PEABODY — If you’re going to Shaquille O’Neal’s restaurant, Big Chicken, don’t just order a normal chicken sandwich.
This is Shaq, the Big Aristotle, Shaq Fu, Shaq Daddy, the Big Cactus, the Big Shamrock (all actual nicknames). This is the man who played Kazaam and performs as DJ Diesel.
Your best bet is to order one of the crazy items — like The Ultimate chicken sandwich topped with mac and cheese and onion rings. Then you should grab some crinkle fries or a milkshake. It’ll make your day better.
Shaq’s Big Chicken Restaurant in Peabody | Review
O’Neal, who’s best known for his legendary basketball career and various media pursuits, also owns a chain of restaurants called Big Chicken. It just so happens that Big Chicken opened its first Massachusetts location this week at the Northshore Mall in Peabody.
Big Chicken is a quick-service chain restaurant and offers a similar menu to what you see at chicken joints like Chick-fil-A: sandwiches, boneless tenders, salads, sides and milkshakes.
But the Lucille’s Mac and Cheese topped with Cheez-Its? Yeah, no one else is doing that.
The Original Big Chicken sandwich, Lucille’s Mac & Cheese and Dirty Fries from Big Chicken, a restaurant chain owned by Shaquille O’Neal.(Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
What does the food taste like?
Here’s what I tried during my visit, which was one day after the Peabody location opened:
The Original Big Chicken (with pickles & Big Chicken sauce)
(Price: $8.49 for a sandwich, $12.98 for a combo.)
Yup, this is a standard chicken sandwich.
The chicken itself is OK. It’s somewhere between Chick-fil-A and Dairy Queen (which does have underrated chicken.)
The breading is on the lighter side, but carries some solid peppery seasoning. The signature Big Chicken sauce is delightfully tangy with a little bit of sweetness.
One element that stood out: They do not skimp on the chicken. Mine had extra chicken sticking out the side of the bun.
The Ultimate (with Mac and Cheese, Crispy Fried Onions, Roasted Garlic BBQ Aioli)
(Price: $9.59 for a sandwich, $14.08 for a combo.)
I won’t lie. I wasn’t that impressed at first by Big Chicken. Then I took a bite of this sandwich and it all clicked.
The Ultimate is a cacophonous clustercluck of carbs and calories. It shouldn’t actually work as a sandwich — but it does.
Despite all the different elements going on, you can pick up distinct individual flavors that play well together. The flavor of the chicken and the seasoning comes through. The onion rings are crunchy and savory. The mac and cheese is a delightfully gooey element.
The sandwich held together surprisingly well and didn’t get soggy.
Lucille’s Mac and Cheese (Topped with Cheez-Its)
(Price: $4.49)
Named after O’Neal’s mom, the mac and cheese is a gooey little side order that comes topped with crushed Cheez-Its.
It’s important to note that the Cheez-Its are not baked on top. They’re simply sprinkled on to a normal order of mac and cheese. So don’t go expecting a crispy browned top.
I would’ve liked to see the Cheez-Its broiled a bit. But oh well.
Crinkle Cut Fries
(Price – $3.49 for a side order)
These are solid fries.
Big Chicken could have easily phoned in the fries while their flashy sandwiches took all the attention. Instead, the restaurant put out some well-made, well-seasoned fries with good texture.
I kept eating this well past the point at which I should have stopped.
Dirty Fries (with cheese sauce, banana peppers, bacon, spicy chipotle BBQ sauce)
(Price: $7.99)
One order of Dirty Fries comes with two forks, which a subtle way of emphasizing that there are more than enough fries on the platter for two people.
These loaded fries have a really nice blend of BBQ-adjacent flavors. The bacon and cheese add savoriness while the spicy chipotle sauce adds some head and zing to break it all up. The banana peppers are basically there for decoration.
When you get all the flavors together, it really hits. My only complaint is that I wish there were more toppings.
Cookies & Cream Milkshake (topped with Oreo crumbles and whipped cream)
(Price: $5.99)
It’s a Oreo-based milkshake with whipped cream and Oreo crumbles. What’s not to like?
The shake has an ideal texture — think enough to stick to the straw but smooth enough to easily go through it.
Great milkshake. Give me 14 of them.
(You can check out the full menu on the Big Chicken Website.)
So, is it worth eating there?
Sure. There’s fried chicken. There are solid sandwiches. There are fries and milkshakes. If you like those things, you should absolutely try it out.
Just don’t drive an hour out of your way expecting a mind-blowing basic chicken sandwich.
The restaurant is called Big Chicken. Go for the stuff that seems big and fun. It’s what Shaq would want — probably. I’ve never actually met him.
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Want more “I Ate It” food coverage? You can follow Nick on Instagram (@NickAteIt) and TikTok (also @NickAteIt)
“I ate it so you don’t have to” is a regular food column looking at off-beat eats, both good and bad. I picked the name years ago and now we’re sort of stuck with it.
You can send any praise/food suggestions to nomalley@masslive.com. Please send all criticisms and complaints about the time Shaq canceled his musical performance at The Big E to jbeattie@masslive.com. You can check out the rest of the series here.
