Crispy chicken sandwiches are an ongoing foodservice trend, with global flavors from across Asia and Latin America offering big opportunity for menu differentiation. Complexity in flavor building is key here, overlapping sweet, spicy and savory flavors for maximum craveability.

As operators continue to carve out a competitive edge in a crowded arena, staying on top of a few evolving trends within the fried chicken sandwich phenomenon can help. Expect to see fried chicken thighs pushing out the more common chicken breast, pickles will give way to more interesting pickled vegetables, coleslaw will open up beyond cabbage, builds will feature the use of multiple chile varieties or heat sources, and new chicken coatings will lend varying textures. Below are menu sightings from across the country that illustrate these evolving nuances:

CHICKEN THIGH—Use this instead of the breast for full-bodied chicken flavor and a different mouthfeel

• • Crispy Deluxe Sammy: Chicken thigh, sesame bun, tom yum spice, pickles, NJSF ranch (garlic, chile, buttermilk), iceberg

—Crispy Gai, Portland, Maine

• • Fried Chicken Sandwich: (Spicy) Northern Thai-style fried skin-on chicken thigh, papaya slaw, ranch, jalapeños and cilantro

—Night + Market, Los Angeles

CHICKEN COATINGS/DEEP FLAVORINGS—For high visual fun, bold enticement and textural interest

• • Cereal & Salted Egg Fried Chicken: Boneless thighs coated in creamy salt-cured egg yolk sauce and Tracy’s cereal crumbs

—Damansara Co., San Francisco

• • Sweet + Spicy Sando: Crispy habanero-brined chicken breast, sweet + spicy glaze, pickle, potato roll

—Fuku, New York

MULTIPLE CHILES/HEAT SOURCES—for building layers of nuanced heat

• • Hot Chicken Sandwich: Crispy chicken breast, guajillo and pasilla-chile salsa macha, escabeche carrots and jicama, creamy avocado and cabbage slaw

—Better Half Coffee & Cocktails, Austin, Texas

• • Espicy: Fried chicken, árbol-garlic oil, chipotle mayo, tangy slaw, creamy jalapeño salsa

—Las Abuelas, Austin, Texas

PICKLED VEGETABLES/SLAWS—For adding flavorful textural play or using acidity to pop the overall heat levels

• • Sweet Heat Crispy Fried Chicken: Air-fried crispy chicken tenders, Thai basil slaw, pickled daikon and carrots, sweet chile sauce, Sriracha mayo, fried shallots, toasted sesame brioche bun

—Mendocino Farms, based in Los Angeles

• • Nashville Hot Chicken: Crispy chicken breast, spicy butter, Brussels sprouts slaw, garlic aïoli, pickles, pain de mie

—Common Bond, Houston

SWEET ELEMENTS—For building upon the “swicy” trend and juxtaposing heat throughout the sandwich

• • Spicy Churro Chicken Sandwich: Crispy sweet churro “bun,” crispy-crunchy chicken breast, árbol hot sauce, chipotle mayo, napa cabbage, pickled red onion

—Xoco, Chicago

• • Fried Hot Chicken Sandwich: Fried chicken thigh, hot maple crunch, seaweed aïoli, slaw, milk bun

—Automat, San Francisco