Zaxby's, Smithfield

Zaxby's defines comfort with a single word: chicken. However, that one word is hardly limiting. The casual restaurant—which can be found in 15 states—transforms poultry into salads, sandwiches, wings, chicken fingers, and more. Their most popular item remains the chicken finger plate, which comes with crinkle fries, Texas toast, coleslaw, and Zaxby's own signature sauce. The sauce is the second pillar of Zaxby's cooking philosophy. Their cooks make nine different varieties for dipping, drizzling, and coating crispy eats. These sauces go from mild buffalo all the way up to "insane," which pushes the mouth's central air-conditioner to its limits. Other options break from buffalo into teriyaki and BBQ territory, incorporating a touch of hickory flavor. And for dessert, there's always chocolate syrup, poured liberally over signature milkshakes such as the chocolate cookie.