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DownLow Chicken, 6th anniversary menu

DL Chicken, Vancouver’s original destination for hot chicken, is celebrating its sixth anniversary with several new menu items and upgrades! You’re invited to preview two new sandos, The Stinger and AgroDolce, as well as the brand new Dry Goods Beer flavour – Lemonade Sour.

Today we were invited down to DL Chicken on Commercial Drive to check out their latest menu additions and upgrades, celebrating their 6th anniversary.

This was a private event featuring two new sandos and a brand new non-alcoholic beer flavour. We would work our way through the entire menu, sharing everything between two people.

Here, guests were able to chat with Doug, the owner and mastermind behind Downlow Chicken, as well as The American, The Canteen, and Vennie’s Sub Shop. He spoke to knowing their niche and realizing that they cannot compete with other fast food’s fried chicken options; where low prices and large quantities of food overlap. Instead, their goal is to focus on elevated fast food burgers and sides. Using different techniques and ingredients they dress up classics like chicken tenders, fries, and potato salad.

Case in point: last year they launched the Bougie, a dressed up Smashburger that had you paying for all the bells and whistles. And to their delight and surprise, this ended up being a sleeper hit. Ending the year as the second highest selling sku, just under their OG original fried chicken burger. Learning from the past and looking towards the future they have done that again with The Stinger and the new Argo.

Starting with the burger of the hour, this is the one predicted to be this summer’s big hit, aptly named The Stinger. A catchy name speaking to its sweet chilli dressing, available in a series of different temperatures. The inspiration behind this burger is the popular sweet chilli sauce, that seems to be appearing on many different menus. However, the DL take on it here includes a dressed up version, made from more than just adding chilli flakes to honey. Specifically chilli fermented in honey with fresh herbs, charred cabbage slaw, and mayo.

Each sando is l filled with three hefty chunks of deep fried chicken, in your choice of dark or white meat. You can definitely see the value in what you are getting with all of this. However, as a result, this burger is messy. Coupled with a sticky sauce and creamy slaw. You are pretty much only guaranteed one clean bite before the burger breaks apart in your hand. I found myself finishing this one with knife and fork.

The Stinger was my favourite of the two new sandos. I absolutely loved the thick, syrupy, sweet honey sauce, and just a gentle tickle of heat from the mild spice. Each piece of chicken was heavily drenched in it, and topped with the creamy slaw to balance out the deep fried bits. This was all held together between a fluffy white bread bun. Although it tasted amazing, and I can’t see any way to improve its flavour, I would have liked to have a larger and thicker bread base, just to help keep it all together and for a more even bun to chicken bites. This is the sandwich I will be ordering each time I visit in the future.

You can also enjoy the flavour of The Stinger as chicken tenders. If you want to pass on the slaw and cut out the bread, you can just enjoy your fried chicken as is. Delicious, juicy, and crispy with the same sweet honey and mildly spicy sauce as the burger. You can also pile on the flavour by dipping it into any one of their housemade dips and spreads. There is the Downlow sauce, which is a mix of barbecue, ketchup, mayo, and Tabasco. This is a favourite of all DL fans, and the standard accompaniment to their fries. Although, I prefer the classic honey mustard for my chicken tenders, to run parallel with additional honey sweetness.

Speaking of fries, Doug has confirmed that they have improved their side with a double fried, guaranteed crispy, crinkle cut. They look the same, but definitely delivered on what Doug promised. Long after the fries cooled, and as we were still grazing, each stick remained crunchy. This was absolutely an improvement that you can hear and taste.

However, if you were to only pick one side, let it be their Turbo Crunch Potato Salad. Also an improved and upgraded recipe, where they removed most of the pickles, and instead added on a Panko breaded crunch topping for a contrast in texture. This crunch matched the crispy nature of their chicken, while still offering the gritty texture of a mashed potato salad, that most people know and like at its base.

The second burger option is the Agro Dolce Sando, the more rich in flavour, darker and bolder, spicier choice. This is a sauce that Doug himself likes and wanted to feature. It had a roasted quality with red pepper notes, playing off the spicy chilli. The caramel onions added sweetness and moisture alongside the avocado spread. This too, was a handful and hard to get a grip around to eat daintily, and therefore hard to get a balanced bite with everything in it.

Pizza dust, basil pesto mayo, cheesy herb seasoning, and fresh basil slaw. Definitely one I would recommend eating with knife and fork for a better chicken to topping ratio. For this one, I would have liked some acidity on the side for needed freshness. Perhaps more of their house made pickles on the side to help break the heavy flavour and rejuvenate in between bites. Or even more of the avocado spread in a dish to eat like an after bite chase.

Along with your food, I highly recommend adding on one of their canned beverages. Each carries is own and is fundamental in helping to temper all the bolds flavours above. Made in partnership with Callister Craft Soda, a mix crafted to pair with DL’s food menu. I enjoyed both the sweet tea and lemonade. The former with its peach juice married well with the sweet undertone of all the southern flavours. It was a delightful way to refresh your mouth in between bites. Whereas the lemonade is more tart with bold citrus that cleanses the palate.

However, if you’re looking for a completely different option, you can grab one of their non-alcoholic beers, made by their sister business: Dry Goods. In fact, today’s visit coincided with the launch of their new Lemonade Sour. This is a fun collaboration with DL chicken, where the cans are decorated in a spoof LV print, ”Supreme” style (which Doug is a fan of). This was great way to enjoy the flavour and mouth-feel of beer, without any of its side effects. Ideal, during your work lunch break.

In short down, Downlow Chicken is always a good time, and they continue to roll out new and exciting items to keep you coming back for more. This is another menu update that should not be missed. I highly recommend checking all of the above out this summer.

The Downlow Chicken Shack
903 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC V5L 2H2
604-283-1385
dlchickenshack.ca

1 thought on “DownLow Chicken, 6th anniversary menu”

  1. The special dishes created for this milestone sound absolutely amazing and showcase the creativity and flavors that DownLow Chicken is known for. It’s exciting to see how the menu celebrates this anniversary with unique and delicious offerings. Can’t wait to try these limited-time items. Thank you for sharing such an appetizing and celebratory post!

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