The Krispy Krunchy Chicken hot box at 17 Street BP / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER
17 Street BP
1660 N. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota
366-3835
This is the umpteenth entry in a weekly column dedicated to eats that are cheap. If you have an idea for a place to feature in Cheap Eats, comment below, email me at cheapeatssrq@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter:@LeveyBaker.
"Just ask for Steph," Stephanie Kamprud tells me from behind the counter of the deli at the back of the BP filling station. Her meaning: Whatever I need for lunch, just ask for her and she'll make it happen. I'm getting better service at a gas station than at many a fine dining destination.
A piece of Krispy Krunchy Chicken from the 17 Street BP / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER
While the food counter at the 17 Street BP, as the station is known, has been around for more than a decade, about four months ago the store hooked up with the Krispy Krunchy Chicken franchise. Founded in 1989, the chain slings mildly spicy Kajun-style chicken at more than 1,400 konvenience stores around the kountry. Kamprud tells me there are about 35 franchises in Florida.
Think of Krispy Krunchy like a gas station Popeyes, a koncept that gets my mouth watering. I am an unabashed Popeyes fan, known to choose flight konnections with an eye toward which ones will let me eat airport Popeyes in between trips, and so I'm eager to get a krack (sorry, I'll stop now) at Krispy Krunchy's offerings.
Like at most chicken places, you pick your meal based on how many pieces you'd like. A brightly lit hot box shows you exactly what you'll be getting, with the golden hunks of meat arrayed on metal racks and trays beneath the slogan "You buy we fry!"
The 17 Street BP / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER
A four-piece dark meat combo will run you $5.89, $6.29 for a four-piece white meat combo. Throw in a biscuit then tack on $2 for a side and a soda from the BP fountain, and you're set. The chicken is nice—moist and flavorful without the inch-thick coat of breading that typically afflicts inexpensive fried chicken. On the side, the mac 'n' cheese is creamy and surprisingly rich, while the jambalaya is just forgettable. Fried jalapeño poppers and okra are tempting.
While the Krispy Krunchy options are new, that's hardly all that the 17 Street BP sells. With the addition of the chicken, the station had to eliminate its custom sub orders, but Kamprud is still happy to whip you up a burger or anything else you'd like, as long as she's got the ingredients. While she cooks up my patty, I wander the BP, checking out the station's extensive selection of white Ts and tank tops. Tumblers full of Steve's Frozen Chillers await your thirst.
The burger is tasty enough, with a soft, doughy bun and a kick from the jalapeños I asked for. But I'd still take that chicken. Or come back for breakfast. Kamprud tells me the station's breakfast sandwiches are what made the deli's reputation in the first place. She puts out 120 between 6 and 9:30 each morning.
A young woman steps up to order lunch. She's a regular. Kamprud greets her by name. The woman works nearby and says the 17 Street BP, located on the southeast corner of 17th Street and N. Lockwood Ridge Road, is one of the only decent cheap lunch spots in this little stretch of Sarasota.
She asks for a fried chicken sandwich, plus an extra order of fries. Kamprud is on it. "So, just like yesterday then?"
