KFC on Mineral Point, Madison, WI

Hit KFC on Friday afternoon, April 20th, 2007, because of a change in plans to see a movie that left us time to eat. I wasn't thinking about it, but my companion suggested it, probably because I used to like KFC in other towns and it was "right there".

I have not eaten at KFC as much as I used to in years past. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps it's because I have gotten good at making my own fried chicken at home (both traditional and tempura-style "nuggets"). I can cook up 10 legs at home for a total cost of about $8 (not including my time prepping, cooking and cleaning up the mess). How much is a 10 piece bucket these days?

Well, we ordered at the counter. A young man took our order. He seemed to know how to put the order into the register, but he didn't seem to know how to communicate with us. He could speak, but he mostly chose not to. Gruff and not personable I think is how I described him after we walked to our table. His attitude seemed to be that he really didn't want to be doing this for us. Maybe he is just nervous and uncomfortable with the public? Shortly after we ordered, my companion noticed that a female took over the register and she seemed to be pretty good at dealing with the public.

The food came. I had the Popcorn Chicken with a side of Mac & Cheese (my favorite side at KFC) and a Diet Pepsi (not a chance of getting Coke products at KenTacoPepsiHut). My companion had the Twister with Potato Wedges and whatever they had to drink that was NOT Pepsi or Diet Pepsi.

My Popcorn Chicken was a nice, large helping. The coating was a disappointment. Possibly it just sat around too long. It alternated between being doughy and chewy. But it also seemed to be, well, bland. The meat itself was OK - a bit dry but one expects that with nuggets and I didn't mind.

My Mac & Cheese was also bland, but it always has been at KFC. I seldom find a Mac & Cheese that is so amazing that I don't defile it with ketchup. I defiled away. Without the ketchup, it would have been too bland to eat.

Recommendations? If you have the urge for KFC, regardless of which town you are in, and you aren't in too much of a hurry, ask the employees how long it has been since the items were cooked. Better yet, just ask them to "drop" some fresh for you.