Each year, we ask Orange County Register readers to choose their favorite places to shop, dine, play and do business in OC.<\/p>\n
Here are the top picks for Best chicken restaurant:<\/p>\n
1. Epic WIngs<\/p>\n
Anaheim, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana; epicwings.com<\/a><\/p>\n Despite being dwarfed by larger chain chicken stores, Epic Wings scores big with readers and eaters. And while the overall fast-food chicken industry has surged, wings have really taken flight with Americans consuming between 25 and 30 billion per year.<\/p>\n As a result, you have to do something special to be noticed in the category.<\/p>\n Epic has done this in a big way.<\/p>\n The San Diego-based chain has grown in a careful and strategic way, with three stores in Orange County, including one by a member of the founding family.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really pride ourselves on being local and staying on the West Coast,\u201d says CEO Matt Friedman, who has been in the \u201cwing business\u201d for 27 years.<\/p>\n The chicken at Epic Wings is meaty, high quality and never frozen, according to Friedman.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t even own a freezer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The breadsticks are made daily from scratch as are the homemade sauces and dips.<\/p>\n Epic leans heavily on freshness and food cooked to order.<\/p>\n The menu is intentionally lean with chicken strips and bone-in Buffalo wings, breadsticks, fries, salads and cinnabites. There are more than a dozen dipping sauces, including five Buffalo sauces and \u201cour famous ranch and bleu cheese made from family recipes,\u201d says Friedman.<\/p>\n The company is still owned and run by the Sacco Family, which launched in San Diego in 1982 after arriving from, where else, Buffalo.<\/p>\n Also see: Best of Orange County 2026: See all the winners<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Chick-fil-A<\/p>\n