The V.V. Vegan Fried Chicken Showdown 🍿, Battle 10:
Renegades of Sunset vs. Gradient BK

I am pleased to present to you Battle 10! And to its victor–an enthusiastic welcome to the Championship Round, the last Battle of The Vegan Victuals Fried Chicken Showdown. It has been a spectacular run. Reviewing the brackets, I am confident that the final battle has two of the bests of the best. Without further ado…

Renegades of Sunset, Industry City
Fried Chik’n Sandwich

I want you to just look at Renegades of Sunset‘s Fried Chik’n Sandwich before I begin.

If you eat with your eyes first, the sight of this sandwich could just be enough. But then it goes and tastes even better than it looks. Hmm, finding new ways to describe its excellence in its third battle.. . .

From the tippy top of its bun to the last crumbs that remain on my finger on my last bite, it is perfection. This time, a better bun than before! The same attention to detail in all the flavor-packed additions–briny pickle, vibrant dill ranch smear, a deliciously seasoned craggy cutlet of succulent house-made seitan–the ideal thickness, red onion as a crisp texture element and a fresh break from the fried skin. I think I may have “mmmm“ed with every bite.

The Renegades would be extremely difficult to beat. But I had to remain open. This would be the first battle completed in the same day! So it was off to Bushwick.

Gradient, Bushwick
Fried Chicken Sandwich

I was a big fan of the Gradient like immediately. Its chicken sandwich blew some big contenders out of the water. And here in the semi-finals, it would be well-matched to Renegades. Two house-made seitan options with pretty different flavor profiles, this vegan chicken bite satisfied in different way.

Unfortunately at the time of my visit my chicken sandwich was packed with several of their seitan wings in lieu of a patty.. .

This did not help them in this battle as the many pieces of seitan of varying sizes were all thick with breading, much thinner than the patties I’d received on previous visits. That tender seitan I had loved so dearly in previous visits was not present in this form. A pleasurable eating experience, but not enough in the face of all Renegades of Sunset offers consistently.

🍿 Winner-Winner Vegan Chicken Dinner: Renegades of Sunset!

And so the winner, the sweet guys from Sunset. I’m so relieved they made it through. Though Gradient‘s absentee cutlet made for a blow-out, that is how the vegan cookie crumbles sometimes. But in the Championship Round, I will not leave anything to chance. For the first time in my battle history, I will alert both Superiority Burger and Renegades of Sunset to my visit. I will let them give me their best. And the best shall win. 🥊 It’s tofu vs. seitan after all!