Shaquille O'Neal's Big Chicken Shaq Debuts in Houston's Westchase District

By Genia R. Washington

Big Chicken Shaq nestled in the heart of Houston's Westchase District - Located at 9630 Westheimer Rd debuted this past Saturday seemingly bringing out the city of Houston in droves. With a line wrapped around the Woodland Square Shopping Center, eager fans waited for hours to see the legendary Shaquille O'Neal. The earliest fans arrived around 8:00 AM and were still weathering the storm in Houston's almost triple digit weather nearing 2:30 P.M. As fans and supporters grew restless , the question was posed, " Was it worth the wait?"

The wait for the meet and greet portion of the Grand Opening was definitely not worth the wait. In fact, we waited for 5 hours and still didn't meet the basketball great . The lack of crowd management was baffling. A large amount of patrons walked up and were allowed to skip those who had been there and patiently waiting for hours prior. Ultimately, the heat and wait proved to be too much for some event goers . Mr. O'Neal and the Big Chicken Shaq crew, if you're open to suggestions for the next few grand openings to make them more pleasant and manageable, I have a bit of insight. Now on to the food.....

We ordered a Big Aristotle, Shaq Attack , a kids popcorn chicken meal, and a seasonal lemonade. We asked for the Slaw to be put on the side so we could try each component separate as a side and as intended on the sandwich. We also added Macaroni and Cheese as a side item. Big Aristotle - 3/5 . They forgot the crispy onions which means we didn’t get the full effect. The chicken was juicy but the skin on the chicken was very crispy in certain places but chewy in others. Overall a solid sandwich even without the onions. Shaq Attack - 3/5 - the cheese wasn’t pepper Jack. It was literally the same as on the Big Aristotle . Again, decent sandwich but couldn’t properly judge because all components weren’t correct. The slaw was a nice addition ON the sandwich as it added the fresh earthy element with a nice kick. However the slaw by itself 4/10 . Needed something more than spice. Maybe salt or garlic or anything to take it up a notch.

Mac and Cheese - 1.5/5 : Def. not your mom or grandma’s mac and cheese but it was edible. The cheez it crumble was the best thing about it. The rest was lacking in flavor. I did however add it to a portion of my chicken sandwich and it was a nice accompaniment.

Cleanliness - 3.5/5.0 Customer Serv. - 3.0/5.0 (due to being rushed out of my seat while eating

Parking - 5.0/5.0 Taste : 3.0 (sandwich was solid but order was inaccurate)

Ambiance - 4.0/5.0 Variety : 3.5 Overall, I’ll give it a 6 inclusive of food and experience. I am aware it’s a new business and has the potential to really blossom. I’ll give it another try or a day that’s not as busy as the grand opening and update you, fam!