Review: Dominos Specialty Chicken, aka Fried Chicken Crust Pizza & SPORTS ALL DAY OFF

Junk Food Nation, today is a DC holiday, Emancipation Day. This holiday commemorates April 16, 1862, “the day that Abraham Lincoln freed slaves in the city, getting a bill through Congress that offered new lives to more than 3,000 people.” Because of this holiday, I didn’t have work today. Which is why I woke up at 10:30am. Which is why this post wasn’t up until after 2:00pm.  Which is due in part to the fact that I’ve been watching the first game of a Cubs-Yanks double header since 1:00pm. Which is why I haven’t changed out of sweatpants or brushed my teeth yet.  MMMmm sexy.

Because of this day off, I have a chance to do two things: First, I have the unique opportunity to watch sports ALL DAY.  Well, it’s not THAT unique, I guess I *did* do that for four days straight during March Madness.  But this time I get to do it on a Wednesday!  Huzzah!  Baseball during the day, quick break to workout, and then SO MANY BASKETBALL GAMES TONIGHT.  Depending on what happens tonight, the 3-7 seeds of the NBA Eastern Conference are entirely up in the air! Plus, HOCKEY PLAYOFFS begin tonight!! Who out there cares? Anyone? Anyone? #IDo.

Second, the day off meant I could go out and buy/try today’s junk food: Dominos Specialty Chicken!  OR, as many blog/news outlets have been dubbing it: Dominos Fried Chicken Crust Pizza!

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Specialty Chicken: The Deal

Dominos isn’t calling their Specialty Chicken “Fried Chicken Crust Pizza,” because it’s not really that – each of these items above are just 12 chicken bites covered in toppings and then super-heated.  There’s no tomato sauce, there’s no bread crust.  These are like loaded tots or loaded potato skins, except instead of potato – it’s chicken bites.  Got it?  Good.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Specialty Chicken: FIVE ORDERS

There are four flavors of new Dominos Specialty Chicken – classic hot buffalo, spicy jalapeno pineapple, crispy bacon and tomato, and sweet BBQ bacon.  I have a fifth box in the picture above, because when I got to my local Dominos, after ordering online and paying for it – they had given my order away. GIVEN IT AWAY.  “Someone else also ordered all four, and we thought not too many people would do that, so we only made one order and delivered it,” the guy at the counter told me. I suppose it’s a problem when even the Dominos people don’t actually believe someone would want all four of these.

Anyways, they made my order for me and gave me a fifth (an extra Buffalo chicken one) on the house for the trouble.  That was nice.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Specialty Chicken: plus napkins

Each order of Dominos Specialty Chicken came in a small box about the same size as their orders of wings or subs come in…

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Specialty Chicken: Fingers or Fork?

…and they have the entire description laid out on front: “Dominos Specialty Chicken – 100% whole breast white meat covered in out toppings, sauces and cheeses and then baked at 450 degrees in our oven.”

I’ll be eating these with my fingers, thanks.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Specialty Chicken: UNVEILED!

And here they are!  All four flavors of Dominos Specialty Chicken, unboxed!  Now let’s take a closer look and review each individual flavor:

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple Specialty Chicken: The Money Shot

Dominos Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple Specialty Chicken was doused with a sweet mango habanero sauce, then covered in white and yellow cheeses as well as bits of pineapple (seemingly from a can) and sliced jalapenos.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple Specialty Chicken: The Close-up

Dominos Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple Specialty Chicken was pretty good.  The chicken itself was hot, but not super crispy.  Still the flavor of jalapeno and pineapple and mango habanero sauce, I thought, went really well together – sweet and spicy.  The cheese itself was nondescript – just generally creamy/cheesy, there wasn’t much bite to it. It was really the tangy bite of the jalapeno and pineapple that aligned well atop of the chicken-y bite – the cheese helped as as sort of a mellow base to counteract the spice.  I liked this one.  Chicken could be crispier.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Classic Hot Buffalo Specialty Chicken: The Money Shot

Dominos Classic Hot Buffalo Specialty Chicken was doused in buffalo sauce, blasted with ranch dressing, and then covered in melted feta, cheddar and mozz cheese. All the cheese seemed to melt nicely.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Classic Hot Buffalo Specialty Chicken: The Close-up

Dominos Classic Hot Buffalo Specialty Chicken was sort of a letdown – the buffalo sauce was very tangy and vinegar-y, just like I typically like my buffalo sauce, but was not very spicy…but that could’ve been because of the EXCESSIVE CREAMINESS added to this flavor. Seriously, ranch, feta, cheddar AND mozz???  Way to kill any possibility of buffalo flavor.  If not for the tang, I wouldn’t have been sure if this chicken was actually touched by any buffalo sauce.  Not a great combo for me.  Again, chicken could’ve been crispier.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Crispy Bacon & Tomato Specialty Chicken: The Money Shot

Dominos Crispy Bacon & Tomato Specialty Chicken was more straightforward: chicken was covered in garlic white sauce, then covered in cheddar and mozz cheese, and sprinkled with bacon and tomato.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Crispy Bacon and Tomato Specialty Chicken: The Close-up

Again, the chicken in this Dominos Crispy Bacon and Tomato Specialty Chicken could’ve been crispier.  Flavor wise, this was the one that tasted closest to pizza (obviously, because of the tomato).  The bacon had decent flavor, and the tomato added a much needed stab of sweetness and bite to the creamy base chicken and sauce.  I’m beginning to wonder if they intended to just blasted every chicken cluster with some form of white sauce, whether it be garlic or ranch.

