Chikn-Fixn opens in Smithtown
Chicken tenders fried with a coating of breadcrumbs and Fruity Pebbles cereal at Chikn-Fixn, a new eatery in Smithtown. Credit: Newsday/Scott Vogel
Sure, Heidi Goldmintz needed to go to Sam’s Club, but come on, who drives from North Woodmere to Medford just for a gallon of mayonnaise and $4.98 roast chickens? That’s a 50-mile trip. There’s gotta be something else.
“I planned my day around this place,” she admitted. “I saw it online and showed it to my daughter.” It was Saturday afternoon and the pair were at Chikn-Fixn in Smithtown (look for the rooster wearing sunglasses holding a pink slotted spatula) patiently waiting for two orders of chicken tenders, one coated with a breading of Ruffles potato chips (Goldmintz), the other with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (daughter). The collective rumble of a hundred Facebook groups could be heard, and the excitement was palpable. Minutes later, a trio of ear-to-the-ground social media types from Oakdale and East Patchogue would arrive as well.
Restaurant manager David Murano said some of his team’s creations have been surprise bestsellers, including the tenders rolled in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Doritos and Cap’n Crunch. “We go through 40 boxes of that cereal a week,” he said. And then there are the other flavors: the Cinnamon Toast tenders, the tenders coated in Fruity Pebbles and Lucky Charms and Froot Loops. Those have proved to be less taste sensations than amusing novelties. “But that’s what we do,” he said. “We make it fun, we grab you and you come back, maybe next time you try the Rice Krispies or the Frosted Flakes.”
Chikn-Fixn has certainly grabbed its share of attention since opening in January, mostly on the strength of its tenders, available in more than 20 varieties. All orders consist of four cutlet-size chicken pieces — tenders is really too weak a word for what they are — served over a mountain of fries, and cost $16 ($14.50 for plain). How big is the demand? So big Chikn-Fixn appears poised to escape the 60 Terry Rd. curse, although no one on Murano’s staff can agree on how many pizzerias have failed there over the years. Is it 10? 13? “Let’s just round it off to a lot,” said Murano. The shop's success is even more remarkable considering how many competitors must be hawking chicken tenders in the vicinity, a number that’s impossible to know — and yet Murano has a hunch.
“There’s 219 places that will serve you chicken in the daytime; I Googled it,” he said. “But at 12:30 at night, there’s me and 7-Eleven.” Indeed, Chikn-Fixn is not even open for lunch during the week, targeting instead the dinner and late-night munchies crowd, who for whatever reason is in love with tenders.
“Didn’t you ever put a potato chip on a sandwich? It’s the same thing," Murano said. "Plus, everything tastes better on chicken.” Even cereal? “I’m taking you back to your childhood.” Oh, and speaking of which, the Smithtown Moms Facebook group has been particularly supportive, Murano noted. “When a mom can’t get a kid to eat, this is the trick."
There is lots more to Chikn-Fixn than tenders, much of it in the same giggly-slash-bizarre vein. There are Spicy Cheeto fried pickles ($12), golf ball-sized jalapeño poppers ($11), a burrito stuffed with Taki-coated tenders, poppers, mozzarella sticks and cheese fries ($16), and for dessert, fried Oreos ($6), fried Twinkies ($7), fried Devil Dogs ($8) and fried more.
“A guy comes in here the other day and gives me this look,” said Murano, switching to a whiny voice. “‘Come on, man.’ he says. ‘Cookie Crisp was my favorite cereal, and you put it on chicken?’ ”
“I’m like, ‘It’s not a house or a boat you're buying, OK? It’s just chicken fingers, dude.’”
Chikn-Fixn, 60 Terry Rd., Smithtown; open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday noon to 1 a.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. Closed Tuesday; 631-533-7600, chikn-fixn.com.
Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.
