Zaxby’s
Location
106 Eglin Parkway N.E.
Fort Walton Beach
362-6575
Hours
10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday
10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday
Reservations
not necessary
Handicap accessibility
Fair
Children’s menu
Yes, $3.49
Price range
Appetizers
$2.99
Meal Dealz
$4.99-$5.39
Zalads
$6.19-$6.39
Sides & extras
25 cents-$2.69
Desserts
3 cookies for $1.39
milkshakes, $2.89
Payment
credit cards accepted
FORT WALTON BEACH — I was excited when Zaxby’s opened a new restaurant on Eglin Parkway. The ads always make the food look good.
The food
With everything from Zappetizers to desserts, Zaxby’s menu can be a little overwhelming on a first visit.
Fortunately, a section titled Most Popular is prominently displayed and proved helpful for a couple of Zaxby’s newbies.
We started, however, with a Zappetizer of fried pickles, a delicacy we discovered some years ago at another local eatery.
Zaxby’s version consisted of thinly sliced dill rounds coated with a cornmeal-based breading, deep-fried and served with ranch dressing for dipping.
They tasted fine but could have been cooked more carefully as they tended to be clumped together. Other Zappetizers include fried mushrooms and tater chips.
For entrees, we relied on the favorites list for our choices.
I had the House Zalad with cut up fried chicken fingers — you may also choose grilled chicken — and honey mustard dressing. A piece of Texas toast accompanied it.
My dining guest chose the Chicken Fingerz plate dinner, which comes with crinkle fries, cole slaw and Texas toast. There’s Zax sauce for dipping.
The “large” version adds two more chicken fingers for a total of seven and a second piece of Texas toast.
A customer in front of us didn’t want cole slaw and was allowed to choose either more fries or more toast instead.
My salad was crispy and cold. Even the bowl was chilled, which was an unexpected touch. It was also a real bowl that was to be placed in a special tub instead of thrown away.
The mixed greens base was topped with shredded red cabbage and carrots, cucumber cubes, shredded cheese, slices of tomato, and bits of fried onion — another unexpected and tasty touch.
It was a large serving that came with two dressing envelopes but I could have used a third one.
Other entree salads are a Caesar salad and a blue salad, which has bleu cheese crumbles.
My dining guest was impressed with the quality of the chicken in his meal.
“It looks and tastes like real fried chicken from home,” he said.
Zaxby’s also offers Meal Dealz, Kidz Dealz, Wings & Fingerz and Party Platterz.
You may have noticed they use a lot of “z’s.”
For dessert, there are three kinds of cookies (oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, macadamia nut) and milkshakes (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry).
We had the yummy, chewy cookies.
The atmosphere
There are 10 booths of various sizes lining three walls. The smallest are designed for two people while the largest could seat a family.
There are also six free-standing tables, including one that is double the size of the others.
Our two-person, corner booth was comfortable and away from most of the bustle.
Because of all of the hard surfaces, including the floor, the noise level continued to rise as customer numbers increased.
The service
You place your order at the counter, and they give you a number that’s called out when your food is ready. Most drinks are self-serve from a fountain dispenser of Coca-Cola products, plus iced tea.
On a busy Sunday afternoon, it took about 10 minutes for our order, giving us time to check out the unusual decor, which features a mix of sports and pop culture icons.
I couldn’t figure out why a Georgia football helmet would be affixed to the wall under a Florida jersey until I read the story of Zaxby’s on the table card. The restaurant chain was started in 1990 by two friends in Georgia.
A final taste
Zaxby’s offers high-quality chicken-focused quick-service meals that are a nice change from hamburgers.
