People in New York are complaining about a creepy new chicken sandwich.
San Francisco Imports Bird Box This month, Claude the Claw, a fried chicken sandwich that comes with chicken feet, opened in New York’s Times Square.
The brainchild of co-owner and Michelin-starred chef Chris Braidorn, the claw-clad sandwich features a thigh and drumstick cutlet on a potato bun with pickles, coleslaw and a flavorful “yeayyo” sauce.
Late Thursday morning, delivery drivers and suited-up office workers gathered outside Backstage Food Hall on West 46th Street to pick up orders for the $19 sandwich, which the restaurant sold out of almost instantly.
“This is the first day. We’ve never had this many people here before,” Kip Beach, who manages the building that houses Bird Box’s East Coast offices, told The Post.
Beach, 40, said the sudden influx of customers Viral videos Food influencer Jack Goldberg shines the spotlight on this innovative culinary creation.
He added that even though he’s gluten-free himself, trying the sandwich “might be worth the risk.”
Omar Rahidi and Ibby Farook heard about the incident through social media and flew to New York from their home in Queens on Thursday to grab some leggy sandwiches for lunch.
After spending the last few years searching for and testing the best hot chicken sandwiches in the country, the duo concluded that Bird Box’s sandwich might just be the best in the city right now.
“You can taste the marinade,” said Farooq, 28, wondering if the leg somehow added flavor. “It’s cooked to perfection, perfectly balanced.”
But after biting into the sandwich’s well-seasoned claws, Rahidi winced at the sound of bone and batter crunching between his teeth.
“That’s not for me, I’m a texture person,” the 26-year-old laughed.
“I tasted all the cartilage and I was like, ‘This is great.'”
Sam Goldberg devoured the sandwich. His online series “Respect the Chain”described the dish as a tasty “novelty,” but hesitated to even eat the leg part of the sandwich.
“You have to gradually get used to the nails and get used to them,” the influencer said. “It’s not every day you get to eat a sandwich with nails on it.”
On its website, Bird Box claims the eye-catching presentation is meant to highlight that the restaurant uses “high-quality,” “free-range” birds with their heads and feet still attached.
Hopeful New Yorkers who showed up to order in the afternoon were turned away by store attendants empty-handed, leaving them even more craving the sandwich.
“I’m intrigued by the experience. I’m drawn to it,” said restaurant manager John Zullo, 49.
“It’s interesting to see them leave. [the leg] “The best parts of the chicken are the thighs and legs,” he added.
Additional reporting by Helaine Seidman
