Griff's Restaurant

Update 10/4/10: Griff's is closing.

In a word: Not quite Chicken Unlimited, but as close as Madison's gonna get.

The specs: #0208
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; hot dog review; reviews at Yelp;

JM ate the Western burger with pickles and onions, cheese curds and a chocolate shake.
Nichole ate 2 pieces of chicken and an orange Slush Puppy.
The bill was $19, or $9.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave Griff's a B+; Nichole gave Griff's an A- (see our grading rubric).

Latest Griff's news and reviews

It's not really fair for us to hold every family chicken joint up to the standards of that stalwart Eau Claire Chicken Unlimited, but if you've ever been there you'll understand. Griff's has much in common with our favorite meal north of Hwy 10, namely the huge backlit menu, surfeit of deep-fried appetizer choices, and down-hominess. One thing Griff's sadly does not share is the super low price.

JM's burger, which he topped like a McRib for reasons Nichole would rather not explore, was quite good. The chocolate shake was only so-so, and the cheese curds decent though, again, expensive. Griff's came in just shy of the A-grade range for JM.

Nichole was glad to be at Griff's because it's good to support any sort of nonpretentiousness at all in Madison. She was still full from a late lunch, so the "moisturized" Chester fried chicken didn't hit the spot as it might (and the term "moisturized" is kind of creepy, isn't it? JM wondered if they used vegetable oil or Oil of Olay). The batter didn't seem to have any spices, leaving the meal somewhat flat. Nichole did learn at Griff's that it's Icees she prefers, not Slush Puppies, but that's hardly their problem.

All told, not a bad meal, if monochromatic & not super healthful - plus, they deliver, even pancakes, according to their menu. Speaking of breakfast, take 7 seconds and enjoy Jiggly Omelet: the Movie, filmed on location at Griff's.

Comments

[Kyle]

Nichole, the reason JM topped his burger like that is because there is almost nothing better-suited to top a barbecue-styled sandwich than pickles! Onions are take-or-leave, but oh lord, pickles. Try pickle slices on a pulled pork BBQ sandwich from Market Street Diner, you'll thank me later.

So that, or he was trying to replicate the pleasure of the McRib without the guilt that must accompany the actual consumption of said pressed meat product.

[Wagon]

You mention the delivery aspect almost in hindsight. They deliver BACON CHEESEBURGERS, people. They deliver JALAPENO POPPERS! SHAKES! CHEESE CURDS! And yes, they even deliver fried eggs... Okay, so that's gross. But regardless, it's Munchies Heaven. Well worth the extra cost for lazy folks out there. God Bless America.

[Jeremy]

If you think that is munchie heaven, you obviously haven't visited www.madtownmunchies.com

[nichole]

Hm, nope, we haven't... nice enterprise (and nice viral marketing). But let's not compare apples and oranges. Not only do your delivery areas not overlap at all, but if it's Funyuns vs. cheese curds, the curds are gonna win every time.

[Jeremy]

Just noticed this response Nichole. I apologize, but I think you took my response the wrong way, I was kidding around. It wasn't a viral marketing attempt at all, simply something I noticed while surfing the internet and thought I would throw in what was supposed to be a funny comment.