Anyways, bacon, chicken, and tomato tasted good together, so this was an ok combo. No wow factor, but the impact flavor was more accessible and tasted better than the Classic Hot Buffalo.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Sweet BBQ Bacon Specialty Chicken: The Money Shot

Dominos Sweet BBQ Bacon Specialty Chicken was probably my favorite of the bunch. I think this was because this chicken was not covered in any white sauce – this time the flavor combo was VERY straightforward. Chicken, covered in sweet BBQ sauce, and covered in cheese and bacon. DONE.

Dominos Specialty Chicken

Dominos Sweet BBQ Bacon Specialty Chicken: The Close-up

Dominos Sweet BBQ Bacon Specialty Chicken was sweet and VERY smoky in flavor.  The BBQ sauce held up nicely.  The cheese helped add some creaminess to the flavor, and the bacon’s smokiness was enhanced by the sauce itself.  This tasted EXACTLY how I’d imagine it to be – very smoky, very sweet, and very bacon-y.   A well executed combination.

So there you have it!  All four fried chicken crust pizzas….I mean, Specialty Chicken varieties.  All in all, every single order would’ve benefitted from crispier chicken – when they assemble these and run them through that slow conveyer belt oven, I think the chicken should go first, single pass, to heat up the meat, and THEN add all the toppings and send it through again.  Otherwise, you end up like these – melted toppings with sort-of-hot chicken.

Not a bad concept.  I’d rank them Sweet BBQ Bacon first, followed very closely by the Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple.  Third, Crispy Bacon and Tomato, and Classic Hot Buffalo LAST.  If I were to ever buy these again, I’d buy the BBQ or the Jalapeno ones only.

PURCHASED AT: Dominos

COST: $5.99 each, unless they give away your order, then maybe you’ll get one more on the house like me.

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy

Discuss - 31 Comments

  1. Steve Shrader says:

    You continue to amaze me, JunkFoodGuy. I was certain that your review of the Flatizza would be along the lines of “I opened the box and placed it directly in the toilet.” This time, I was sure you would be more critical given that pizza places never cool chicken that isn’t rubbery, soft, or soggy. Oh, and your GI tract always has been a source of inspiration in my life.

    • junkfoodguy says:

      @Steve: Thanks; I work out.

    • James M says:

      Steve Shrader, You pegged this review right on the money, This guy been eating garbage so long he has no idea what real chicken breast looks or even tastes like that hasn’t been impregnated with sodium and chicken broth, Plastic cheese melted over a piece of parchment paper. What slays me the most is that Dominoes themselves make fun of their own Cookie Pizza as a flop, in subliminal way realizing full well all they invested here is the adjustments at the factory shortening the pizza box size to accommodate this farce, and the barbeque sauce, if the dark color doesn’t tell you the fructose sugar content caused the discoloration, and lets do the math One chicken breast $.89 cents + 1/3 cup of plastic cheese, $.35 cents a piece of bacon 20 cents and I’ll throw 2 cents for the parchment paper does not equal $5.99

  2. Elisa says:

    I’d go for the BBQ one too.

    Join the club–I also had Emancipation Day off. Over the years I’ve had to tell people what it is especially newcomers to the DC area.
    Oh yeah, nothing like sleeping in midweek…

  3. I wonder if they rushed these trying to get your replacement done, leaving them uncrisped. Anyway, after looking at those pictures I think we have found the photo to accompany the dictionary entry for ‘hot mess’.

  4. Marc P says:

    That Domino’s grub looks horrible, but sounds like it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be unless you (JFG) are losing your edge brother… I kid, I kid.

    Do you know what sucks about this time of year: Masters, baseball season kicking off, NFL draft, NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs?
    Answer: Not a God D*** F****** thing!

    • junkfoodguy says:

      @Marc P: I’m not a fan of Dominos, but want to give every new establishment’s promo foods a fair shot.

      And yes – nothing sucks about this time of year. Which basketball and NHL teams are you a fan of? I’m going to assume Knicks and Rangers.

  5. Mike N. says:

    You didn’t really expect Domino’s to prepare their own pineapple, did you? 🙂 They use canned tomatoes too, but I actually prefer them on pizza to ‘fresh’ tomato that some places use.

    And LET’S GO BLUES!

    • junkfoodguy says:

      @Mike N: Heh, no. Like they have pineapple trees out back and are plucking them to order? 😛

      BLUES, huh? I’m a little bitter that my boy Ryan Miller looked like a shell of himself this season in Buffalo, and then joins STL and has a rebirth. Grumble.

  6. MarcP says:

    @JFG For basketball, still a Net fan even though they left NJ. For hockey, I don’t have a team in general, more follow the wagering habit…
    Yanks and Dolphins run my fan-dom!

