The Friar’s Nook: Teriyaki Chicken Nuggets

Over the weekend, I spent some time at Magic Kingdom taking pictures of menus for our Menus page. While I had enjoyed a Cinnamon Roll for breakfast, I knew I would still be in need of lunch before meeting up later in the day with Matt. I walked all around the park, trying to decide what I would get. I noticed that The Friar’s Nook no longer listed my beloved Freshly Made Potato Chips with cheese, bacon, and ranch (they also offered cheese and chili as a topping). There were only plain chips, chicken nuggets with chips, or teriyaki chicken nuggets with chips. How could they do this to me?! I don’t know how long ago they were taken off the menu, but I saw Lou Mongello had tried the teriyaki nuggets a couple months back. Have I really not visited The Nook in that long? Not wanting just plain ol’ chicken nuggets, I decided to order the teriyaki style.

Full disclosure: I am NOT a fan of teriyaki sauce. I often find it much too sweet, or just having an “off” flavor. What prompted be to give these a try? Well, a combination of things. Matt loves teriyaki, and it’s been a while since I’ve tried anything with “teriyaki” in the name. In the name of research, I decided to give it a try.

I picked up a nugget and bit down. Yup. That’s teriyaki sauce, all right. I ate two full nuggets before opting to grab some mustard from the condiment station to help cover the flavor. It helped ever so slightly, but I could only eat two or three more. Con: Teriyaki. Pros: There were 8 hearty nuggets, and the wasabi peas were visually a nice touch. I ate a few of them on their own for some extra crunch.

The Fresh Made Potato Chips were as crunchy and delicious as I remember, until I got past the first few on top and they began being saturated by, you guessed it, teriyaki. I went the mustard route with a few as well, but the ones at the bottom still had a bunch of the sauce on them. I didn’t mind them getting a bit soft when it was cheese and ranch!

While this review has had both pros and cons, I want to end it on a good note. While I didn’t care for this dish in particular, I can still order plain chicken nuggets with fresh chips, or just a side of chips. The only self-serve condiments offered were ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and relish, but perhaps they have other sauces behind the counter. If I’m ever in Magic Kingdom with someone that wants to eat at The Friar’s Nook, I still have acceptable options. If Matt and I decide to split these as a snack so he can try them, perhaps they can put the teriyaki sauce on the side for him to dip the nuggets. It would also help with keeping the chips dry and crunchy. So while I personally was not a fan, don’t let my personal distaste for teriyaki stand in your way of trying these!