The religious are no strangers to long-awaited prophetic resurrections, but the announcement of the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich’s return on National Sandwich Day – which appropriately fell on a Sunday – evoked an unbridled joy in the pious and otherwise.
Is it worth the hype?
According to Justin Beiber, it’s not. But, of course, when you reach the height of fame and income bracket as the pop singer, does any starch-coated item from a franchise deep-fryer hold up to a personal chef’s gourmet creation? Probably not.
To the average taste buds though, the spicy chicken sandwich is Class A ambrosia.
Every ingredient hits its mark. The brioche bun is bakery-level soft. The chicken piece is surprisingly large but meets the expected tenderness and crispness the brand is known for. Fair warning, this sandwich is delightfully thick.
This sandwich doesn’t fool with limp vegetables, but no one goes to Popeyes for its nutritional value. The level of satisfaction is directly proportional to the sodium intake. That’s just an indisputable fact.
The only issue I have is that the spicy version is simply a classic with spicy mayo. But what it lacks in kick, it more than makes up for with flavor.
Popeyes has cemented its place in the god-tier level of the fast-food hierarchy without the need for phony corporate values, pandering endorsements, or eye-roll-inducing slogans. However over-saturated the hype is, it’s the result of a genuinely praiseworthy product. Bless whatever corporate board had the wisdom to place the sandwich on the regular menu because it might be one of the few things holding me together this semester and I will happily continue to throw them my hard-earned coins for a few moments of artery-clogging joy. (As of the 11th, I’ve already gone four times.)
Whatever publicity Chick-Fil-A aimed to earn when they kick-started this beef has pitifully backfired. For all the praise they get for their customer service, waffle fries, and sauces, if Popeyes can attract as large as a crowd with less gimmick to offer, then it’s clear who the real winner is.
After all, what does it say about them if, even after the news of violence at Popeyes franchises, people still choose the possibility of bodily harm and mediocre service over the cavity-inducing sweetness of their staff? While it’s true you won’t get stabbed or wait in egregiously long lines at Chick-Fil-A, frankly, you won’t find as much flavor either.
The debasement of taste buds is -aside from a crime itself- the only way to describe the Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich.
I’ll take a delightfully greasy gut-buster and sleepy customer service over the dry chicken and Krabby O’Monday’s vibe of Chick-Fil-A any day. It’s well worth the extra time you’ll spend swerving around the construction and parallel parked cars along Kedzie on top of the clogged up drive-thru line at the closest location to campus.
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