without antibiotics from Fraser Valley’s Rossdown Farms, and are coated with DL’s signature dredge, giving them the right amount of crunch. Guests can choose from five classic sauce options: DL Sauce, ranch, honey mustard, DL’s new sweet ‘n sour, and DL’s new BBQ sauce.
Giving the classic Hot Chicken Sando some serious competition are three new sando flavours, all served on potato buns. These include: the Chips n Dip with cool ranch spiced crispy fried chicken, French onion sauce, shredduce, and tomato; The Rookie of the Year with fresh chimichurri sauce made daily, crispy fried chicken, DL’s Rookie Sauce, Shredduce, and tomato; and The Boujee with truffled medium spice crispy fried chicken, truffle mayo, pickles, pickled red onions, and crunchy slaw.
Not to be outdone are the two new sides. In addition to regular, salted fries, guests can try DL’s Truffled Fries, featuring classic crinkle cut fries dusted with truffled spice dust and served with a side of truffle mayo. Then, indulge in a creamy Mac ‘n Cheese with mac noodles, house-spiced cheese sauce with pickled jalapeno, and topped with herbed bread crumbs.
“Nuggets were a staple of Lindsey and my childhood, and as soon as our son, Boe, was able to start eating solids, we’ve been plotting ways to make our own,” adds Stephen. “And, there is nothing like fresh chimichurri! We make it daily and it gives off a different kind of heat – a great complement to our fried chicken.”
DL Chicken’s new menu officially drops on International Fried Chicken Day, July 6, 2023 at both its OG location and UBC. For hours of operation and more information, please visit DL Chicken www.DLChickenShack.ca.
