Restaurant Spotlight – Roaming Rooster

The Background

Founded in 2015, Roaming Rooster is a family-owned and operated business, starting as a single food truck and quickly expanding to four food trucks and a flagship restaurant in Washington, D.C.  Based on the restaurant’s website, Roaming Rooster’s mission is to “provide quality comfort food” that “customers can feel good about eating.” Owned by Ethiopian immigrants/brothers Michael Habtemariam and Biniyam Habtemariam, along with Biniyam’s wife, Hareg Mesfin, this family puts love and soul into their food.

Opening in 2018, the restaurant is open 7 days a week, from 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM Monday to Friday, and from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM on Sunday.  The establishment also offers buffet catering via ezCater.  To locate their food trucks daily, follow them on social media: @roamingrooster1 on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

The Atmosphere

Roaming Rooster is a sit-down and take-out fast casual restaurant, serving lunch and dinner.  Stationed in a shopping center, there is plenty of free parking.  Their medium-sized dining room is packed with ample seating and decorated with bright lights, red and white colors, and images of roosters.  The atmosphere inside of the restaurant is busy, yet comfortable.  The restaurant is located at 3176 Bladensburg Road NE in Washington, D.C., in between the Woodridge and Fort Lincoln neighborhoods.  

While visiting on a Monday night at 7:30 PM, the inner-city neighborhood surrounding the restaurant was acceptable and safe.  If you live in Southwest D.C. like me, Northeast D.C. is the epitome of “the other side of town” lol.  Although the 20 minute drive seems like a significant journey, I can say that it’s worth the trip.  If you live outside of the D.C. area, it’s worth the travel too!

The Service

On a Monday night at 7:10 PM, I contacted Roaming Rooster by phone to place my pick-up order.  A pleasant woman took my order and provided me with a 20 minute wait time.  Upon arrival to the restaurant, I proceeded to the counter to make my payment.  Despite the line going out of the door, the workers didn’t seem shaken or overwhelmed.  The staff appeared cool, calm, and collected.  The cashier on the right side greeted me with a smile and accepted my payment.  

I waited about 5-10 minutes for my order. While waiting, I noticed that the cashier on the left was one of the owners, which was super impressive.  Everything in the restaurant appeared to run like clockwork.  For under $10, the prices were affordable, the portions were good, the wait time was reasonable, and the food was hot.  Once receiving my order, both cashiers ensured that I had everything I needed and I went on my merry way.  My visit was short, but sweet!

The Food

I’m critical of fried chicken.  I’m even more critical of fried chicken sandwiches.  The sandwich must not only match Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Sandwich, it must outshine it in order for me to return.  Now, Roaming Rooster has five different sandwiches: Fried Chicken, Buffalo Fried Chicken, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, Nashville Hot Chicken, and The Club.  Considering this was my first trip, I ordered the classic Fried Chicken Sandwich, which is a buttermilk fried chicken breast with a house made vinaigrette slaw.  There’s also three heat levels: mild, medium, or hot. Since I can’t handle too much heat, I chose the mild level.  

After taking my first bite, my shoulders jigged, my heart sang, and I was simply in heaven.  The golden-brown bun was warm, buttery, and soft.  The chicken breast had the perfect amount of lightly seasoned crisp skin, adorning hot, juicy, succulent, tender, and flavorful meat inside.  The vinaigrette slaw had a delicate taste and it paired well with the other flavors.  

What I loved most about this sandwich is that it was unbelievably fresh and non-greasy.  It was also light and refreshing.  After eating most fried chicken sandwiches, I’ve felt extremely stuffed, weighed down, sleepy, and unproductive lol.  While extremely filling, this sandwich was just enough to satisfy my hunger and leave me energized enough to tackle any task at hand.  

This good-sized sandwich is a complete entrée with no need for a side.  However, for those with hefty appetites, Roaming Rooster offers a variety of side dishes, including fries, coleslaw, greens, mac & cheese, and potato salad. Since I have a healthy addiction to fries, I gave their hand-cut and twice-fried version a try.  The fries weren’t anything special and weren’t as crisp as I would like, but I could taste the wholesomeness.  It was clear that they were fresh, not frozen or microwaved. Think the softness of Five Guys fries, sans the seasoning.  

Since neither the fries or the sandwich were loaded with salt, it’s perfect for health-conscious diners who are mindful of sodium levels and prefer to add their own salt to food.  Other menu items include chicken wings, chicken tenders, lemonade, iced tea, and soda.  All of Roaming Rooster’s food is served fresh every day with quality ingredients, which is greatly appreciated!

Final Verdict

Hands down, Rooming Rooster’s Fried Chicken Sandwich is the best I’ve ever had! I’ll proudly call it the best fried chicken sandwich in Washington, D.C.  Roaming Rooster keeps it simple with their classic sandwich, without any antibiotics, chemicals, bells, or whistles.  However, if you crave extra flavor, you can add spices or sauces, or try one of the other sandwich variations (The Honey Butter Fried Chicken Sandwich is next up for me!)  

Despite an increased demand of fried chicken sandwiches after a viral tweet on August 26, 2019, Roaming Rooster has yet to sell out.  Overall, this free-range, grain-fed, and antibiotic-free Fried Chicken Sandwich at a local, reliable eatery exceeded my expectations.  I was satisfied with my experience at Roaming Rooster, I felt valued as a customer, and I appreciated the excellent customer service.  Eating good, while supporting a neighborhood black-owned restaurant serving up quality chicken, gives me all of feels!

Ultimately, if the fried chicken sandwich doesn’t make me dance like Roaming Rooster’s, I don’t want it!