I worked there one day. No one was caned, but we did have to say “my pleasure.”
I said this in a different thread but I don’t care much for the chicken at Popeye’s. The one thing they serve there that I love, and I’ve never been disappointed by, is their popcorn shrimp. And I usually don’t really like shrimp. But something they do with it there makes it delicious. If I am getting food from Popeye’s and I want to be certain I like it, I get the popcorn shrimp.
Where are you that a CFA sandwich is $10? It’s a little under $5 here in Arkansas which is the same price as a Popeye’s sandwich.
Great, swell, never been to Arkansas. The OP said over 9.00 for a sandwich.
Not the point really is it.
Here in the Seattle area, at the restaurant closest to me, the cheapest chicken sandwich from CFA is $5.29 (the regular chicken sandwich; a bun, a piece of fried chicken, and a few pickles). The most expensive one is $8.85 (the grilled chicken club). That’s not much under $10. And that’s just the sandwich alone.
Meanwhile, the closest Popeye’s has their chicken sandwich for $4.99.
Oh dear, you don’t know Popeye’s. As I’ve said probably in this thread and other recent threads, they are the poster child for inconsistency and apathetic employees. There’s actually a number of Youtube parody videos that play with this theme.
The Ch’king was actually pretty damned great (most of the time). So of course they got rid of it. The new chicken sandwich doesn’t scratch the itch the Ch’king did. It’s nowhere in the running for my favorite fast food chicken sandwiches. The first Ch’king I had I would put on par with Popeye’s spicy chicken sandwich.
Since we’ve moved from the OP into comparisons, I’ll say this, in my town, if I had to chose between CFA and Popeyes, I’d be CFA every time. My closest Popeyes is one of the meme-worthy ones. Cold food, callous staff, screw up as soon as look at you. And they almost always over-cook for some reason, leaving it both dried out and greasy.
I will note that they at least have a spicy option, which is my preference, and something that CFA doesn’t do. But given that I normally get take out at either (especially post COVID!) I have a dozen hot sauces at home for every mood, which makes the point moot.
But with a combo at Popeyes being 8.79 (4.99 sandwich only) pretax vs CFA 8.55 (4.85 sandwich only) it’s just too much money for what you get, even though the prices are fully equivalent. Even with poultry prices spiking, I can do better at home, and use thighs which have better flavor.
Side note - I’ve talked with @pulykamell in a prior thread on chicken sandwiches, and one of the CFA clone tricks I mentioned is adding a bit of powdered sugar to your breading. The sweetness brings out a bit of flavor, but more importantly helps it get that perfect golden brown without overcooking.
The full ingredient list from CFA for the chicken portion : Chicken (boneless, skinless chicken breast with rib meat, salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika, enriched bleached flour [with malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening [baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate], spice, soybean oil, color [paprika], pasteurized nonfat milk, pasteurized egg, fully refined peanut oil [with dimethylpolysiloxane {an anti-foam agent} added])
So yeah, plenty of salt and MSG - that’s flavor country for fast food after all.
What do you mean? The spicy chicken sandwich is all I get at CFA.
And agreed about the thighs. Why don’t any fast food places offer it? That’s all I use when I make it at home (and I use MSG, as well.)
In multiple threads here on the Straight Dope I’ve seen people write out complaints about the price of CFA versus other establishments. And the prices seem quite comparable for similar products. As a you noted, a fried chicken sandwhich from Popeye’s if $4.99 in your area which is only .30 cents cheaper than what you’d get at CFA. I’m just trying to understand why people seem to think CFA is expensive when compared to similar establishments and menu items.
Yeah, $5 is a more than reasonable price for a chicken sandwich these days. My local hole-in-the-wall ma & pop hot dog stand sells theirs for $5.50. Another lowbrow independent joint that I visit sells theirs for $7. McD’s is $5.20 for the crispy chicken. Sure, you can get the shitty McChicken for $2.60. Five bucks is perfectly reasonable. At the more mid-market chicken places, a chicken sandwich runs closer to $10. My favorite place (and it’s not upscale, just normal middle class) sells it for $12. Worth every penny, too.
According to what I see, it was introduced around 10 years ago.
I did say I haven’t gone to such places in a long time, no? Last time I went the option was tabasco sauce and that was it, or they may have switched to an unlabeled option which was indistinguishable from tabasco.
Back to thighs - I think it’s a couple of things. One, lots of people don’t want the ‘chicken’ flavor to stand out, making breasts the first choice. Second, part of white meat chicken becoming a big thing was it’s low fat cred (of course, with fried chicken, da fuq are you worrying about but) and thighs are slightly fattier.
Third, for various structural reasons, it always seems to be a bit problematic when it comes to separation for the boneless option. I have to check each time I get boneless thighs at the mega-mart, because about 1 in 3 still have a missed bit of bone or cartilage that I need to manually remove. I’m sure it could be fixed, given enough demand, but it just doesn’t seem to be there yet.
