Raising Cane’s now in North Carolina, and I’m so dang happy about it …

So this tweet caught me eye this week:

And, yes. That’s a tweet from me. I wrote it.

And I stand by it.

Raising Cane’s Chicken — born in the bayou of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (actually, near the LSU campus) in 1996 — is hands down the best “fast food” chicken place I’ve ever eaten. And, look, I’m no snob when it comes to this sort of thing. I’m a pretty big Bojangles fan (I ranked their sweet tea as the best in the world). Zaxby’s is all well and good, and the fine people at PDQ are doing their part to make chicken fingers the awesome food that they are.

But nothing beats Raising Cane’s. The chicken fingers are pretty much all they do. They’re fat. They’re breaded by God himself. The fries are equal parts crispy on the outside and flaky in the middle. The sauce (similar to Zaxby’s, only perfected) cures migraines.

And the Texas toast. Don’t get me started on the Texas toast. (Bonus: The sweet tea is second only to Dr. Bo’s).

When I left Louisiana behind in 2007, Raising Cane’s was on the list of things I’d miss most (Whataburger was there, too). And while I’ve had it a few times since — they’ve opened up several locations in Texas recently, and there’s a few in South Carolina — I must say there’s still a hole in my heart that only those golden chicken strips can fill.

So imagine my excitement when I learned North Carolina got its first Raising Cane’s this week. (!!!!!!)

The new student center at East Carolina University includes a small Raising Cane’s counter, similar to locations such as the student center at Virginia Commonwealth and other campuses along the East Coast. I’ve not been yet — but write this down, kind sir. Write this down.

I will be there.

Greenville isn’t exactly “close” to Sanford, but it’s close enough.

Now, will a counter service location in a student center be as good as the real thing? One can only hope. Dear God, one can only hope.

But here’s my dream — this ECU location is a test run for Raising Cane’s as it looks to infiltrate an already full market in North Carolina, thanks to Bojangles and its damned good tea. My hope is this spawns a full restaurant in Raleigh. Maybe Durham. ECU students realize how great this place is and demand them when they move on to their careers. It’s a genius business strategy, if you think about it.

So, no. This isn’t in Sanford. But if you’ve never experienced the greatness of a Raising Cane’s chicken finger, drum up the courage to walk on a college campus sometime soon and try it. You will experience taste feelings like you’ve never experienced before.

(Hope I’m not overselling it).