Stanislaus County’s first Dave’s Hot Chicken is opening. What to expect
Dave’s Hot Chicken has announced its official opening in Turlock, and the day is as scary as the restaurant’s top heat level.
The chain will open its first Stanislaus County location on Halloween (Friday) at 10 a.m. at 2741 Countryside Drive.
Let me preface my next sentence with this: I’m pretty daring when it comes to eating spicy food.
When I went to the restaurant’s media preview event Wednesday, I chickened out in both meanings of the phrase: I ate more chicken than I’d like to admit, and I was too scared to try the spiciest level of the Nashville-style food.
Dave’s menu consists of seasoned, breaded and fried chicken tenders, bites and sliders in combos ranging from $10.49 to $14.99. All are offered at seven spice levels ranging from “no spice” to “reaper.”
You can probably guess the key ingredient in the latter. The Carolina reaper was the Guinness World Records holder of hottest pepper for a decade before it was dethroned in 2023.
To order reaper-spiced chicken, customers have to sign a waiver because of the “potential for certain risks, some of which may be reasonably foreseeable,” according to Dave’s.
“You acknowledge that eating the reaper can cause you harm including, but not limited to, bodily injury, property damage, emotional distress or even death,” the waiver reads.
I’m convinced Dave’s contrived a Halloween opening date so when customers leave there screaming, the horrors within the restaurant will be justified.
“Top-loaded” fries are $6.99 for a small and $15.99 for a large.
Sides include macaroni and cheese, fries, kale slaw and pickles. The restaurant also has a creamy, signature sauce.
For drinks, Dave’s has chocolate, vanilla and strawberry milkshakes that can be topped with Lucky Charms, Oreos, M&M’s or popping boba. “Slushers” come in flavors including orange cream, rocket cream, strawberries and cream and frozen fruit punch.
Regular hours will be Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
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