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About the Business
Main Streat Food Hall at H-E-B Mueller features Roots Chicken Shak, home of Chef Tiffany Derry's Famous Duck-Fat Fried Chicken. Known for her culinary expertise and warm southern charm, Chef Derry gained international notoriety when she appeared on Season 7 of Bravo's Top Chef, and has made appearances as a culinary expert and judge on several TV shows, including Bar Rescue, Top Chef Junior, Chopped Junior, Bobby's Dinner Battle, and Foodfighters. She is also heavily involved in the culinary community with a focus on food access, education, gender and racial equity. "Feeding people great food and putting a smile on their face is at the heart of everything I do, and nothing does that better than Southern comfort food. I love food, and I'm excited to share the food that holds great childhood memories for me with the Austin community", said Chef Tiffany Derry. "More importantly, we know that our community is struggling with health, economic, and social justice challenges and we hope to bring comfort with our Roots' cooking as well as join the Austin community to help make a positive difference." The Roots Chicken Shak menu will feature Duck Fat Fried Chicken Wings and Duck Fat Fried Chicken Strips, its Big Bird and Spicy Bird chicken sandwiches, Shak Caesar Salad, The Barnyard Cobb salad, and Duck Fat Fries with house-made Clucking Sauces. And to finish it all off, Banana Pudding made with vanilla custard, cookies and fresh banana and Southern Sweet Tea!
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Recommended Reviews
Overall rating
56 reviews
5 stars
4 stars
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2 stars
1 star
- Sep 12, 2023
All I can say is wowie zowie! This place is fantastic. I honestly can say the best fried chicken sandwich I have ever had. I ordered the big bird which came with sweet potato bun, loaded with a fantastic tasting herb mayo, very fresh kale, tomatoes, pickles and onions. And let's not forget the humongous piece of deliciously juicy fried chicken.
I never had a sweet potato bun, and was wary, but I am now a fan. It was light, tasty, fresh, and not overpowering. Wish I could get all my sandwiches with this.
The sandwich pic looks like the topping were light, but they were actually perfect. Too many times places throw huge pieces of topping on sandwiches which over power and take away from the taste of the man ingredient. Not this one. It was just right.
The chicken. MAN! The chicken was so good. The crust was just right and not as thick as it looks in the pic. The meat was juicy and cooked perfect. This chicken reminded me of my favorite fried chicken in the world; Japanese Karaage fried chicken. The magic is a great piece of dark meat chicken including the fat, and a perfectly made and layered breading crust. My first bite and I thought I was back in Japan, it is that good. I am sure being fried in duck fat makes it even tastier.
I wasn't too hungry for fries, but when I read that they were fried in duck fat, I couldn't resist. They were perfect.
Also, it is made to order, fresh out of the fryer as all food should be.
The other plus was ease of ordering at the kiosk.
This place rocks!Helpful 5Thanks 1Love this 4Oh no 0Business owner information
H-E-B Customer Care
Sep 13, 2023
We're happy to hear you enjoyed your meal, Frank! We love being able to offer new and exciting ingredients to make something as simple as a sandwich feel like a special treat. We appreciate your feedback and we will be sure to let our chefs know they are doing a great job of keeping their dishes well-balanced and tasty!
- Apr 22, 2023
Since moving to Texas I've become a big fan of H-E-B for the breadth and quality of its products. I was pleased to discover the food court at the Mueller location-everything I've sampled there has been very tasty.
Roots Chicken Shak has a very limited menu with a few sandwiches, wings, fries, biscuits, salad and dessert. That translates into some really delicious food however focusing on quality over quantity.
We tried the Spicy Bird chicken sandwich and the duck fat fries. The chicken was well breaded and fried nicely so the meat remained tender and juicy with a light touch of spices. On the sandwich we enjoyed the vegetables and pickled peppers and a punchy kimchi mayo that played well off of each other. The fries had a creamy texture and rich flavor from the duck fat.
My favorite chicken sandwich in Austin is at Spicy Boys but this sandwich is excellent and well worth a visit to H-E-B. Highly recommended.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
H-E-B Customer Care
Apr 23, 2023
Hi Rick, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the chicken sandwich and fries. We'll be sure to share your kind words with the team. We appreciate you sharing your insight on our dishes and products, and we hope to see you again soon!
- Dec 21, 2022
My Austinite brother claimed this was the best fried chicken sandwich in town and he was 100% right (trust me when I tell you I had doubts lol).
Construction is key to a good sandwich, only a top chef would understand how superior shredded greens are to whole lettuce leaves. Have you ever taken a bite out of a sandwich/burger with slippery whole lettuce leaves and then have all the contents spill out? Not this sandwich. It is carefully and thoughtfully crafted.
Recommend y'all try the original and spicy chicken sandwiches as well as the fries (the duck fat really puts it over the top).
Also there's a dining area that you can eat in as well as order a beer if you wish.
