Ray Charles Once Called This Restaurant Chain's Chicken Fried Steak The Best He'd Ever Had

Known for his instrumental abilities and crooning voice, Ray Charles is undoubtedly one of the most iconic Soul musicians of all time. He had an illustrious career filled with accolades, and was even responsible for helping Starbucks win its first Grammy award. However, outside of the music, Ray Charles was also quite the foodie.

Ray Charles was particularly a fan of Southern favorites, like red beans with rice and fried chicken. Chicken-fried steak, a beloved Texan dish, was also among the list of meals he enjoyed, but none satisfied him quite as much as an order of chicken fried steak from Denny's. In fact, he went so far as to say Denny's chicken fried steak was the absolute best he'd ever had. Denny's, a donut stand turned breakfast diner chain, is on paper a far cry from Ray Charles' other favorites restaurants, like Creole eatery Dooky Chase's, but that didn't stop the singer from enjoying its chicken fried steak — even if he didn't know it came from Denny's. 

Like most busy musicians on the road, when Ray Charles found himself doing back-to-back shows in one night, he didn't have a lot of time or options for dinner. He told his manager he wanted two orders of chicken fried steak between sets and left it up to his team to find some.

The venue, Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay, did have a chef present, but he claimed they couldn't do chicken fried steak. Still, the star's order had to be fulfilled, so the venue manager decided to run to the nearest Denny's and grab two orders of the chain's chicken fried steak. Once he brought it back, he dressed it up a tad with the addition of vegetables and a ladle of fresh sauce on top. It was all done in a pinch, but it paid off. Ray Charles went on to proclaim it as the best chicken fried steak he ever had.

Ray Charles is far from the only person to sing the praises of Denny's chicken fried steak (which it calls country fried steak). Business Insider lauded the same dish, calling it "super tasty and well-seasoned." Like the venue manager of Humphrey's on the night Ray Charles asked for chicken fried steak, customers have also appreciated how convenient Denny's is as a whole, providing hungry visitors with a hearty meal in a timely fashion. The dish has become so popular that you'll even find copycat recipes available online.