First time I have heard of Bojangles was when I was passing through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport a couple of years ago. Since then, it has been off the radar until that eventful day when I was leaving Raleigh, NC and spotted a Bojangles restaurant near the airport and thought, I could pick something up, pass it through the TSA (which I did successfully), and have dinner on the plane. And so, it came to pass and I ended up here at Bojangles. We certainly do not have a location in HI, so I figured why not?
I subsequently learned that Bojangles is only in states in the Southeast and the Atlantic states USA, anchored by Georgia, Florida, along with Maryland and North Carolina in the north and Alabama and Tennessee in the west. It's surprising that it's not a national brand yet, but the similarity of their product rivals that of national heavyweights Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Popeyes. I do love Popeyes, but KFC, not so much. And so, it was nice to try the local favorites before hopping on the flight back west towards home. The restaurant set up indeed mimics the entire fast food genre, with many tables and plenty of seats to enjoy whatever you decide to order. Since this was the first time for me, I decided to stick to the basics and not try to overkill myself with a plethora of fast food options. I ended up getting a picnic version of the dirty rice and the picnic version of the Cajun fries, which I probably can safely assume is their cute version of saying "large". It's kind of weird in a cute way, although I'm not being judgey or anything. That's how I roll. The overall experience here at Bojangles was more or less a nice, casual, and pretty cool experience. Haven't been to Bojangles before and now, I have. It's like being in an Olive Garden, especially when you're from a state that doesn't have it. It's all like wow and awesome. I'm sure you folks feel the same way if you vacation in HI.
This particular Bojangles restaurant is located at 1000 Claren Circle, in Morrisville, NC. It's very close to the Raleigh Durham regional airport (RDU) and happened to come across it while I was looking for cheap gas to fill my rental car with. The decision to get dinner here and pass it through security was a no-brainer, since I'd be arriving in San Jose, CA at like 9:30pm with a 3 hour time zone change, I'd be jet lagged and sleepy - maybe. They accept major credit cards, which is always a plus in these parts, where credit is kind, and cash only is when their computer register systems go down, which is usually a rare instance these days. While Bojangles can be compared to Popeyes and Kentucky Fried chicken, I thought about trying their fried chicken and biscuits, as they are saying that they are famous for it, I decided not to and would definitely will want to try it next time when I am in the region again for future travel plans. The prices here can be a little expensive, although similar pricing structures in KFC and Popeyes work pretty well. Pricing their chicken at $1 a piece is sometimes good, but sometimes bad, when many of the patrons want more value for their purchase. The parking here is very good, as they have a private parking lot for customers. When you're in the middle of North Carolina, it's safe to assume that you will get a shot of a parking space.
Bojangles's food options doesn't differ or glide away from the usual construct of fast food fried chicken and wings type. It's a delicious southern comfort food fare that fancies many people for a quick lunch or dinner that does not amount to much money. They have other options including burgers and desserts, as well as combo packs and family packs that could feed an army of hungry Americans who love this kind of stuff. For what it's worth, I do love the unsweet tea and the sweet tea, since I drink it almost every day at McDonald's and Popeyes while in Honolulu. Good to have them here at Bojangles too. What I did find that the Dirty Rice from Bojangles was really good and am impressed with the mixture of flavors that go into this recipe. It was so good that I should remember having it and have more when I travel again soon. Well, sooner the better. The Cajun fries were decently good, although having them on the Southwest airlines flight and having them cold already didn't do any justice, but it was alright and decent. Next time, I will plan accordingly and have them sooner rather than later. Planning on taste testing them famous chicken and biscuits on my next trip out to the Southeast and see what I have been missing again.
Since this is my first time of many I'm sure, this initial visit would have to be a 4.0 star experience. The restaurant itself is clean and quite organized. It reminds me of dining in a Burger King or a Popeyes restaurant set up, although it could've been that before Bojangles took over the property. Who knows?
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