PDQ treats turkey right, too

White-meat turkey gets a bad rap, including from my own dear mother. But people who think it’s dry and flavorless simply have been victims of poorly prepared birds, so next time Mama’s in town, maybe I’ll take her to PDQ.

PDQ’s primarily a chicken restaurant, but they serve turkey, too. And, gratifyingly, PDQ’s “handheld Thanksgiving” isn’t just another knockoff of Capriotti’s Bobbie.

The grilled turkey breast sandwich ($4.29, or $7.39 in a combo) did evoke the holiday, but in a more elemental way. The thick slab of meat had been marinated in a mixture seasoned principally with thyme, which gave it both deep flavor and plenty of moisture. It was served on an egg bun, with mayonnaise and cranberry sauce in amounts that showed admirable restraint, plus a couple of pieces of iceberg lettuce. Normally I’m not a big fan of iceberg, but it definitely worked here, adding formidable crunch and another element of moisture.

I am a big fan of coleslaw if it’s done right, and this one was (part of a combo, or $1.99 as a side). It was suitably crunchy and creamy in all the right proportions and laced with poppy seeds for crunch and flavor, but the most interesting thing was a generous component of fresh blueberries, for a whole bunch of flavor pops.

Chicken tenders are available in three-, four- and five-piece meals or as a sandwich, so we chose the first ($7.29). They were nicely seasoned, crisp and not greasy, but not really remarkable; ditto for the ranch on the side. We were split on the fries, with my friend not a fan but I liking them for the fact that the skin-on potatoes had been cooked until browned, which gave them an extra layer of flavor. But we’d suggest leaving the tenders for the kids; there are better things on this menu for grown-ups.

Like the freshly squeezed lemonade ($1.99; we were charged 10 cents extra for it with the combo), which was refreshing in every sense of the word because it was gratifyingly tart.

Service throughout was great, with the food coming out quickly (this is a counter-service place, but the food was delivered to our table) and employees walking around to check on things and fill requests for more sauces, etc.

There’s an awful lot of excitement about the possibility of Chick fil A coming to the valley, though whether plans for a Henderson location will come to fruition remain to be seen. In the meantime, we have another new entry into the local chicken-restaurant market, and it’s a good one.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. E-mail Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com and bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.