Man, was I spoiled. When I was young, it wasn't often my family ate fast food for dinner (since my mom was such a great cook and pretty much demanded my sister and I eat healthy growing up). But on the rare occasion my mom didn't feel like cooking - between raising two kids, working, and going to school - it was understandable; she would simply ask my dad to pick something up on the way home from work. That something was often Bojangles fried chicken. You see, when you are junk-food repressed as I was growing up, any opportunity to eat something fried with no discernible nutritional value was this small yet memorable blip on the radar of my childhood. Yes, I have fast-food related nostalgia. But doesn't everyone? Surely someone reading this can remember the warm fuzzy feelings they had eating at the Wendy's Super-Bar back in the early to mid 90s. Alas, that story will have to wait for another day. When I was little, I figured Bojangles was a nationwide chain a la KFC. Then I started noticing people from the west coast had never even heard of Bojangles. WHAT?! After doing a little research, I found out a few things. DID YOU KNOW? This Bojangles location is the only one in Pennsylvania. It's also the northernmost location in the U.S. It's also the easternmost location. There is a whole part of this country that is not aware of Bojangles' existence. Well, rest of the country, let me tell you what you're missing - SOME OF TH BEST DAMN FRIED CHICKEN YOU'LL EVER EAT! I mean, it's crispy, it's tender, it's got that secret blend of southern spices. When I walk into a Bojangles, I feel like Ray Kroc when he first walked into McDonald's - in absolute awe, watching intently, knowing full well these stores are well oiled machines, effortlessly churning out buckets of impeccably fried chicken. Oh, and let's just talk about the sides for a second. Yeah, they have the usual biscuits, coleslaw, mac & cheese, green beats, and even grits ... but the real star of the slideshow of side shows? The DIRTY RICE. It's so disappointing when competing fried chicken joints don't serve this up. Dirty rice is the quintessential southern fixin'. Hell, its origins stem from the Creole regions of southern Louisiana. Sure, Popeye's just moved in down the road, but Bojangles will always have a special place in my heart. read more