Kenney D’s

Closed Kenney D’s II on Pantano & Wrightstown. Visit the original location on 22^nd Street east of Pantano.

Their large banner features shrimp as one of their specialties. I love a good fried shrimp basket once in a while, so I made a point to stop in some day to see how it is.
They were a little busy, but somehow they managed to make me feel like I was the only person in the place that didn’t matter. I already did not want to order, and then I saw the price for the shrimp — $ 10. Yeah, I kid you not, $ 10 for an ordinary shrimp basket. With this kind of price, I had to ask and find out what the deal was. The guy simply said «Ever had Lucky Wishbone’s shrimp? It’s exactly the same.»
Uh, sorry, but that’s low-​grade frozen shrimp, nothing special in the least. Why should it cost $ 10? I could go to a sit-​down seafood restaurant and get much better shrimp and better service for the same price. Wow. So, I just turned around and left.

Great Italian Beef and awesome fries!
This place is in an old Sonic building, so no indoor seating (which makes sunset really hot and really bright!!). There are no carhops, you order inside.
The gentlemen running the restaurant were great – super professional, very prompt.
The food is… Awesome! Sandwiches are HUGE – I had the Junior Italian Beef and there was plenty to share. The beef is sliced thin, very juicy, and the roll is great. My son has the grilled cheese – and it was amazing! Buttery rich bread with gooey cheese – really good! My daughter had corn dogs and they were fine– if not too exciting.
The fries get their own paragraph – if you have read my reviews in the past you know I love fries – and these crinkle-​cut beauties put me into my happy place! One large was enough for all three of us to share.
One quibble – RC/​Diet RC on tap. RC is not good. Many of the independent restaurants in Tucson use RC – they should not.
Anyways – we tried a new place based on some fellow Unilocaler reviews – and I would eat there again for sure (once my cholesterol level returns to normal!!). Definitely support this place!

I passed by this spot every day going to work. Today I could not hold myself back any longer — I had to go and try one of their sandwiches.
I went in and told him this is my first experience here and what should I try? Immediately he said I should try the Italian beef sandwich. That’s what I thought. He told me he likes his with the sweet bell peppers and cheese but it would be extra. That’s okay, I wanted to try it the way he liked it. He told me that it was a huge sandwich and even he (he was a big guy) had a hard time putting it down. So I skipped on getting an order of french fries. And even so from what I read from previous reviews, a small french fry would be the only way to go as the large size can feed a bunch of people.
Well it turns out the sandwich was HUGE. It had about a pound of shaved Italian beef. But I ate every bit of it! Think of the sandwich as a French dip without needing the au jous. This sandwich was so juicy it didn’t need a dipping sauce. I enjoyed the bread, too. It was fresh and it had a slightly crunchy crust.
Well I can see why he gave me a stack full of napkins. I used every single one of them. That’s how juicy and messy this sandwich is. Boy, was it good.
Well I’ll have to return and will start working on their Ruben sandwich and their pastrami. Oh yeah, I’ll have to try the ribeye sandwich, too!

I’ve eaten at this Kenney D’s location 3 times in order to give it a fair assessment before deciding to write a review.
Let me preface by saying I do not eat gluten products and that I LOVE shaved Italian beef with hot peppers. Each time I eat at an Italian beef joint I make a special request — and I have NEVER been told no. I ask for their Italian beef on lettuce (no bread), with hot peppers and au jus.
The first 2 times I ate at this Kenney D’s location I was able to order this, with hesitation from who appeared to be the manager on duty. (I’m talking eye rolls and everything.) This is a reaction I have not received from any other Italian beef restaurant I’ve been to any other place I’ve visited in the country.
The third time I visited, I was actually told «No» by the same manager. My husband and I immediately left.
I understand that they take great pride in their menu and perhaps take offense when people ask for modifications, which is why I decided to make my opinion heard via Unilocal and not eat there any more.
If you’re looking for delicious Italian beef and you have a gluten intolerance, this is NOT the place for you. Check out Luke’s on Speedway, near the U of A. Or any other Luke’s location, for that matter. They have never declined my requests.

Still having withdrawal symptoms from the Sonic which was one of our quickie stops, I decided to give this place a chance since their other location has a good rating. I ordered the Italian beef to go which was probably a mistake. By the time I got home in five minutes the meat was pleasant but their bread was a disaster. The roll bore no resemblance to the crusty rolls used back east (Boston, RI, etc) which always survived home delivery. I passed on the french fries which I read were good at their original location when the young lady at the counter told me were frozen, not fresh potatoes. The service I got, as well as the couple in line ahead of me, wasn’t bad it was just cold. I will not likely give them a second chance.

Thi place does not even have a sign yet but I read that they were coming to this location. We passed by and the neon «Open» sign made me do a U-​Turn. No sign and most of the tables were full… what does that tell you about the following Kenney D’s has created? For those unfamiliar with the food…
Housed in the former Sonic at Pantano and Wrightstown, the new location offers no indoor seating but does have a drive through. The food is still the same as the other location but I could swear that the portions are smaller. That’s probably just my inner fat kid speaking.
The other difference is the packaging. The sandwiches do not come wrapped up like the other location. I kinda miss seeing the grease stains on the outside of the pristine white wrapping. Instead they came on top of wax paper in one of those little paper «boats». Maybe that’s why they seemed smaller. Either way… Kenney D’s has a die hard fan in me.