Dave’s NOT Chicken: The Cauliflower Revolution Taking the Fast Food World by Storm

Have you ever walked past a Dave’s Hot Chicken and done a double take because the sign suddenly said “Dave’s NOT Chicken”? No, you’re not hallucinating! The popular Nashville-style hot chicken chain has temporarily rebranded for an exciting reason, and we’re here to spill all the details.

Why the Name Change? It’s All About the Cauliflower!

In early 2024, Dave’s Hot Chicken made a bold move by introducing its first-ever meatless menu options. To celebrate this landmark addition, they cleverly rebranded to “Dave’s NOT Chicken” at select locations across the country.

The restaurant chain became the first national fast-casual restaurant to offer a cauliflower sandwich, making this a pretty big deal in the fast food world. This temporary name change wasn’t just a marketing gimmick – it was a full-on celebration of their plant-based innovation.

What Exactly is Dave’s NOT Chicken?

So what’s all the fuss about? Dave’s NOT Chicken refers to their new vegetarian menu items featuring cauliflower instead of chicken. The lineup includes:

• Cauliflower Sliders: Hand-sliced cauliflower shaped like tenders, seasoned with their signature spice blend, fried to perfection, and served on a Martin’s potato roll with kale slaw, pickles, and Dave’s special sauce
• Cauliflower Bites: Smaller florets of cauliflower, breaded, seasoned, and deep-fried (think cauliflower nuggets)
• Cauliflower Tenders: Larger pieces of cauliflower that mimic the size and shape of chicken tenders

The best part? Just like their famous chicken offerings, you can order your cauliflower in any of Dave’s seven signature spice levels ranging from “No Spice” to the waiver-requiring “Reaper” level. Seriously they make you sign a paper for that last one!

The Creation Story: Years in the Making

According to Bill Phelps Dave’s Hot Chicken’s CEO, this veggie innovation didn’t happen overnight. “For years, our fans have been asking us to make a meatless option that has all the flavor crunch, and spice of our Hot Chicken,” Phelps explained in a press release.

The team spent “weeks in the test kitchen testing countless different products” similar to how the founders originally developed their chicken recipes during their parking lot pop-up days. Their goal was simple but ambitious create a meat alternative so tasty that even dedicated hot chicken fans would want to give it a try.

How Does It Actually Taste? The Honest Review

I got my hands on these veggie treats, and lemme tell you – they’re surprisingly good! At first glance, the cauliflower bites and tenders look convincingly like fried chicken. The initial bite delivers that satisfying crunch you’d expect from fried chicken, along with that lovely coating of oil in your mouth (let’s be real, that’s half the pleasure of fried food).

The texture is where things differ – it’s definitely airier and lighter than chicken. This means two things:

1. It feels less heavy in your stomach
2. You might need to order more to feel fully satisfied

The sandwich is where the NOT Chicken truly shines. While the individual elements (kale slaw, special sauce, the cauliflower tender) might not wow you on their own, together they create a harmonious flavor experience. The spicy kick from both the seasoning and sauce gives it an edge that many vegetarian options lack.

For spice lovers, don’t be afraid to go hot. I ordered mine “hot” (the third highest level), and while it left a pleasant lingering burn, it wasn’t overwhelming. Next time, I might even go for “extra hot”!

Where Can You Find Dave’s NOT Chicken?

The cauliflower items launched at select Dave’s Hot Chicken locations across the country, including spots in:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas
• New York City
• Washington D.C.
• Las Vegas
• Several California locations
• Gilbert, Arizona

Many of these locations went all-in on the rebranding, updating their exterior signage to say “Dave’s NOT Chicken” and adding Instagram-worthy photo backgrounds for customers to snap pictures. In Los Angeles, they even put up a spectacular 3D billboard near the Moxy Hotel featuring their new cauliflower offerings.

Is Dave’s NOT Chicken Here to Stay?

Here’s the catch – these meatless wonders are only available for a limited time. The company hasn’t announced an end date for the promotion, so if you’re curious to try them, you might want to hurry to your nearest location.

This limited-time approach makes sense as a test run. If the cauliflower items prove popular enough, we might see them become permanent menu fixtures. Dave’s is following in the footsteps of other chicken chains like KFC (which briefly offered Beyond Chicken Nuggets) and Chick-fil-A (which tested a fried cauliflower sandwich in select markets).