Wish we had a place like this in Sac!Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 4Oh no 1Business owner information
H-E-B Customer Care
Dec 22, 2022
Hello, Naol! Thank you for your kind review. We are glad that your brother recommended our sandwiches and that you gave us a try. As you mentioned, construction is key to making a sandwich, and we take into account every detail possible when it comes to our food. The shredded greens allow the sandwich to maintain structure while being consumed, and we're glad you picked up on that! Thank you for recommending us to others, and we hope you get to visit us again soon!
- Aug 11, 2023
Hands down, the best chicken sandwich you'll find in Austin. The chicken is always tender and juicy, there's a perfect mix of spice and salt and crunch, the toppings pair super well with the rest of the sandwich and it's also set at a great price point.
Helpful 0Thanks 1Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
H-E-B Customer Care
Aug 12, 2023
Hi Angela, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're thrilled to know you enjoy the chicken here and would be happy to share your feedback with the rest of the team. We hope you can stop by again soon!
- Kim N.Austin, TX334509Jul 17, 2023
These are seriously some of the best chicken tenders that I have EVER had. And the chicken wings... also amazing and such a great value! When you see the quantity, keep in mind that you are getting the whole wing (drumstick + flapper), so it's really 2 wings in one. Another bonus, GREAT banana pudding. And that Cesar Salad with the white anchovies? Woah dang.
Sadly, I found this place only weeks before leaving the ATX area. It is stellar, and you'd never suspect it, with it being in a grocery store food court. Well done once again, H-E-B!!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
H-E-B Customer Care
Jul 18, 2023
Thank you for your review, Kim! We're glad the chicken tenders, banana pudding, and Cesar salad were a big hit. Our Partners are always looking to give our customers the best value. We're sad to hear that you're no longer in the area, but we'll be happy to have you when you get a chance to visit!
- Sep 14, 2021
I'd eat here again for sure. The spicy bird was really good and proper spicy. The various ingredients, the sweet potato bun, the duck fat fried chicken, the spicy mayo all worked together to create something really tasty.
The chicken has crispy batter on the outside yet juicy and flavorful inside, just the way I like it. And the piece is huge!
With that said, price felt a bit steep for frequent returns. At almost $10, I would like a bigger bun to be proportional to the chicken piece inside. Or more preferably, lower the price a little along with reducing the size of the chicken to be the size of the bun.
In any case, I definitely will be back with the better half who I'm sure will enjoy this spicy sandwich! I just gotta convince her first that paying $20 for 2 chicken sandwiches is going to be worth it!!Helpful 4Thanks 0Love this 5Oh no 0 - Tj J.Katy, TX134979May 13, 2023
Food is really really good. Bartenders are super nice. The chicken spot is really good. I wasn't expecting the wings and sandwich to be so good. Wings are crunchy. Sandwich is moist!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
H-E-B Customer Care
May 14, 2023
Sounds like you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming by!
- 60173476Nov 16, 2021
Who knew that HEBs had awesome super simple fast takeout spots? I didn't! You walk right up to any of the five or so food court places and order and pay at kiosk. They then text you when ready.
All the spots include fountain drinks (with Mexican cola my favorite) along with sweet teas in the bar area with inside/outside tables to eat at. Not to mention the bar has happy hour
Now my food... I had the chicken tenders with duck fat fries!! Both perfectly seasoned to perfection. The chicken was juicy and the skin was just the right amount of "crunch". I also ordered three sauces that were phenomenal: ranch, honey mustard, sweet n spicy bbq! All together my taste buds were singing!!
As if that wasn't enough - I did the southern sweet tea which was quite refreshing.
I'll be back next week and will be taking my coworkers because there are other yummy places in the same spot. By far the best food court area ever.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Will C.Washington, DC68370532Jun 30, 2022
A really top-notch chicken sandwich thanks to the decision to use chicken thighs instead of lesser cuts. The well-breaded chicken thigh is juicy and tasty when you bite into it. In addition, the large sweet potato bun and various toppings provides a great overall textural combination. It's a really terrific sandwich that, at its price (and no tip), is a one tht I'd be happy to eat over and over again.
Now for a few minor criticisms/notes:
- Get the original, not the Spicy. The spicy kimchi mayo is too sweet and is a distraction for the overal sandwich
- Kale salad topping is an undressed handful of kale. Would prefer the kale sald we see in the photos.
- Can't say I really tasted the duck fat. Doesn't make a huge difference, but don't expect some canardine hit of flavor.
- Duck fat fries were very forgettable. I would forgo.
- Popular stand, worker seems very overworked. Get her some help, please.Helpful 3Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Jul 12, 2022
Wow! Like wow. I ordered a large Caesar salad with chicken and sweet tea for $15.70. It was soooooo good. The seasoning on the chicken, the portions, the flavor! Next time I would ask for less bread combs on the salad, but every single bite was amazing. Will return many times.
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0
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