PDQ’s exceedingly flavorful menu is a consonant revelation in Lehi
The Pimento Crunch sandwich at PDQ.
The Cali Club sandwich at PDQ.
Chile Lime Corn and roasted broccoli at PDQ.
Chicken nuggets and sauces at PDQ.
There are plenty of new places popping up in Lehi, and fortunately for the people who work and live there, some of the new construction is also for restaurants.
PDQ opened its first Utah location near Traverse Mountain during the last year. While its name is surely unusual (it stands for People Dedicated to Quality), its food is very familiar.
Think, Chick-fil-A meets Five Guys.
While it definitely qualifies as fast food, the open cooking area faces quite a large dining room and plenty of people were ordering in and eating inside during a weeknight.
The menu is all chicken, and it’s full of pizzazz.
If I’m going to eat fast food, it’s almost always Chick-fil-A, so I was intrigued by this vaguely named new place to grab good chicken — with apparently some good sauces. After ordering far too many things off its menu, I can say that if it was closer to Orem/Provo it’d probably overtake Chick-fil-A for fast food go-to.
Diners will first notice the abundance of options on PDQ’s menu. Not only has the restaurant dedicated itself to quality, but that doesn’t mean it skips out on the quantity of options it offers. While there is the standard chicken tenders/nuggets, there are also sandwiches, salads, bowls and shakes.
Though I didn’t try a bowl, it was intriguing and a unique offering in conjunction with the typical chicken tenders and sandwiches.
So, what sets PDQ apart from other fast food or fast casual places?
In my opinion, the homemade sauces set it apart and the flavors are something you’d expect and get in a nicer, family-owned sit-down restaurant. Among the eight offered, we really gobbled up the Creamy Garlic and Honey Mustard. I also really liked the Buffalo Bleu and Sweet Sriracha. But, they also have Ranch, Chipotle BBQ, Honey BBQ and Thai Peanut.
The sauces aren’t just good with the chicken, which was tasty and as good as you can get at any fast food joint, but there’s no need for ketchup with the yummy, thin-cut fries when you’ve got eight far superior dipping sauces. They shame cult followings of sauces at other fast food places.
Perhaps PDQ should have been named, PDF — People Dedicated to Flavor, which would still be a weird name — but with each new thing we tried, its dedication to flavor was apparent.
Take the Pimento Crunch sandwich. While I was slightly skeptical, I quickly learned why its a menu favorite. While many chicken places keep sandwiches overly simple, PDQ spices them up. This crispy chicken sandwich was topped with homemade pimento cheese, a thick layer of bacon, potato chips and lettuce.
Pimento and potato chips? Genius. It has both flavor and texture, and it’s not something you can get anywhere else.
There are seven other sandwiches, some of which offer complex flavor combinations. We opted to try a more simplistic, grilled option: the Cali Club. It was topped with the homemade ranch, bacon, lots of avocado, lettuce and tomato. While the Pimento Crunch was more flavorful than the Cali Club, to say there was lots of avocado on that sandwich is an understatement. It’s nice to see a fast food joint that doesn’t skimp on ingredients and that real-life orders actually look like food in pictures. (Yes, we’re looking at you McDonald’s and other fast food empires of the world.)
We didn’t get a chance to try any of the shakes or treats, though I did get overly excited about the fact they offered corn and broccoli as sides. Actual vegetables. It’s definitely not something you’d see on a PDQ competitor’s menu. It’s one more thing that makes PDQ unique, and far healthier to order than the fries if your willpower is strong enough to do so. The “roasted” broccoli was standard as far as flavor goes, but the corn was spiced up with chile and lime.
Beyond the food, I was impressed with the courteousness of those who helped me with my large order. After going through the entire menu, and listing off two sandwiches, fries, three drinks, tenders, nuggets, two sides, and all the sauces, the nice gentleman’s patience never waned — and he got it all right.
PDQ
Location: 3610 N. Digital Drive, Lehi
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $1.99-$64.99
Info: https://www.eatpdq.com/locations/lehi