When Charlie's serves up piping hot chicken with mashed potatoes and their famous (kinda) rolls, it's great! The reason I'm giving them three stars is that more often than not, regardless of which location I visit, the chicken is only warm and tastes like it was made some time ago, the mashed potatoes are meh, and the rolls are struggling to maintain their little warmth. Charlie's chicken (I'm a fan of the chunks) play second fiddle to the star attraction -- their dinner rolls. They aren't complex or made with a special grain or anything like that, but I have enjoyed them ever since childhood! Ask any local Muskogeean (yes, that is how the demonym is spelled) and they'll tell you that Charlie's is on the expensive side for chicken, which is true. But since the Church's Chicken on Okmulgee Street is basically a health code violation and KFC is somewhat far away, the two Charlie's locations enjoy a crowd. One unusual thing about every Charlie's is that the drive through has a two-window setup but the first window is never used. Ever. This isn't terribly problematic, but it means that you look over the menu before getting to window #1, completely bypass window #1 because no one is there, and then place your order at window #2, pay, and wait. It causes a bit of a backup in the line and is inefficient, but again, not awful.
Read More