A staple to the lives of every Magnet student are the inevitable visits to Tanger Outlets for a quick bite to eat. Whether it be for an after school snack, lunch on an early release day, or before a sports practice or game, the close proximity and variety of options makes Tanger the obvious choice. Anyone that frequents Tanger to grab something to eat knows and loves the classics: Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Moes, and even Panda Express. While these spots are loyal to Magnet students and get the job done, things can get a little repetitive after a while. Amidst the construction of the highly anticipated new addition to the food scene of Tanger, Culver’s, another new restaurant popped up. I think that I first noticed this new restaurant right before Christmas break while getting something to eat before practice, hoping they would open before we graduate. Much to my surprise, this restaurant was practically up and ready to go the day school resumed after Winter break. When I saw this, I knew that I would have to try it soon. 

The chicken tender chain first opened in 2004 from a passion for serving others and quality chicken. The company prides themselves in serving real chicken tenders made from the tenderloin, calling it the “filet minion” of chick and consists of the best 3% of the chicken. The tenders are all-natural, have no antibiotics, no hormones, no steroids, and no preservatives. With all of these promises, I was optimistic that these tenders would live up to the company brand and become a staple part of the Tanger food scene.

Luckily for me, I was able to first try these tenders this past Monday. After school, we headed to the Huey Magoo’s to see what this place was all about. Upon arrival in the parking lot, it was obvious that Huey Magoo’s was taking a similar approach to Chick-fil-a with their drive through. The drive through was set up with cone and an employee taking orders outside of the speaker with an iPad. The drive through approach was not the only thing that reminded me of Chick-fil-a. Apart from the main chicken focus, I immediately noticed the very similar logos. The “g” in Magoo’s took the face of a chicken, much like the “c” in Chick-fil-a. The similar logos must have given Huey Magoos the ability to make quality fried chicken as well.

When we first walked into the dining room, there was almost no one in there, but, it was 4:00 on a Monday afternoon. We went up to the counter to place our order with the very friendly employee. I opted to get the three piece tender meal as this was very, very similar to the makeup of the famous Cane’s three tender meal. The order came out to around $12 and came with a drink, three tenders, fries, a piece of toast, and a special sauce. After placing my order, I headed over to the drink machine. I was pleasantly surprised with the pebble ice available in the soda machine. After getting my drink, I started to go back to our table where I was met with my meal. I have to say, the service was very quick, much quicker than that of Canes. The soda collection was complete with Coke products and a variety of teas and lemonade. The pebble ice completely made the drink experience and brought them up a few points on the ratings.

Next, I sat down ready to enjoy my tender meal. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised. The parallel to the Canes meal made it almost impossible not to compare the two. The similarities between Huey Magoo’s meal and Cane’s meal is very similar. First, the tenders were extremely tender and tasty. Opposed to Canes, Huey Magoo’s tenders were breaded rather than completely fried, making a lighter but very flavorful tender. Next, the fries were crinkle-cut with a delicious seasoning sprinkled on top. In my opinion, this seasoning brings these fries above the Cane’s Fries as they were practically the same apart from this. I am not a big fry person, but I did enjoy these fries with the meal, which I cannot always say the same when eatings Canes. To round out the meal, I tried the toast. I think that the toast is what differed the most between the two chicken tender chains. The Huey Magoo’s toast was noticeably crispier than the Canes toast, which I think comes down to the preference of the costumer. I think that I might like the Canes toast a little bit more, but I could not say that the toast from Huey Magoo’s was a disappointment. Most importantly, the sauce. I would say that this sauce was a mix of Chick-fil-a sauce and Canes sauce. It had the same general makeup of canes sauce but was a little less tangy and had a thicker consistency. For me, the sauce completed the meal and made every bit better. I would definitely recommend this meal if you are hungry any time you are in the area of Tanger Outlets.

While I thought that my review would be complete here, I actually have been back to Huey Magoo’s two more times. I went after school one day with friends and opted for the just as good kid’s meal. The kids meal was complete with everything the three piece meal had, but with two tenders instead. Not surprisingly, the meal was just as good and for sure hit the spot. I would probably recommend the kid’s meal option if you are not as hungry as it came out to just around $7.50 opposed to the $12. Then, I went again after practice with some teammates but opted just to get a cookie. I had seen these cookies the past two times I went and decided to finally give one a try. The cookie was a very good cookie and a decent size for about $1.50.

Despite the impression you may get from reading this review, chicken tender meals are not the only thing offered at Huey Magoo’s. Their menu also consists of a (Buffalo) Magoo’s Sandwich, a (Buffalo) Magoo’s Wrap, a variety of salads, along with the three piece meal, five piece meal, and seven piece meal. There is also an option to get the tenders tossed in sauce, but I did not give this a try.

Overall, I would highly recommend at least giving Huey Magoo’s a try. While it may not live up to the expectations of everyone, I do expect this chain to soon become very popular in the Tanger restaurant scene. The tenders were truly the filet minion of chicken and hit the spot every time I have been.