Tag: fried chicken sandwich

Rainy days are the best days to go to Camp North End, if for no other reason than there aren’t as many people there as when the weather’s nice. This isn’t being anti-social. This is survival.

Survival because, if — like me — you’ve come here to Surefire Market for what is Charlotte’s best fried chicken sandwich, then there aren’t many people there to see you make a mess of yourself.

There is no graceful way to eat this.

The Honey Butta ($12.95), as it’s called, is a big ol’ fat piece of chicken breast that’s been brined and fried crisped and dipped in, well, honey butter. It comes topped with coleslaw, Surefire sauce and sweet heat pickles, all tucked in between a toasted potato roll.

If you’re feeling adventurous — like I rarely do, but on this day, I just went for it — you can ask for the spice level to be ratcheted up a few notches.

There is no graceful way to eat this sandwich, but you can try, of course. The wrapper can be rejiggered into a holder of sorts so that you can keep your hands clean, and there are plenty of napkins available should you need to daintily dab the honey butter away from your lips. But what’s the fun in that?

See, I argue that the lack of gracefulness is the reason the Honey Butta is so … sure fire.

Take that first bite, and feel it hit hard. Feel yourself seizing like in the mornings, when that first sip of coffee hits. This is what flavor does when flavor is done right: It nudges and tickles and punches you hard sideways across the mouth.

I can think of many more apt metaphors:

“The sweet and heat swirl together like an F5 tornado.”

“Falling into that first bite is like falling from high onto a bed of the sharpest rocks.”

“The sweet flavors and tickling heat carouse together like long lost lovers.”

All wild metaphors, to be sure, but that’s because eating the Honey Butta makes me feel feral.

I grunt after that first bite, close my eyes and hold my breath. In the pause, I feel a bit of coleslaw fall onto my shirt. My fingers are sticky; I lick them and brace myself for another bite. There’s a pickle! And I roar.

There’s no telling how many of these sandwiches Surefire sells in a week; even the staff I asked weren’t sure.

“A lot,” is what they said, and they were quick to tell me it’s their second-highest seller behind “The Ogden,” which is a smash burger topped with bacon, cheese and caramelized onions, seasoned with African-inspired spices and covered in “smacked sauce.”

Oof, feral is as feral does, and we’re all the better for it.

Surefire Market is located where Leah & Louise used to be, and that seems apropos. That little corner of Camp North End has, now with this incredible fried chicken sandwich, fashioned itself into a bastion of great food.

Location: 301 Camp Rd, Charlotte, NC 28206

Menu

Cuisine: Burgers and sandwiches

Instagram: @surefiremarketco

This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.