The tender truth: great chicken fingers are close at hand

Tenders and french fries at the Chknbox.

By AMY SOWDER 

Chicken fingers are a sure thing for kids, true. But made in-house with quality ingredients and a little care, that crunchy exterior gives way to a moist, plump interior that satisfies adult fans just as much. 

“People expect them to be flat, but they’re crispy and round,” said Alice O’Leary Kerrigan, co-owner of The Blazer Pub in North Salem. “So many people don’t expect them to be so delicious.”

Think of a chicken tender as chicken parmesan with its dress off. Every kitchen does it a little differently, with its own breading, spices, and cut of chicken, but to earn my recommendation, it has to be made in-house. Our reader suggestions also deserve notice. 

The names for these morsels aren’t necessarily interchangeable. Tenders are naturally the juiciest, most tender part of the bird. Fingers or smaller bites, by contrast, can be sliced chicken breast (also called strips) or pulverized, reshaped meat. I prefer the former type.

There are plenty of other great spots for chicken tenders in the area, but for the sake of brevity, here are some favorites, including readers’ picks.

ChknBox

These gluten-free, hand- breaded, boneless chicken bites come steaming hot with hand-cut fries in — you guessed it — a cardboard box. The five-piece, nine-piece, 14-piece and 20-piece boxes come with a choice of sauces ranging from BBQ, honey mustard and chipotle ranch to mango-habanero, blue cheese and sweet chili. Owner Bobby Sarvaideo, who also owns Bob-B-Q’s in Shrub Oak, was motivated to offer more dishes gluten-free so that a family member with celiac disease could eat them. The breast pieces are dredged in rice flour, dipped in eggwash, then coated in gluten-free panko breadcrumbs before they’re deep fried. A lot of people aren’t visiting because it’s gluten-free though; they come for the crispy chicken … in a box. These chicken tenders are used in other ways, like sandwiches and on salads. Hot tip: Don’t skip out on milkshakes.

ChknBox is located at 131 East Main St., Mount Kisco.

Pollo el Granjero

This casual walk-in, dine-in, and carry-out spot opened next to Jaipore Express in early 2026 and is also dedicated to fried chicken in not only name, but delicious deeds. The restaurant’s name translates to “the farmer’s chicken,” and the menu backs it up with fried chicken, chicken tenders, wings, and burgers with fries made in-house from whole potatoes. The fox in the eatery’s logo nods to the owners’ alma mater, Fox Lane High School; the windmill nods to the corn-filled windmills of Guatemalan farms. The fries that accompany the plump, crispy tenders can get drizzles of mayonnaise, ketchup, and green chili sauce, a popular street food condiment in Guatemala.

Pollo el Granjero is located at 740 North Bedford Road, Bedford Hills.

Amore Pizzeria

Around the corner from the Katonah train station, Amore Pizzeria isn’t where you’d expect to find great chicken tenders. But the fingers at this local Italian spot have their own following. “Amore in Katonah makes amazing chicken fingers that are like small cutlets,” said Pamela Florio, a Mount Kisco mom. Made in-house from the tenderest cuts, they’re built for dunking in the accompanying honey mustard.

Amore Pizzeria is located at 22 Edgemont Road, Katonah.

The Blazer Pub

This beloved institution is known more for its award-winning wings and its Celsius Burger, which landed a spot in Hamburger America, a Manhattan restaurant run by a burger guidebook author. But the chicken tenders have their own devoted fans. They’re breaded in-house, cooked to order, and served four to a plate, said O’Leary Kerrigan, who runs the pub with her sister, Colleen O’Leary Duffy. “There’s no heat lamp here,” she said. “Maybe more adults even than children go for them. We can put them in a salad.” Honey mustard is the most popular dipping sauce, with spicy ranch as the backup. They also offer spicy Buffalo chicken fingers with blue cheese, and the tenders show up in two wraps: the 2020 (ranch dressing, guacamole and cheddar) and the buffalo chicken (hot sauce, blue cheese and carrots).

The Blazer Pub is located at 44 Route 22, North Salem.

Br’ers BBQ

This award-winning restaurant is known for CIA-trained chef Alexa Fitzgerald’s blue-ribbon chili and brisket, but most everything the chef touches becomes magic. That goes for the chicken tenders too. Here, they’re called “tendies” and come in threes, sixes, or a dozen. They’re all boneless, skinless, white-meat fried chicken. Sauce options include Br’ers’ BBQ Sauce, Swine Sauce, Hot Sauce, Hot Honey and buttermilk ranch. To suit young and not-so-young, try a kid combo or an adult tendies box with four pieces, choice 

of sauce, fries or tots, and a fountain drink.

Br’ers BBQ is located at 52 Church St., Bedford Hills. 

DeCicco FamilyMarkets and DeCicco & Sons

This local collection of two grocery stores has different DeCicco family ownership, but they share a great selection of produce and deli. That goes for the fresh, hot food too, like the chicken tenders. At the Bedford store, there’s also a pub and dining area upstairs to eat your hot food on-site. The chicken tenders are made in-house.

Two locations: 132 Bedford Road, Katonah and 422 Old Post Road, Bedford.

Exit 4 Kitchen & Bar

Restaurateur-chef Isi Albanese’s Exit 4 eatery defies logic. Often, a small, focused menu lets a kitchen hone each dish, while a big, sprawling one spreads the budget and time too thin to do any single dish well. Not here. Amid the dizzying diversity of dishes, the chicken tenders stand out. The fresh, all-natural chicken is hand-breaded in-house and fried golden brown, paired with crisp fries and honey mustard. You get what you pay for with this $20 chicken tender entree, especially for discriminating adult aficionados.

Exit 4 Kitchen & Bar is located at 153 East Main St., Mount Kisco.

Did your favorite place for chicken fingers get excluded? Don’t chicken out. We want to know. Tell us any local food favorites or news at asowder@therecorder.org