Between Bojangles’ literally not trying and Chick-Fil-A donating their money to anti-LGBTQ organizations, it’s hard to find a delicious and wholesome chicken sandwich anywhere these days.
Sure, you could grab a McChicken and look back at the days where KFCs weren’t intermingled with Long John Silvers and Taco Bells nationwide, but it’s not the same as going into a chicken restaurant and getting a chicken sandwich handcrafted by a chicken specialist.
So where do we go from here? Chick-Fil-A? Delicious, but hateful. Smithfield’s Chicken & BBQ? You mean the stuff that tastes like the food you get at birthday parties that you’re reluctant to eat, but it still winds up on your plate anyway. Bojangles’? Great tenders, sure, but they’re lacking in the sandwich department.
Enter the Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich.
I think by now we are all aware that Popeye’s are the premier purveyors of the potent poultry, but they’ve never had an actual chicken sandwich until now. The hype has been real. Lines wrapped around parking lots, distressed employees, and mass chicken shortages have been the topics of controversy for the past month or so.
Popeyes Chicken officially tweeted Aug. 27, just two weeks after the sandwich’s launch that they were out for the time being. Mayhem ensued, as this caused outrage everywhere.
Fox Business reported that a man was arrested in Houston Texas for pulling a gun out on a Popeyes employee, because they had run out of the priceless patties.
So just how good IS this chicken sandwich?
I’m pleased to report to everyone that the new Popeyes Chicken sandwich does, in fact, slap.
If you know anything about Popeyes, you know they don’t skip out on the portions. If you go in and order a 3 piece, chances are you will get 6 pieces of chicken. The same goes for these patties: they are girthy specimens.
They aren’t like those thin sheets of chicken you get on the McChicken or the Bojangles’ Cajun Filet Sandwich, these are about the same size (and possibly bigger) than the chicken patties used at Chick-Fil-As.
The sandwiches themselves follow the Chick-Fil-A playbook rather closely; the patties, pickles, and buns are all present, but the real game changer is in the secret sauce. Popeyes appears to use a mayo-based sauce that enhances the delicate interplay between all of these ingredients.
The bun is dense enough to absorb the juices from the various ingredients, while still maintaining the structural integrity of the sandwich, which is important if you’re on the way to an important meeting and don’t want to stain your suit with chicken grease.
Do you feel like you’re going to die afterward? Yes, absolutely. Is it worth it? Again, yes.
If I had to offer one criticism of the sandwich, it’s that if you buy the meal with a side and a drink then you will have to cancel the rest of your plans for the day, because it’s time for bed after eating that behemoth.
The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich gets 8 out of 10 Guy Fieris. Essential Eating.