July 6 was National Fried Chicken Day, but if you forgot to celebrate — or settled for some measly fast food — you have the opportunity to redeem yourself in the next two weeks. We’ve got some popular, out-of-town visitors popping up in the city. San Diego’s The Chicken Rebel and Chicago’s The Budlong are visiting Denver this month to give us a taste of fried chicken from across the country.

The Chicken Rebel Food Truck

Photo courtesy of Chicken Rebel on Facebook.

When: Through the end of July

Where: Across Denver — Prost Brewing Company on Tuesdays, Dry Dock Brewing on Fridays and Finn’s Manor on Saturdays

The Lowdown: The Chicken Rebel food truck has spent all of July serving-up fried chicken sandwiches at breweries across Denver. If you’ve missed it so far, it’s not too late. Chicken Rebel comes to Denver from San Diego — a less-than-likely destination for good fried chicken. However, owner Lydie Lovett grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Lovett plays off both her southern roots and her culinary adventures around America to create different varieties of the classic chicken sandwiches. At the base of the sandwich sits fried chicken made with a buttermilk brine, a craft beer batter and a blend of eight spices. From there, Lovett mixes it up with different homemade sauces and toppings. For example, the Buffalo Sandwich comes with blue cheese celery slaw and a drizzle of buffalo sauce.

The Budlong

Budlong Hot Chicken Sandwich. Photo courtesy of The Budlong.

When: Saturday, July 22, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Where: RiNo Yacht Club — 3350 Brighton Blvd., Denver

The Lowdown: For a different taste of the South, you can head to Denver’s Rino Yacht Club on Saturday, July 22 when Chicago’s the Budlong will be making its Nashville hot chicken for one afternoon only. The Budlong team will be serving a selection of its menu items à la carte from 11 a.m. to 5 pm. — or until supplies run out. The menu will feature Nashville hot tenders with house made ranch or comeback sauce, a Nashville hot chicken sandwich and Budlong biscuits. As with Chicken Rebel, Chicago’s The Budlong might not be visiting from the South, but it still has its base in the fried chicken capital of the world. Although born in Chicago, founder Jared Leonard spent two years working on his recipe for Nashville hot chicken after falling in love with the dish on the food tour. With his newfound knowledge, Leonard opened The Budlong. Today, it has three locations across Chicago and continues to serve classic Nashville hot chicken along with other southern favorites. Hopefully, this fourth pop-up location in Denver can live up to the reputation of its Chicago predecessors.