TikTok creator Johnny Novo (@jnov__) is on a rotisserie chicken spree. The New York City native and self-deemed “2024 Yelp Explorer of the Year” has recently gone viral for his rotisserie chicken review videos, where Novo tries to try to find the best grocery store rotisserie chicken.
What do the ranking videos entail?
In his ranking videos, called “Chicken Wars,” Novo takes viewers along with purchasing and taste-testing rotisserie chickens. He starts off with a voiceover of his experience buying the chicken, talking about how much it costs and where the chicken might be sourced from. Novo then sits down to do a review of the rotisserie chicken. He talks about the texture and flavor of the poultry, then ultimately decides on a number review out of ten.
What criteria does Novo use in his videos?
When Novo is ranking a rotisserie chicken, he first tries the chicken breast and does a pull-apart eye test to see the breast’s texture. He takes into account the outside color of the bird, how juicy the meat is, how the skin tastes, how deep the flavor is, and more.
Novo then moves onto a drumstick, often saying that when the meat falls off the bone, it’s a good sign. Novo also makes note of how much the chicken costs, and if the flavor is worth the price.
What grocery stores has Novo visited so far?
Novo has visited a host of different grocery stores, including larger chains known for their rotisserie chickens like Costco, Publix, and Walmart, and smaller New York City-based spots like Jubilee Marketplace and CTown Supermarkets.
So far, Novo has tried rotisserie chickens from Whole Foods, Erewhon, Albertsons, Sprouts, Key Food, Walmart, Union Market, WestSide Market, Costco, Fairway, Eataly, Morton Williams, Gristedes, Butterfield Market, CTown Supermarkets, Acme, Citarella, Jubilee Marketplace, and Publix, among others. If you lost count, that’s over 19 chickens.
What is Novo’s current ranking of grocery store rotisserie chickens?
Novo keeps track of all the rankings on his page. Here are his top ten grocery store rotisserie chickens as of publication: Costco (ranked 7.5/10), Whole Foods (7.75), Westside Market (7.8), Citarella (7.9), Walmart (8.2), Acme (8.3), Jubilee Marketplace (8.4), Wegmans (8.5), and Sprouts (8.6).
In first place is Fairway with a score of 9.1. This small grocery store chain has four locations across New York City, primarily in Manhattan. Although the top ten list includes a mix of larger and more local chains, it seems that a local business came out on top.
Novo began his “Chicken Wars” series in early March, but there are many more grocery stores to go. It should be exciting to see what grocery store reigns supreme after all is said and done.