Chicken strips and tenders, unlike their drive-through cousins the chicken nugget, at least come from an identifiable portions of a bird.

Generally, a chicken tender is the strip of meat from the chicken breast found after the large slab of meat has been removed, next to the ribs. A chicken strip is generally a slice of that larger piece of breast meat, often pounded flat before breading or battering for frying.

Like anything involving white meat chicken, the seasoning is the thing. There is very little on Earth quite as bland as chicken breast, and it's very easy to turn out incredibly bland concoctions if you're not careful.

As the first generation of chicken-nugget kids has come of age, chicken strips of various types have become drive-through musts. They might be sold as-is, chopped into salads, put in wraps or coated in chocolate and served with whipped cream (OK, maybe not on that last), but the basic product is still the same.

Of course, the frozen food companies have gotten into the act as well, although not quite as widely as they have with the nuggets. The freezer choices are much cheaper per serving than the drive-through options, but what about the taste? Can a product that's deep-fried taste as good out of the freezer?

Here's a hint: The strips you get at the drive-through usually come out of a freezer, too.

Each entry was graded on an A-F scale, based on taste, texture, appearance and overall impression.

Drive-Through Choices

Jack In The Box Crispy Chicken Strips (order of 4): 500 calories, 25 grams fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 1,260 mg sodium, 36 grams carbs.

These were pretty much everything that's bad about chicken strips. They were dry, almost completely flavorless and looked completely unappetizing. The ends were so tough that they were almost inedible. Final grade: D-.

McDonald's Chicken Selects (order of 5): 660 calories, 40 grams fat, 85 mg cholesterol, 1,560 mg sodium, 39 grams carbs.

These were nicely moist and the meat had a good texture, unlike the slightly rubbery one found in the McD's chicken sandwiches. The breading was bland, but nicely crispy. This one would be best diced over a salad, mixed with multiple flavors. Final grade: C+.

Chick-Fil-A Strips: (order of 4): 470 calories, 21 grams fat, 125 mg cholesterol, 1390 mg sodium, 22 grams carbs.

These strips were so unlike any others in the test that they almost deserve their own category. They were incredibly tender, with flavors in the breading that melded together nicely and were rivaled only by KFC. They're a bit smaller than the others, but strip the competition's heavy breading off and they'd be very similar. Final grade: A.

KFC Crispy Strips (order of 3): 380 calories, 22 grams fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 720 mg sodium, 12 grams carbs.

You'd expect the Colonel to do a good job with something chicken-related, right? Well, some past tests have cast doubt on that, but not here. These were really good, with a mellow flavor and very meaty texture. The breading was a bit on the heavy side, but not unpleasant. Final grade: A-.

Open The Freezer

Fast Fixins' Breaded Chicken Breast Tenders (3 pieces): 320 calories, 12 grams fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 980 mg sodium, 26 grams carbs.

These are reminiscent of either hospital food or school cafeteria food, depending on your background. They were flat, dry, nearly flavorless wedges of heavily breaded meat. They bore no resemblance whatsoever to the golden, meaty picture on the packaging. All companies exaggerate a bit on their beauty shots, but this was egregious. Final grade: F.

Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips (4 pieces): 400 calories, 20 grams fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 1,040 mg sodium, 26 grams carbs.

The last entry in our test just might save you some trips to the drive-through. These strips were tender, with a light, crispy breading that was nicely seasoned. They weren't quite as good as the KFC or Chick-Fil-A strips, but handily beat the other fast-food offerings with a final grade of B+.

And, no surprise, the Tyson strips win the prize as the best buy of this test handily. For the price of one or two orders of KFC strips, you can get a whole bag of the Tyson tenders -- and that's not counting the gas you would burn at the drive-through.