Of all the flightless birds, chickens remain America’s favorite kind to eat, narrowly beating out penguins, kiwis, and Larry Bird. Make bird the word with today's Groupon: for $6, you get $12 worth of fare and drinks at Griff's Chicken Shack in Hamden. Specializing in finger-food in finger-form, Griff's serves white-meat chicken fingers, specialty wraps, and a baker's dozen of dippin' sauces. Peruse the menu and choose a chicken-finger basket ($4.00–$7.50) or a pulled-pork sandwich ($4.50). Combine the two with an Elvis Wrap, a pompadour-preening portion of pulled pork, chicken, cheese, and sauce sealed with a commemorative stamp ($7.50). One of Griff's 13 secret sauces, such as hickory barbecue, carolina mustard, and TNT Buffalo—seasoned with syndicated episodes of Law & Order , penetrates chicken with bold, tasty flavor. Competitive eaters can test their mouth's mettle with Griff's Man vs. Bird Challenge, where participants get one hour to consume 10 crispy chicken fingers to earn a photo on the Wall of Fame. Those that annihilate more than 17 get a free meal, a free T-shirt, and an honorary PhD.

Reviews

Griff's Chicken Shack was featured in the New Haven Advocate and the Hartford Courant. Yelpers give it 4.5 stars.

• Tucked into the end spot of a small plaza on Whitney Avenue in Hamden, Griff’s Chicken Shack is an unassuming spot that delivers some solidly good, tasty Southern comfort goodness. – Alison Geisler, New Haven Advocate
• Jazz and blues music accompanies the bustling noises of the kitchen, and patrons can catch all the sports they want on a large, flat-screen TV. Overall, the atmosphere is as comfortable as the food served there. – Melissa Pionzio, Hartford Courant