PDQ, the fast casual chicken tenders concept, has recently launched the restaurant’s biggest menu expansion since the chain’s debut in 2011.

PDQ launched in October 2011 in Tampa, Florida, and now the chain has 56 restaurants across the nation, including four in the Houston-area. PDQ locations have had much success partnering with local restaurants and collaborating on unique sandwiches. (Do you remember the sandwich PDQ created with B&B Butchers last September that featured blue cheese, bacon, honey and black truffle mayo? It was dangerously good.) Operating director Frank Wallace of the Houston Bunker Hill location believes that success has played a factor in PDQ’s newly-launched speciality sandwiches, bowls and sides that are featuring what the brand calls a “chef-driven” approach.

A few of PDQ’s new sandwiches and bowls

So what does “chef-driven” mean here? In addition to the classic menu items like chicken tenders and nuggets, crispy chicken sandwiches and salads, there will also be seasonal sandwiches and bowls that feature ingredients and flavor combinations you wouldn’t normally find at a fast casual joint. Last week, PDQ invited us to their Bunker Hill location to check out the new offerings.

PDQ executive chef Michael Brannock and chef Bryce Bonsack have designed a Southern pimiento crunch sandwich featuring fried chicken, home-made pimento cheese with Tillamook cheddar, sea salt potato chips, bacon and lettuce ($5.99, photo below). Then there’s a teriyaki-glazed grilled chicken Hawaiian sandwich with pepper jack cheese, bacon, grilled pineapple and a Sriracha slaw ($5.99).

PDQ’s Southern crunch pimento sandwich

The bowls are also a noteworthy addition that feature crispy chicken and basmati rice, each with a different flavor profile. One of our favorites from a recent tasting, featuring lots of fresh flavors and textures, was the Thai peanut bowl ($7.99, photo below) with honey-marinated chicken, broccoli, mango salsa (that we observed the chef chopping up fresh in the kitchen), peanuts and toasted coconut flakes with a Thai peanut sauce.

Thai peanut chicken bowl

New side dishes include oven-roasted garlic broccoli, beans and rice, and sweet potatoes with marshmallow fluff and pecans ($2.49/99 cents with the purchase of a meal). There are also new salads on the menu, like a kale Caesar ($8.29) with with shaved Brussels sprouts, parmesan, asiago and romano cheeses, and a fruit harvest salad ($7.19) with Granny Smith apples, almonds and dried cranberries served with a blueberry-ginger vinaigrette. They may be salads, but they’re not skimpy.

PDQ time-stamps every item of food – from baskets of fries to side orders of broccoli – so you won’t be getting anything that’s been sitting out past its prime. Sure, there’s a drive-through window and they pride themselves on quick ticket times, but those are the only resemblances between PDQ and a fast-food restaurant. Quality is key at PDQ. After all, the initials stand for “People Dedicated to Quality.”

PDQ, 9440 Katy Fwy., 713-469-3948, and other locations, eatpdq.com
Hours: 10:30 am-10 pm daily