Tonight, I tried the new Zaxby’s Chicken Parm Loaded Fries which are advertised as: “A generous portion of Crinkle Fries topped with hand-breaded Fried Chicken, Parmesan cheese, Marinara Sauce, and Garlic Aioli.” Unfortunately, I found this offering extremely disappointing. From a mediocre marinara sauce to an unnecessary aioli, this platter of loaded fries left me categorically unhappy.

I don’t particularly find myself to be a picky eater; however, I do consider myself to have a discerning palate for “Italian style” foods. So, the bar for this meal was admittedly pretty high. But, even as a generous reviewer, this meal barely got off the ground. First, the Marinara was awful. It was overly sweet, seemingly 50% sugar. It tasted like the kind of marinara you would find offered to dip mozzarella sticks in, but the worst version of that marinara you can imagine. Unseasoned to my knowledge, this red sauce was almost only that; red. And the fact that it was the primary flavor made for a terrible start to this dish. Second of the atrocities was the Aioli. I challenge you to find a chicken parm that has aioli, or even more broadly any other marinara based dish that includes mayo. It was shocking and off-putting when I tasted the aioli after having forgotten it was included in the dish. “How about another sugar drenched sweet sauce to clash with the already terrible red sauce?” said the chef who made this, I assume.  

In an effort to not complain for too long, the remainder of the dish was fine. The fries were good, (the ones unspoiled by the vile sauce brew) and the chicken was the same well-made chicken tenders cut into pieces that Zaxby’s offers. There were melted cheeses thought-out that were also palatable.

Finally, the price tag ($8.99) once again makes this dish basically un-orderable. There are cheaper ways to give yourself a stomach ache.

1/10 – it’s technically food

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