Why Cauliflower? The Veggie Taking Over Fast Food

Cauliflower has become the darling of food substitutions in recent years. We’ve seen cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower buffalo “wings,” and now cauliflower chicken. But why?

1. Versatile texture: When cooked right, cauliflower can mimic the texture of various foods
2. Neutral flavor: It readily absorbs whatever seasonings you add
3. Lower calories: For the health-conscious, it offers similar satisfaction with fewer calories
4. Plant-based appeal: It appeals to vegetarians, flexitarians, and those just trying to eat less meat

For Dave’s Hot Chicken, cauliflower was the perfect canvas for their signature spice blends and cooking techniques. The vegetable holds up well to frying and has enough substance to feel satisfying.

The Bigger Picture: Fast Food Going Plant-Forward

Dave’s NOT Chicken is part of a larger trend of fast food chains embracing plant-based alternatives. Whether it’s for health reasons, environmental concerns, or simply to attract a wider customer base, more restaurants are adding meatless options.

What makes Dave’s approach unique is that they’re not using a processed meat substitute like Beyond or Impossible products. Instead, they’re letting the vegetable shine on its own merits, seasoned and prepared with the same care as their chicken.

Who Should Try Dave’s NOT Chicken?

• Vegetarians: Obviously! It’s a rare chance to experience the Dave’s Hot Chicken flavor profile without the chicken
• Flexitarians: If you’re trying to reduce meat consumption but still crave that fast food fix
• Curious foodies: Anyone who appreciates culinary innovation
• Spice enthusiasts: The seven spice levels apply to cauliflower too, so heat seekers can still get their fix
• Dave’s fans: If you already love their chicken, why not try the veggie version?

The Bottom Line: Worth Your Money?

So is Dave’s NOT Chicken worth seeking out? If you’re a vegetarian craving that hot chicken experience, absolutely! You’ll finally get to experience what your meat-eating friends have been raving about.

For meat eaters, it’s a fun alternative that won’t leave you feeling as heavy afterward. But be warned – you might need to order more than you think to feel satisfied. The cauliflower bites make a great shareable appetizer even if you’re planning to order the regular chicken as your main.

Price-wise, the cauliflower options are comparable to the chicken items, which might seem a bit strange considering chicken typically costs more than cauliflower. But we’re paying for the preparation, seasoning, and the entire Dave’s experience.

What’s Next for Dave’s Hot Chicken?

Dave’s Hot Chicken has been on a meteoric rise since its humble beginnings as a food truck in East Hollywood in 2017. With celebrity investors like Drake and Samuel L. Jackson, plus locations in 31 states and international outlets in Canada, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, they’re clearly a fast food force to be reckoned with.

The success of their NOT Chicken offerings could lead to more permanent vegetarian options or inspire other innovative menu additions. As a rapidly growing chain, they’re likely to continue pushing boundaries and responding to customer demands.

My Final Thoughts

I gotta say, I’m impressed with Dave’s NOT Chicken. As someone who enjoys both chicken and veggies, I appreciated that they didn’t try to make the cauliflower “pretend” to be chicken – they simply prepared it with the same care and seasoning as their signature item.

The name change is clever marketing, sure, but it also genuinely reflects what they’re offering – something that’s definitively NOT chicken but still delivers on the Dave’s Hot Chicken experience.

If you’re vegetarian or just trying to eat less meat, definitely give it a try before it disappears. And if you’re a die-hard chicken fan, maybe order some cauliflower bites alongside your usual – you might be surprised at how satisfying they are!

Have you tried Dave’s NOT Chicken yet? What did you think? Drop a comment below and let us know if you’re team chicken, team cauliflower, or somewhere in between!

Dave’s Not Chicken is a line of meatless menu items at Dave’s Hot Chicken that feature fried, hand-sliced cauliflower seasoned and spiced with the company’s signature blend. These options, including sliders and bites, are designed to mimic the taste and texture of the chain’s famous hot chicken, but are not vegan as the breading contains dairy and egg ingredients.

Rapper Drake owns a significant stake in the Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurant chain, though he is not the sole owner. He invested in the company in 2021, taking a minority position alongside other notable investors like Samuel L. Jackson and the company’s founders. The company was recently acquired by the private equity firm Roark Capital for $1 billion.