Ezell’s vs Heaven Sent – Battle of Seattle’s Best Fried Chicken
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The Ezelll’s vs Heaven Sent story is very much like the Paseo vs Un Bien story. Except we’re not talking Caribbean sandwiches. This is the Best Seattle Fried Chicken competition which is the next in our Seattle Food War Series. And it has a doozy of a soap opera story behind it. And after doing our taste test, much like the Top Pot vs Might O doughnut competition, you can’t go wrong with either.
The History Behind Ezell’s and Heaven Sent
As soon as I moved to Seattle in the late 90’s, I heard the story of a fried chicken place all the way up here in the PNW that was so good that Oprah Winfrey declared it the best she’d ever tasted and would fly in the chicken from Seattle to Chicago so she could enjoy it. This place was Ezell’s, which had opened in 1984.
Apparently, after many years of having a successful business, there was a falling out with the co-founders and Ezell Stephens of the Ezell’s namesake was forced out of the fried chicken chain that was named after him. So what did Ezell Stephens do? He opened up his own Ezell’s fried chicken chain. So for a time, there were two sets of Ezell’s owned by each co-founder. Of course, lawyers got involved. You can actually read the offical court documents here.
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Once the dust settled, Ezell Stephens opened his chain of Heaven Sent Fried Chicken. And ever since then there’s been a debate in Seattle over who has the better fried chicken. It’s eerily similar to the Paseo vs Un Bien story, isn’t it? We’re here to settle the score once and for all. There’s even trash talk involved, “Their chicken is called Ezell’s,” said Mr. Stephens. “It’s not Ezell’s. Hell, it was only Ezell’s when Ezell was there.” and Mr. Stephens points out he’s the person who cooked for Oprah on her birthday in 1990.” On Facebook, the company declares “you will only find Ezell Stephens, the person who cooked for Oprah at Heaven Sent Fried Chicken.”- WSJ. These quotes are from an article from the Wall Street Journal that actually did a article about the feud. I love it!
If Oprah’s endorsement wasn’t enough, Esquire Magazine named Ezell’s the Best Fried Chicken in the US and it won by a massive margin. You’d think that the best fried chicken would come from the South, but Ezell’s whooped the other nominees from places like Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana.
Here’s the tale of the tape:
- Distance from our house: Ezell’s: 2 miles vs Heaven Sent: 4.5 miles
- Locations:
Ezell’s: 13 locations: Bellevue, Kent, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Renton(3x), Wallingford, Rainier Valley, Central District, Spokane, Tacoma, Woodinville
Heaven Sent: 3 locations: Lake City, Renton, Everett
The Order– For this Ezell’s vs Heaven Sent taste test, we tried to compare apples to apples so we got the 3 piece meal with a side of slaw and rolls. We tried to get mac & cheese also, but Heaven Sent didn’t have any prepared at the time of ordering. We ordered the spicy chicken version at each location. We had tried the original version before at each location prior and liked the spicy version better. Both locations were very close to our taste testing location, so we were able to compare fresh servings side by side.
The Rating System: For this Ezell’s vs Heaven Sent tasting, we decided to rate the meal based on the below. We gave an increased weighting to Value(2x) and Taste(3x) since we feel these are more important.
1. Appetizing/Appearance – Comparing on appearance only, Ezell’s golden dark brown pieces were more appealing. We think maybe Ezell’s chicken having a bit more batter also adds to the appeal. Winner: Ezell’s(1)
2. Crispiness- If it’s fried, it better be crispy, right? Again, having the extra batter on the chicken made all the difference. What a satisfying sound it is to hear that first bite into crispy fried chicken. Winner: Ezell’s(1)
3. Juiciness– After taking two big bites of each, Heaven Sent’s chicken was clearly juicier. So moist. I wouldn’t say Ezell’s was dry or anything, but it was less juicy. Winner: Heaven Sent(1)
4. Sides-
- Roll– The rolls tasted exactly the same to us, but Heaven Sent’s were much bigger, much fluffier and not as dense. Both were sweet with a nice brown hue on the outside. Our personal preference is fluffy instead of dense. Winner: Heaven Sent(1)
- Cole Slaw– Again, very similar tasting, but Heaven Sent’s slaw was a bit juicier and had slightly more spice, more peppery. This was super close, but… Winner: Heaven Sent(1)
5. Taste- We ordered a 3 piece meal at each place.
- Ezell’s: 3 piece meal. Comes with 2 sides and a roll. They didn’t ask what type of pieces I wanted, but they do give a choice of original, spicy or combination of both. They gave us a drumstick, wing and a breast.
- Heaven Sent: 3 piece meal comes with one side, a roll and a drink. They give you the option of 2 thighs and a drumstick or 2 breasts and a wing.
We found Heaven Sent’s batter more flavorful and the spices made it a bit more tasty than Ezell’s. The Heaven Sent chicken’s spiciness is perfect, not too hot, but enough to put a tingle on the tongue. I also like the fact that we were given a choice of the 3 pieces. We like chicken breasts, so we’re happy to get two at Heaven Sent. Winner: Heaven Sent (3)
6. Value for 3 piece meal including tax
- Ezell’s: $12.10. They not only give you an extra side dish, but it’s $2.50+ cheaper than Heaven Sent. Perhaps it’s cheaper because it’s take out only and they don’t have the extra expense of maintaining a sit down eating area?
- Heaven Sent : $14.64. They only give one side dish for this particular 3 piece meal, but they do give a drink from the soda fountain which Ezell’s doesn’t.
Extra side dish and $2.50+ cheaper? Winner: Ezell’s(2)
The Final Tally
| Category | Ezell’s | Heaven Sent |
| Appetizing/Appearance | 1 | 0 |
| Crispiness | 1 | 0 |
| Juiciness | 0 | 1 |
| Sides -Rolls | 0 | 1 |
| Sides- Cole Slaw | 0 | 1 |
| Taste | 0 | 3 |
| Value | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 6 |
Summary: There’s a constant comparison of Ezell’s and Heaven Sent for a reason-the Oprah story, the longevity of Ezell’s, the tumultuous history between the two, but there’s a main reason the comparisons persist. They both make damn good chicken. Both were fast. Both had service that was spot on. Truthfully, there is no loser, but a winner must be declared. So by a score of 6 to 4, Heaven Sent is the Winner!!!
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