So yeah, if I’m having a chicken sandwich, it’s at home, made with boneless thighs and either a homemade tandoori (super easy, chicken + yogurt + lemon juice + Penzy’s Tandoori spice marinade and less than 20 minutes in an air fryer), or a slightly more involved buttermilk soak plus seasoned dredge into a hot pan with shallow oil.
The last time I had CFA was a large tray of catered nuggets (fine, but uninspired, good with a bunch of Yellowbird hot sauces) in 2017?2018 or so. The last time I had Popeye’s was 6 months or so before COVID when I had a coupon for a free sandwich, an experience that confirmed my local Popeyes would be served by a complete change in staff and management from 3-4 years prior.
I’ve only been going to Chick Fil A within the last 10 years, so I’ve always known them to have the spicy chicken sandwich. Apparently it was introduced in 2010. And it sounded from your post that you actually have been to both Popeye’s and Chick Fil A lately. I don’t see the note that it’s been a long time (which I would have thought is just a couple years, anyway.)
As for the hot sauce, it’s Texas Pete’s, IIRC, now at Chick Fil A. They also have a zesty Buffalo sauce and sriracha sauce that comes in those dipping containers. The Texas Pete’s is just a little ketchup-packet sized pouch.
And, yeah, it’s weird about the thighs – breasts definitely were promoted for their health, as being pretty much pure protein, but the difference between them and thighs isn’t really all that much, especially given you’re deep frying the darn thing. Both my kids love it when I make chicken nuggets out of the thighs vs the usual breast they’re used to. They always say it’s so juicy and just tastes better.
Sorry, it wasn’t clear, earlier in the thread I was mentioning that part of the hype about CFA was from the long ago times (several decades) ago where it was the only good choice for a fast food chicken sandwich if you didn’t want formed meat options. Although I said 1-2 decades, and probably should have said 2-3 decades all things considered. Just like how the 90’s was just a while ago…
So, I haven’t gotten take out from CFA since the mid - aughts, and thus my assumptions about the menu are obsolete. Life is too short to eat average fast food - especially at the current prices. With the exceptions of certain regional chains and/or nostalgia binges, I just never bother. And since I don’t have kids (and my wife has gone vegetarian so she makes her own dishes) it’s rarely an issue to make food for just myself.
I’ll be the voice of dissent with respect to most, it seems:
Of the fast food chicken sandwiches I sample with some regularity these days, Chick-fil-A’s is my favorite by a significant margin - beating McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr., and Burger King. Popeye’s exists around here, but their locations are less convenient for me - I’ve tried their chicken sandwich once, and it was… fine. Based on the hype, I had been expecting more.
There’s something about Chick-fil-A’s chicken that I find very different from - and better than - their local peers. It’s got a flavor that the others lack.
Well, I’ll be damned! However, looking through that list, it’s not surprising I thought they had no presence here.
The first two locations are deep downtown Toronto in areas I never go to, and are described as “in-line” locations rather than stand-alone stores, whatever that means.
Another two are in the food courts of large shopping centers. One of those shopping centers I haven’t been to in well over a decade, the other one I’ve never been to in my life. One of those shopping centers once held the title of “largest indoor shopping center in the world”. Obviously, neither is a place I would go just to pick up a chicken sandwich.
A further two are actual stores, but located in odd suburban areas that I’ve never been to and have no desire to visit.
The remaining four in the list of 10 are in New York state.
So, in a practical sense, one can make the statement that McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc. have “multiple locations in Ontario”. They’re everywhere. Chick-Fil-A is pretty much non-existent, but thank you for the technical correction.
That’s not too bad. As of four years ago, there were only 3 Chick-Fil-As in Chicago proper. Now there appear to be about 10, with another dozen-ish in the suburbs. The first one only opened here in 2011. So give it a few years.
It’s nigh impossible to live up to any food’s hype, but I did think Popeye’s did. When it was on. Many of their sandwiches I’ve had have been, as you said, fine. But a few have been pretty much the pinnacle of chicken sandwich perfection. It’s gotta be fresh, and it’s gotta be crispy, with that deliciously flaky, craggy Popeye’s crust. I’ve had so many sandwiches just off the warmer and they’re not terrible, but not great.
Meanwhile, Chick Fil A is 100% consistent. I’ve never had a sandwich there that differed much from another sandwich there or any other Chick Fil A. That’s why they’re my go-to. Popeye’s is like playing scratch-off lottery tickets.
Agreed. I stood in line a few times in the beginning and I didn’t regret it. And it’s so good I’d rather play Popeye’s roulette than get a just ok CFA sandwich.
It means in the middle of a city block sandwiched (no pun intended) between two other stores or maybe the corner tenant on a block if not between two stores. So, not stand alone buildings with parking or drive-thru or such.