For this week’s blog, I have to admit I’m fairly swamped with homework. Due to this, I didn’t have the time to go to a fancy takeout spot as I have been for my past few blogs. I did, however, drive right past a newly opened chicken takeout spot, so I decided why not and stopped in for a meal. This restaurant was Mary Brown’s Chicken. Located on Admirals and Aldersmith in Esquimalt, Mary Brown’s, in the nicest way possible, just like every other chicken restaurant. The question is now, is it better than all those other chicken restaurants? Lee’s Chicken scored 20/40 on my scale, let’s see if Mary Brown’s can top it.
My Order: Buffalo Mary Sandwich
Photo Credits: My Photo
Appearance: 2/10
Ummmmmmmmmmmmm, to say the least, this is bad. Bland, bland, and blander are all I can think of when I look at this. The sandwich is mushed, and overall just not very appealing. I gotta admit though, the box the fries come in is pretty cool. I’ve never seen a fry box like this before, so for that alone, Mary Brown’s gets a few points in the appearance category. Other than that, I’m fairly disappointed, 2/10
Taste: 3/10
For what this sandwich lacks in appearance, it only somewhat makes up for in taste. To begin, the buffalo sauce they used was very sweet. Sweet to the point of it not tasting like buffalo sauce anymore. This really threw me off on my first bite. I expected the oh-so-delicious taste of buffalo sauce. Instead, all I got was disappointment. After a few more bites, I mean, I guess it tasted good? It definitely wasn’t bad tasting but it also was in no way good. Oh, and I almost forgot, THE WHOLE THING WAS SOGGY. Not just damp, but soggy. How does this even happen? I can understand if the sauce got the bun a little damp, but legitimately, the sandwich was wet. Just came out of the pool on a summer’s day wet. Not something I want a sandwich to be at all, 3/10.
Customer Service: 3/10
This place is just straight-up weird. Bad vibes all around for sure. Much like Lee’s chicken, when I went to Mary Brown’s, at that point, it had just been open for a few days. Meaning you’d expect some things not to go according to plan. The usual being misplaced items or long wait times, but here, the staff was just rude. Genuinely rude, not only to me but to many other customers. They were even rude to other coworkers. This wasn’t just one employee either. It was multiple employees, who seemed to not care one bit. They also asked if I wanted gravy with my meal, which I of course said yes too. I assumed it was free, but to my surprise, when looking at the receipt, I noticed that the gravy cost two whole dollars. Nobody even told me it was extra. Not an ideal look for a newly opened spot, 3/10.
Bang for Your Buck 4/10
In total, my meal came out to 15.11 taxes included, with a Pepsi and of course, the infamous gravy cup. Considering it would have been two dollars less without the gravy cup, this isn’t a bad deal. It’s pretty much the standard for all the chicken takeout places to be between 12 and 15 dollars for a meal, making it quite average. An average price for a less-than-average meal, 4/10.
Final score Breakdown
Appearance: 2/10
Taste 3/10
Customer Service: 3/10
Bang for your buck: 4/10
Final score: 12/40
Yikes
Final Thoughts
Mary Brown’s was a complete and utter letdown. I honestly thought it would be better than Lee’s chicken and Popeyes. Sadly, it was significantly worse due to numerous reasons. Maybe it was just a bad day for good ol Mary Brown or maybe it’s just bad. I’ll probably stop in another time soon to test this but as of right now, Mary Brown’s leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Literally and figuratively. Be very wary of eating here and happy Halloween!
P.S. Sorry for this being a shorter blog, as I mentioned I’ve been struggling with homework. Be expecting fuller-length food reviews again soon!
Jaxon’s Top Takeout in Victoria List
- Rise and Grind, Downtown – 35/40
- Italian Food Imports, Downtown – 33/40
- RedFish BlueFish, Inner Harbour – 29/40
- Foo Asian Street Food, Downtown -25/40
- Lee’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 20/40
- Mary Brown’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 12/40
ct says:
Hi Jaxon,
I love how you rank all the different factors in your meals, and I think your food reviews are amazing! I’m sorry that the meal was not all that great last week, but I am hoping this week’s take-out will be much better for you.
I would give you some suggestions on where to go, but I’m not all too familiar with Victoria quite yet. Maybe I’ll go check out Rise and Grind…
November 1, 2022 — 11:26 am
jessicaj says:
Hi Jaxon,
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that this food was a let down. Chicken sandwiches either hit or don’t tbh. I read your last blog post and realized that it was actually my uncle’s store you reviewed! I’ll have to send him over your link. Anyways, can’t wait to see what else you end up reviewing!
November 1, 2022 — 4:27 pm
codymacqueen says:
Wow Jaxon sorry to hear about the food being not so great. Your experience was the complete opposite from mine. The sandwich I had was amazing! I will admit the food you received looks terrible, it looks really soggy. I highly recommend going back and giving it another try. I think I would rate their chicken sandwiches better than Popeyes and even the Lee’s chicken in Duncan. I recommend the Hot Louisiana one!
November 1, 2022 — 8:45 pm
yirehpark says:
Jaxon, this is an amazing food review and I really appreciate the detail you’re getting into with this. I’m disappointed that I haven’t explored your blog sooner because I really need some good take-out recommendations. It’s good to know Mary Brown’s isn’t worth it, I’ll be sure to avoid that and go find a popeyes for good chicken. Also, I have to agree that the appearence is really not it. The sandwich looks like its been in the fridge for a few days, stuck between other condiments and containers… Thanks for testing it out!
November 2, 2022 — 12:00 am