Chicken Mary's

My childhood memories here are priceless going back to the late 1960’s. Family would meet here after church services in Fort Scott. Now I’m Visiting from South Florida and flew into St.Louis to road trip on Historic Route 66. But this was a planned stop and worth driving out of the way. I know the first item you order is the Onion Rings. I was in heaven, they must of pulled them right out of the fryer and straight to our table. O’ so good 😊. Chicken was amazingly good and had leftovers to take to my Uncles, we were going to visit and ordered another Onion Ring to go. As soon as we arrived at my Uncle’s house, he grabbed the Onion Rings and put a hand full in his air fryer and couldn’t get them in his belly fast enough and then he welcomed us to his home.

I've been wanting to come here almost since we moved to Kansas from California. I love the rivalry back story whether it's true or not . The fried chicken was absolutely delicious. Not only was the breading crispy and flavorful the meat itself had a wonderful taste as well. No dry chicken here even though I got only white meat. When we were first seated the waitress brought out complimentary bread and butter which made my 5 year old very happy. The service was attentive, the food came out good and hot and the prices were very reasonable. I was also pleasantly surprised to find German potato salad which is a family favorite. It was a little more vinegary and didn't have big chunks of bacon like ours does but it was still very tasty. We will definitely be back next time we are in the area.

Now THIS is the kind of chicken that SE Kansas is famous for. Hot, crispy, full of flavor! Big portions and good value for the money. While the spaghetti isn’t terribly authentic (if you were at an Italian restaurant) it’s OK. The German potato salad has just the right bite of vinegar, and the bread was fresh. Also, the service was great and the food came out really quickly. Definitely worth the trip a couple miles off the highway.

Always a great place to grab lunch or dinner. We were very fortunate to hit it after church and not have to wait to be seated. Our server was quick to get all our drinks and orders. The onion rings are good but more like straws bit still very food. I got the chicken strips with German slaw and German potato salad. These strips were so good, the breading was light and so much flavor. Slaw was excellent also.

Love the history of this place. But not worth the drive, it's NOT in Pittsburg. We bought chicken at both Mary's and Annie's. To do our own comparison. Have to say we have bought better chicken at our local grocery. Mary's has way to much salt and clumps of flour under the breading. It is moist but a couple of pieces where hard to tell what part of the chicken they were?? Hated that it was a disappointment.

I will never understand why people hype up the chicken places in southeast Kansas so much. I’ve eaten here about 10 times over the years, had it at events when it’s catered, and to me it’s nothing special. The restaurant is never that clean. The appetizer bread they always serve is dry. The meal itself with all the sides just screams “cafeteria” style. They even serve the meals on old plastic cafeteria plates. The chicken is pretty bland and just not worth the hype. To each their own, but this just isn’t a favorite place to eat for me.

We eat here once in a while just for a change in pace. The tables and booths are small. I understand this is for seating purposes to get in as many people as possible, however my two sons are full grown men and take up literally half a booth. Not to mention when you get a family meal all of the plates do not fit on the table. And putting tables over the air ducts so as it cools or heats blows directly up everyone's legs at the table, for someone like myself who is always cold it was extremely unpleasant. My son switched me spots and put his foot over the vent (it helped some). The chicken is completely over breaded given that the chicken wasn't very well cleaned. Meaning the excess skin was breaded giving you a mouthful of chewy breading before you got to the chicken. All of the sides were delicious, the onion rings super yum! But the main item that the place stands on I could definitely leave. Our waitress although pleasant seemed overwhelmed and forgot lots of things (I've waited tables and understand busy she was just forgetful. It happens). I honestly would rather wait to sit comfortably to enjoy a meal, especially if the meal is worth the wait. Best example is if the gentlemen seating people isn't comfortable your customer's aren't either. I know this place is a staple in the area and that's great but time for some updates. The place has new owners so maybe a facelift is due as well.

This place was insanely busy. I placed a takeout order which took about 25 minutes. I got onion straws couple of pieces of chicken and baked beans. The onion straws were awesome The baked beans I don't know why they call them baked beans as I did not feel that they were baked anywhere. The chicken was over fried. I could not eat it.