It's time for Dining Month, presented by Deer District and its spooky Halloween-themed alter ego, Fear District. Throughout the month of October, we'll be serving up fun and fascinating content about all things food. The signature dish, however, is our 2019 Best of Dining poll, who's winners we will dish out all month long. Get hungry, Milwaukee!
Mad Chicken, a locally owned concept specializing in chicken tenders, wings and sandwiches, is slated to open in the former Burger King restaurant at 2045 E. North Ave., potentially as soon as Nov. 15.
The East Side restaurant is owned and operated by Mohamed Elkady, Nabil Mutlaq and Ramez Ali, industry veterans who also operate the Mad Chicken location inside Southridge together. Brand founders Elqady and Ali operate locations at Mayfair as well as in Appleton, and Santa Ana, California; and Mutlaq runs Mama Gyros at Southridge.
Elqady, who founded the first Mad Chicken restaurant in Appleton in 2017, says they are excited to bring the concept to a stand-alone location.
"I think we really have the potential to stand out," he says. "While fast food often means junk food, our emphasis is on creating good food, using high quality ingredients. And it’s what our customers love about us."
He says the Mad Chicken brand was founded on the need for a fast casual restaurant that focused on high quality, unprocessed foods including GMO free ingredients and hand-breaded all-natural chicken and housemade sides.
What to expect
Once open, the restaurant will feature indoor seating for about 25 guests along with a menu showcasing a variety of chicken offerings from fried chicken dinners, wings and their popular chicken tenders (available in four, six or eight piece servings with a choice of 17 dipping sauces). Mad Chicken also features chicken sandwiches, wraps, seafood baskets (fish and chips, calamari, shrimp) and freshly made salads.
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Sides include waffle fries, onion rings, fried pickles coleslaw, salad, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, mozzarella sticks, calamari and sweet corn.
"We may add a few additional items," says Elqady. "Including shakes and a few seasonal items."
You can follow Mad Chicken on Facebook and Instagram.
Once open, Mad Chicken will be open daily beginning at 11 a.m. If possible, they hope to service late-night crowds as late as 3 or 4 a.m.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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