Maaz's Chicken had their grand opening this weekend, which is located in the former It's The…read morePizzaman/Nannou Nannou Pizza building at the US 3/NH 11 and NH 127 intersection in Franklin.
Maaz's Chicken serves up fried chicken, sandwiches, gyros, burgers, rice platters, fried seafood, appetizers, salads, desserts, and cooler drinks (Pepsi products/Gatorade). The prices here seem reasonable.
I stopped by Maaz's Chicken for lunch and dinner on Grand Opening Day when they were giving out free lunch (selected items) and 50 percent off the menu all day. The place was very busy with a line out the door. The owner had a DJ playing music near the entrance and chatting with customers. The owner is from Rhode Island and actually works across the border in Mass. The owner was looking for a place to open a chicken restaurant and chose Franklin, NH since it's a good area, bypassing Franklin, MA (for now) much closer to Bellingham, MA and Rhode Island.
The lunch line was very busy and I eventually got up to the counter and ordered the Chicken Sandwich and 2 pc Fried Chicken with Fries and can of Diet Pepsi and strawberry Hood Ice Cream for dessert, all complementary for lunch. The chicken sandwich was big with a thick breaded buffalo tender with lettuce & mayo, pretty good. The shoestring fries were decent and the fried chicken had a nice crispy salty coating on the outside. I decided I would return later for dinner takeout.
I returned for dinner takeout several hours later and the place was getting slammed with the line almost to the door. I ordered a bunch of food including a Beef Gyro ($8.99 plus tax), 6 Mozzarella Sticks ($6.25 plus tax), Chicken Over Rice Platter ($10.99 plus tax) and a 2 Pc Tilapia with Fries & Slaw ($11.99 plus tax). With the Grand Opening Discount, my total with tax was $20.83. After ordering, there was another line of customers waiting to pick up their food after paying. I waited about 16 minutes for my big order to be all set. They did run out of cole slaw and let me substitute Banana Pudding which is normally the same price as cole slaw ($2.99 plus tax). I checked my order before leaving and everything was there.
I enjoyed my big dinner back at the office and the portions of food were generous. The Chicken Over Rice Platter was excellent, which had firm seasoned rice topped with marinated hot chicken pieces, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, white sauce. The Beef Gyro was overflowing with beef gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, red onions, and a house dressing in a soft warm thick wrap. The Mozzarella Sticks were standard and came with marinara dipping sauce. The 2 Pc Tilapia with Fries was comprised of 2 good size fried tilapia filets with a seasoned breading and a pile of shoestring fries, tartar sauce was provided too. The Banana Pudding was sweet and topped with Nilla Wafer cookies.
Overall, I was able to try a variety of foods here at Maaz's Chicken including the grand opening lunch and discounted dinner food. The fried chicken though crispy outside was very salty and dry, probably due to the volume of customers ordering the same thing. The fries at lunch time were not very hot (staff trying to serve the masses at lunch) and the fries I got with my tilapia dinner were hot and firm. The Chicken Over Rice Platter and Beef Gyro were excellent and my favorites of the day.
This rating is based on the dinner takeout (4.5/5.0) and not on the grand opening lunch.