When you mosey up to the restaurant your mouth is already watering from the smell of the hickory fueled fire cooking the chicken as you see each juicy bird cooked to perfection, spinning on the rotisserie. Pardner, these are not oven baked fowl that are then packaged and thrown under a heat lamp. These are tasty and moist chickens with the flavor of the hickory and spices cooked deep within.

Phil and Jeanette Sanders founded Cowboy Chicken in 1981. They sold their restaurants (there’s also one on Greenville Avenue) to Sean Kennedy and Malcolm Menter. The whole crew at the restaurant, which features take out as well as seated dining is downright friendly and hospitable to customers trying to make choices from their vast menu that includes many of the famous home made recipes from Jeanette that made the place a Dallas staple. But what’s one of the best parts of Cowboy Chicken is Phil Sanders who still works there full-time helping out even though he sold it off a few years ago. When I went there yesterday he was busy wiping down tables but still made sure to greet each customer coming through the door with a big smile.

Talking to Phil about Cowboy Chicken is like Home on the Range. He takes you back in time when his concept was new – no one made chicken over hickory let alone on a rotisserie like he did and still does. He talks about being featured by the New York Times which a plaque of the article is proudly displayed on the wall of the restaurant along with other media clips over the years. But what is so great about talking to Phil is his pride for what he created and the history of what he built and continues to help build. In a day where the majority of new businesses fail, he came up with a winning idea that is still a drumstick dinger.

Cowboy Chicken has some of the best chicken, side dishes and desserts in town. Try the twice baked potaters which are sinfully good. They’re also known for their sour cream chicken enchiladas which are mighty yummy even if they’re made by a gringo. And the home made peach cobbler is heaven on a dish, made from Jeanette’s original secret recipe. I don’t care if another restaurant is pricier or fancier – the food at Cowboy is the best and will beat any competitors. The price for a whole rotisserie chicken is comparable to the prices at grocery stores and other chicken joints. They run a couple bucks more than those dry foul fowls at super stores – but Cowboy Chicken is worth every bite. It’s a sure hit for your family or if you have company coming over.

So saddle up and head on over to Cowboy Chicken where you will not only get some of the best vittles around but you’ll get a taste of Texas history while you’re at it. That’s a lot of bang for your buck, mi amigo!

Cowboy Chicken
17437 Preston Road
Dallas, TX 75252
Phone: 972-732-6281

5315 Greenville Ave #125
Dallas, TX 75206
Phone: 214 234 0505