Chicken Sandwich Wars

Oh, holy crap that sucks. If you had to scrape off the mayo, then your sandwich still had mayo. I’d really like to try the Popeye’s sandwich, and I’m really going to give my place one chance not to fuck it up.

Well, to be fair, they didn’t fuck it up. There was a big line and they told me when I ordered the second time that they weren’t customizing the sandwiches, so I chose to take it with the mayo/pickles. The second time, the crowd was smaller (it wasn’t dinnertime) and they allowed special orders. So if you hate mayo/pickles and want to try it without them, go during off hours for a better chance.

Inspired by this thread (and the fact Thursday night is lamb chop night at the dining room) I went to McDonald’s last night for dinner and had their spicy chicken sandwich. It seems to be a processed patty. McDonald’s is not even in this race, at least not in the Middle East.

A casualty of the chicken sandwich wars.

At first, I had difficulty believing this was true, but I then remembered the stories about someone in a drive-thru calling 911 (and similar incidents) because a fast food place was out of chicken nuggets or something, so hey, life imitates The Onion.

Ah yes, I’m sure someone from Popeye’s put a gun to his head and forced him to drive around from store to store.

I used to order a chicken sandwich like this at Friendly’s, which I liked. The only one near us closed years ago.

I think this is the sandwich known as the Spicy McChicken in the U.S. It’s decidedly inferior to any of the other sandwiches being discussed here, but it’s still kinda tasty, and at $1 it’s the best sandwich deal anywhere.

I grew up in an area where Chick-fil-A was plentiful. I like their sandwich a lot, and it also has a certain nostalgia for me. Also, as someone else mentioned, they have fresh lemonade. Now, I live in a place where the nearest CfA is around 40 minutes away, and that’s one of two in the whole state. I also now boycott them, so even if I’m in the area, I don’t want to give them my business. I can get different chicken sandwiches, even better chicken sandwiches, but I can’t get one that’s like a Chick-fil-A sandwich. McDonald’s had a clone for a while called a “Southern Style Chicken Sandwich,” that was really similar, and satisfied that craving.

So, I’m interested in trying the Popeyes one, but what I would most like would be if it was a copy of the Chick-fil-A one, which it sounds like it is not. Once there’s time for Popeyes to restock, maybe I’ll give it a try, hold the mayo. (Nothing against mayo, but a Chick-fil-A sandwich doesn’t have it.)

Is the mild version at all spicy?

Never had chicken sandwiches at either place.

I see some people got a tad upset when a Popeyes in Houston, Texas, ran out of sandwiches:

I haven’t tried it yet either. But in my experience, if you don’t ask for spicy at Popeye’s, you’re not going to get spicy.

You know, fried chicken on a white roll with mayo is not exactly Health Food.

Who cares? Party pooper.

Is there anything on the Popeye’s menu that could count as Health Food?

ice water -

The corn on the cob’s not too bad if you get it without butter.

Popeyes – note there is no apostrophe in the company’s name – introduced their chicken sandwich to their Hawaii locations a couple months ago. The wife and I finally tried it, one classic and one spicy. Eh, they’re okay. I can’t see shooting someone over one.

I finally had a Popeyes sandwich about a week ago. I was surprised at how spicy it was. I mean it didn’t burn my mouth or anything but it was spicier than Popeyes spicy on the bone fried chicken.

It certainly did seem bigger than CFA. I liked the flavor. I’ll give it the edge over CFA for now but I haven’t had one of their spicy sandwiches in a while. I usually get the regular one. CFA waffle fries are clearly superior to Popeyes greasy mess.

I finally did have a chance to try a couple, one of the spicy ones and one of the regular ones. The spicy one I got here in Chicago about a mile from where I live. It’s not the greatest of Popeye’s, judging by reviews, and the sandwich wasn’t the greatest of sandwiches. It had obviously been sitting around and lost most of its crunch. Flavor was good. Portion was big (especially compared with Chick Fil A), but, overall, it wasn’t as a good as a CFA sandwich, though I bet that a freshly made one would be.

I was out in Phoenix for the holidays and we stopped by a Popeye’s after church. I decided to get a regular chicken sandwich. Now this one ended up being exactly as awesome as I hoped it would be. Lots of craggly, crunchy edges, big mouthful of juicy meat, soft bun that doesn’t get in the way, everything I love about a good chicken sandwich and a good Popeye’s chicken. This one was better than any CFA I’ve ever had (and we regularly patronize CFA). I would say the best fast food chicken sandwich I’ve ever had (with CFA taking the next slot in my personal leaderboard.)

I kinda wish now that I ordered that sandwich spicy, as Popeye’s spicy is spicier than CFA’s (and certainly on the higher end of American fast food spicy, but nothing too spicy for people who are used to spice), and I love spicy.

KFC’s upping the ante in the chicken sandwich wars. For a limited time, at least here in Hawaii, they’re replacing the bun with glazed doughnuts. Mmmm. I do plan to check this out. But as if Hawaiians – not to mention myself – are not fat enough.

There’s a Nashville hot chicken place around here (Fry the Coop) that has sandwich as part of their regular menu since they first opened two years or so ago. Fried chicken, pickle, special sauce, serve on a glazed donut.