‘Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp is behind a chicken-delivery eatery, and we tried it

Food businesses launched by college students have become hits — Insomnia Cookies and Raising Cane’s come to mind — but how many have gone national overnight?

Here comes actor Noah Schnapp, who plays Will on the Netflix series Stranger Things, withTenderFix, a new delivery-only line of fried chicken backed by the virtual-brand company Nextbite.

Schnapp, 18, enrolled last year at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School — fittingly, a business school. Schnapp also is a founder of TBH, a snack company behind a sustainable version of Nutella made without palm oil.

TenderFix by Noah Schnapp went live recently through about 1,000 IHOP locations, which prepare the orders delivered through apps such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Doordash. The local delivery zone is undefined; you must key in your address to see if it’s available.

The TenderFix line includes chicken and plant-based “chik’n” sandwiches (made with Morningstar Farms’ Incogmeato), sliders, tenders, and waffle fries.

Other celebs have lent their names to restaurant brands, including YouTube sensation Mr. Beast, who has a similar arrangement selling branded burgers for delivery through restaurants.

» READ MORE: From 2020: YouTube star MrBeast hits the Philly area with ghost kitchens delivering burgers and chicken

These delivery-only brands operating out of ghost kitchens or from established restaurants began gaining traction during the pandemic. Nextbite brands Thrilled Cheese and Super Mega Dilla are also run out of IHOP locations. In addition, some independent restaurants, in a bid to broaden their own product lines, prepare foods under more than a half-dozen different labels.

Time is the enemy of all delivered food. Even as little as 20 minutes from an order pack-up to a courier’s delivery was enough to degrade the chicken sandwich ($11.79) and of course the fries. My first impression of TenderFix was “mid” — more than “meh,” much less than “wow.”

For a second order, I disassembled the sandwich (reserving the pickles), heated the chicken and fries for five minutes in a 375-degree toaster oven, and microwaved the bun separately for 15 seconds. I reassembled the sandwich, scattered the fries on a plate, and presented it to my 11-year-son. He unlidded the sandwich, plucked off the pickles, took a bite, and loudly pronounced it “11/10.”

You get two pieces of thinly breaded, moderately juicy chicken — a total weight of about 3½ ounces — plus four pickle slices, on a 4-inch brioche roll for $11.79. The “mayo,” served in a small plastic cup, is a pinkish version of secret sauce that had little seasoning. Eight crispy waffle fries, plus remnants, completed the takeout container. He liked the honey, which had been applied to the tenders.

The plant-based version was as tasty as the regulation chicken after a similar reheating. But if you follow a vegan diet, there is something seriously off here. TenderFix’s buns, whether the brioche ($12.79) or the slider ($14.29) on King’s Hawaiian buns, contain eggs. Then there is the honey drizzle, which many vegans will not eat. The sauce contains eggs. Though I could not get answers from the TenderFix folks on the logic behind this nonplant-based plant-based creation, I suppose that the party line would be that meatless chicken is better for the environment and that you can order plant-based tenders plain.

Word to the wise: If you order through the website and not through one of the delivery apps, there are no delivery fees, just tax and tip.

In sum: I’ve tasted … stranger things. I’d give Wharton student Schnapp a 3.6, allowing for modest grade inflation, for attaching his name to this delivery venture. With tuition and expenses for a dorm student at Penn approaching $86,000 a year, remember that a boy’s gotta eat.