By Irulan Riley

Recently Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers opened in Batavia, giving Chick-fil-a a new competitor. With the new restaurant just across the road from Chick-fil-a, direct competition will be going on between the two restaurants, sparking the debate on whether Raising Cane’s or Chick-fil-a is the better place to eat at. 

The restaurant has probably been tried out by many already, but for those of you who haven’t tried it, here’s my opinion-it’s just alright. I’d recommend that people try it out, but it’s not a place I’d want to eat out at frequently. For me, it certainly doesn’t beat Chick-fil-a. 

The menu is fairly simple. It’s main food items are chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, and Texas toast. That being said, if you go to Cane’s I’d definitely get chicken fingers with their signature sauce. The sauce is really good and unique to the restaurant, and I feel like you can’t go there without trying it. Raising Cane’s describes their sauce as “tangy with a bit of spice and full of flavor.” That is definitely true, and I would highly recommend it.  

The chicken fingers are also pretty good. The chicken is high-quality and has a nice chicken to batter ratio. Despite having tasty chicken, I really do not like their fries or coleslaw. The fries are bland and generic, while the coleslaw had too much mayonnaise for me. Their Texas toast, however, is really good, although it does make a weird side to an already carb-heavy meal. 

In terms of health consciousness Raising Cane’s fries are surprisingly a little healthier than Chick-fil-a. The fries are slightly lower in fat and calories. 

This still does not make up for the fact, however, that Raising Cane’s only has fried chicken, while Chick-fil-a has healthier options like grilled chicken or salads. In addition, Katie Canales, who compared the two restaurants says that “…(the chicken tenders) at Raising Cane’s were juicer and more tender. The Chick-fil-a strips weren’t as heavy or greasy. They also had less breading than the chicken fingers at Raising Cane’s…” This obviously shows that Chick-fil-a is healthier, although fried chicken isn’t the healthiest option in the first place. 

“If you prefer a sandwich with thick bread and chicken, you’ll like Raising Cane’s. But Chick-fil-A’s lighter and more gourmet-style sandwich, with thinner layers of chicken and bun, wins this round,”  Canales said after comparing the chicken sandwiches of the two places to see which was better. Canales came to the conclusion that she preferred Chick-fil-a, and I think I have to agree with her. 

Most of the public agreed with Canales too, with an overwhelming 87.8 percent of people favoring Chick-fil-a over Cane’s according to a poll by TYLT, a news site covering online debate topics. 

Although I like Chick-fil-a a little better, I still like Raising Cane’s alright. I really like their sauce and chicken, and I would eat there again if I had the chance.