The Common Restaurant Appliances Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers Lacks

Fast food chains are often lumped together in the minds of many diners. But those in the know understand that there are some surprisingly important differences between them, particularly when it comes to the quality of ingredients and how meals are prepared. On this last point, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers stands out among its competitors not by what it does, but by what it doesn't do.

Unlike most fast food chains, Raising Cane's prides itself on cooking every meal to order, meaning that your chicken finger meals and fries are fresh out of the fryer when you chow down. As a result, the restaurant doesn't have heat lamps, which fast food companies commonly use to keep items warm between the time they're cooked and when they're ordered. Unfortunately, using heat lamps can also mean some food may sit for extended periods, typically losing quality as time passes.

This same commitment to fresh-made meals is behind Raising Cane's lack of microwaves, too. While they may be convenient, microwaves can enable restaurants to serve reheated old food instead of meals cooked to order. Microwaved food also typically ends up with a mushy texture, an especially important factor when enjoying ideally crispy fried chicken.

The lack of microwaves and heat lamps is just one part of what the chain's co-founder views as a restaurant-wide commitment to quality. In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Todd Graves told us that what makes Raising Cane's so delicious is the use of only the best chicken breast tenderloins, along with being dedicated to perfecting chicken fingers above all other menu items. It's decisions like these that have helped Raising Cane's develop such a loyal following, not to mention a spot on our list of fast food chains that serve the highest quality chicken sandwiches.

To be sure, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers isn't the only fast-food giant ditching the microwave. You won't find a microwave in popular chains like In-N-Out Burger, Chipotle, Five Guys, Noodles & Company, or Qdoba, either. Though each company has its own reasons for ditching them, most point toward a desire for higher-quality ingredients and fresher meals. So, while Raising Cane's is doubtlessly missing some equipment commonly found at other chains, it's a deliberate move that may be a perfect case of "addition by subtraction."