Tender Tender’s is a newly reopened fried chicken place in San Rafael that has been attracting many visitors. In contrast, Starbird, a well-known fried chicken chain with a location in Corte Madera, is already established. We’ll review the chicken based on size, juiciness, seasoning, sides, and price.
Tender Tender’s doesn’t have much indoor seating, but its location is easily accessible. On the other hand, Starbird has indoor and outdoor seating, although it’s in Corte Madera town center, which is often crowded due to it being a quick way to get food in the outdoor mall. The noise level in Starbird is louder than that of Tender Tender.
A con of Tender Tender’s is the low options of food, they have chicken tenders fries, and a drink. They also have variations of fries such as garlic and curly. Starbird has a variety of foods, such as chicken sandwiches, salads, tenders, nuggets, wings, cookies, and churros. Tender Tender’s is slightly more expensive than Starbird, 4 tenders at Tender Tender’s is $14 compared to Starbird’s $13.90.
Our first impression is there is a large difference in chicken size, Tender Tender’s is around 2x size compared to Starbird. The fries at Tender Tender’s are some of the greatest fries I’ve had. They are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and not too thin. Starbird’s fries are pretty average compared to others; they pair well with the star sauce and ranch, Starbird makes up for the fries with good seasoning and good chicken tenderness. Tender Tender’s chicken doesn’t have enough flavoring but it is very juicy. They have a variety of sauces at Starbird, including a signature sauce.
The overall comparison of the two, Starbird takes the win due to it having more menu items, better chicken seasoning, and lower prices. We think that Tender Tender’s has potential if they add more flavoring to the chicken lower the prices, and add more items to the menu.