  7. Sascha says:

    Hockey season ended in Montreal a couple nights ago.

    Might have to watch Draft Day to get my football fix, since the draft is so damn late this year.

    Go Rays! Go Tigers!

  8. Sascha says:

    Bucs and Lions, and wherever Peyton is.

  9. PizzaGuyNC says:

    The buffalo chicken was not prepared correctly. It should have had buffalo sauce added to the top of it.

  10. Ryan says:

    I have ordered from Dominos a total of 4 times. every time i order from them its such a hassle and say its my last time. tonight was the 4th time and I spent 13min on the phone the first time with them because they couldn’t get right a… medium pizza (half pep and tom the other half can bacon and pinn). the guy could not tell me what comes on the BBQ specialty chicken and wanted to charge me $1 extra for cheese. I told him that we are just going to get the pizza because more than 1 item appears to be to difficult for him.

    i hung up, called back 2min later and talked to another employee and this time he knew what was on the BBQ specialty chicken, so i added it to my order. That conversation was only 3min long (not bad).

    I arrived at my local Dominos and when i said i was here to pick up an order for Ryan, the employee had a deer in the head lights look on his face. Long story short, he gave my order away to someone named Ryan and they ordered the same exact thing. He offered to give me someone else’s order that was on the counter for free and I said “i don’t want someone elses order, I want mine. right before i was about to walk out the door they said they would make my order and comp it for free. Now we’re talking! i think that its company policy to give your order away if you’re not in the lobby when it comes out of the oven before it goes in the hot pouch on the shelf.

    so, after reading your story, what they did to my order, then try to correct it by giving me someone else’s order, i believe that this is one dysfunctional company. I will admit that the BBQ specialty chicken is delicious!

    • junkfoodguy says:

      @Ryan: Great story! I mean, not great that it happened to you, but great that it ended up ok. Man, Dominos – what is UP with them?

  11. nlj65 says:

    Thanks for the great review… I think I’m going to order both the Sweet BBQ Bacon and Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple this evening!

    🙂

  12. orionbyrd83 says:

    I ordered the Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple Chicken and BBQ wings today for lunch. Agree the chicken could be crisper. All in all I think they were yummy. Only thing that bugs me is the texture of the skin on the bbq wings. They are always soggy and weird. As soon as my food feels weird in my mouth I’m done but the bbq sauce was good so I finished it off lol. Not too shabby.

  13. Yuta says:

    I became hungry because of your post man. Oh looks so good!! I will try this!!

  14. Chef Cosmo says:

    To start, I always love how people comment on things they know nothing about. Well, this is disgusting and it looks like crap. Try it first and then comment. I buy these a lot because my daughter loves them. It is the ONLY chicken she will eat. And yes, I cannot argue with those that commented on Domino’s dysfunction. Can’t remember the last time they got the whole order right and delivered it to my door correctly. Anyway, the bacon and tomato one is awesome for what it is and I now make them at home so I don’t have to deal with Domino’s anymore. I have also finally mastered Chili’s Original Crispers….mmmmm.

    OK…for James M,:why do you say it’s garbage? Have you eaten it ever? Do YOU know what REAL chicken breast is? Because they use real chicken breast meat in their offering. Do you know that they shoot sodium and broth into their meat or are you just flapping your gums to hear yourself? And what’s wrong with sodium and broth anyway? It’s called flavor. Nothing sorrier than a piece of white meat chicken with nothing added to it. I shoot all my meats, especially brisket and chicken. And exactly what is plastic cheese? Does it have plastic in it? Have you eaten plastic cheese? Do you have proof they use artificial(not real) cheese?
    And what do you know about BBQ sauce? I make mine from scratch as a chef and foodie and the darker the better. This comes from molasses and carmelization of the tomato products. And when is the last time you consumed something that didn’t have high fructose corn syrup? It’s a fast food restaurant trying to put out a decent tasting item for a decent price and I feel they hit paydirt on both things. What would that actual food cost you in a regular restaurant…$12,99?
    And the thing that ticked me off the most was your math. If you owned a restaurant, would you sell it at your cost? Hell no, so stop busting balls for them selling a nice food item for less than $6. Where can you get boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.78/lb? And I suppose the employee salaries, overhead like lighting and heat and rent, etc should all be ignored? Wow. What a piece of work.

  15. mike says:

    you are so right chef cosmo.i wonder if james tells his boss to keep the paycheck..just pay for my gas to get to work.

  16. Bharat says:

    I love Dominos chicken, its delicious…. :-p.

  17. Davis says:

    Hi, This is very interesting. Checkout few other food items, I have list of few food magazines which are very good to read and you can find out good recipes there. I would recommend to but it from Maggstore.com (https://www.magsstore.com/food-and-beverages-magazines) as I found it best place to buy these products.

    Thanks again for sharing good information with us.

  18. Lanston Lowe says:

    Some of you just complain just to hear your own voices….if you want crisper chicken then order the $#it without sauce on it…ita Domino’s people not Popeyes….they specialize in “PIZZA” so if you are looking for the best chicken how about trying a “CHICKEN” place

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