JeffB wrote: I have a cute Popeye's story.
Maybe three winters ago (2002?), on a calm, moonlit January night, I ventured forth to the local Popeye's. The big tires on my metrosexy SUV crunched the virgin snow on Ashland as I pulled into the lot across from Lakeview High School, hard by the Long Room.
One car idled ahead of me at the drive-thru window, its steamy exhaust mingling with the aroma of biscuits and battered fries. I put the truck in park and waited, inhaling the spicy, greasy Popeyes fumes that lingered lazily between the snow and the crisp night air. The beams of my headlights sliced through the purple darkness, stopping at a dumpster and carving sharp shadows on the Long Room wall.
Movement. WAYANG KULIT: The Ancient Shadow Plays of Bali. Rats. A silent shuffling theatre along the dumpster's front edge. Ten wide, the line of vermin gleefully circulated thighs and breasts, wings and drumsticks. A feast of El Greco caricature was painted in shadows on the Long Room wall.
Stumbling onto an old trick (used by Murnau, fascist propagandists, and Disney) the rodents' Walpurgis Night was projected, large and distorted, for all to see. Three-foot rat-shadows with oversized teeth and claws hunched over the drive-thru.
I could see the lady in front of me waiting and watching, her head on a swivel. Chicken and biscuits / infestation and death. A bag of spicy cajun chicken was thrust out the drive-thru window into the night. Hesitant, a hand slowly reached out, accepted sustenance.
I drove on.
I will eat Popeye's again, and I sometimes do. Just not there.
Ram4 wrote:I finally tried the spicy chicken sandwich. It was definitely one of the better chicken sandwiches I've had at a fast food place. That being said, I probably won't order it again as it's not more appealing to me than chicken on the bone with biscuits at Popeye's.
I'd rather go for the KFC Colonel's crispy sandwich $5 fill up deal anyway. I tell them no mayo on it and then I put the FLG sauce on it with the pickles. Pretty tasty and it comes with a side, drink and cookie.
McDonald’s to launch crispy chicken sandwich to compete with Chick-fil-A and Popeye’s, as well as McPlant burger
KFC’s new fried chicken sandwich is bigger, crunchier and much better
Ram4 wrote:I did something goofy last week. I ordered a spicy chicken sandwich at Popeye's plus two biscuits. I discard the bun, cut the chicken in half and made two little chicken biscuit sandwiches. It wasn't bad but it reminded me that Popeye's boneless chicken filet and their tenders are not better than on the bone on their best day. Biscuits were dry and sort of bland as usual. I need to ask if I could get them to brush extra butter on mine next time. I would say I like their chicken sandwich but I won't miss it if I never order it again. On the other hand I am a big fan of the chicken biscuit sandwich (breakfast only so far) at Chick-Fil-A. I am going to try the new KFC sandwich soon (but to me the Colonel's Crispy sandwich was fine - if I would get - I still find it hard to not order chicken on the bone there).
ronnie_suburban wrote:What I like about the spicy chicken sandwich is that it's a contiguous piece of chicken and it's actually spicy. I like the pickles, too.
nsxtasy wrote:As noted in the article linked by Dave above, the new KFC offering would rank just above Popeyes, just below Chik-Fil-A.
Here are the earlier rankings by Kindelsperger in the Tribune:
The 15 best fried-chicken sandwiches in Chicago (independent restaurants)
The 26 best and worst fast-food fried-chicken sandwiches, ranked (fast-food restaurant chains)
chezbrad wrote:The irony of THAT. I don't it's a big reveal to note that the reason why the Popeye's chicken sando blew up so is that bun: it's brioche, and therefore has not a small amount of sugar in it. The sweetness is the fundamental difference between it and other fast food chicken sandwiches, and the likely reason why Americans have so raved about it.
Ronnie, I thought both Popeye's sandwiches use the same mild chicken breast (easier to keep up with demand too) and simply add spicy sauce or regular mayo depending on your choice? Well either way, I don't see myself ordering another one anytime soon.ronnie_suburban wrote:Interesting. I think the bun is the weak link. It's too big and too dense for the sandwich. It overwhelms. What I like about the spicy chicken sandwich is that it's a contiguous piece of chicken and it's actually spicy. I like the pickles, too.
=R=
Ram4 wrote:Ronnie, I thought both Popeye's sandwiches use the same mild chicken breast (easier to keep up with demand too) and simply add spicy sauce or regular mayo depending on your choice? Well either way, I don't see myself ordering another one anytime soon.
ronnie_suburban wrote:Like with a lot of fast food, the first Popeye's spicy chicken sandwich I had was the best one. After that, the others were decent but not at the same level. Maybe the novelty wore off but I think there was some QC slippage, too.
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lodasi wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:Like with a lot of fast food, the first Popeye's spicy chicken sandwich I had was the best one. After that, the others were decent but not at the same level. Maybe the novelty wore off but I think there was some QC slippage, too.
I think that unless they were all from the same restaurant, Popeye's locations have a larger variance in quality than other fast food restaurant chains.
I didn't even know you could get the new sandwich with Nashville Hot but most people could've told you that KFC's Nashville Hot is not "hot" or anything special. You should've gotten just the sandwich as is which is what KFC is known for (they are not known for spicy). The new fries are lousy. I'm still going to try the new sandwich out of curiosity.hoppy2468 wrote:Based on the reporting above, I went to KFC for the first time in decades.
I ordered the chicken sandwich combo, Nashville Hot, with a Pepsi.
I see no need to go back. Ever. Pepsi, just no. The fries were basically room temperature and are they supposed to have some kind of flavor? They didn't.
The piece of chicken was fine. Tender, juicy and could've been warmer.
The coating was okay. Nowhere near as good as Popeyes.
Now, about that Nashville Hot part. Yeah, MIA. Maybe I got regular, old, plain vanilla type chicken instead? I mean, that "Nashville Hot" would be Budlong's worst nightmare. I should file a lawsuit for slander or something. If that truly was their version of Nashville Hot, they should be embarrassed.
hoppy2468 wrote:Based on the reporting above, I went to KFC for the first time in decades.
I ordered the chicken sandwich combo, Nashville Hot, with a Pepsi.
I see no need to go back. Ever. Pepsi, just no. The fries were basically room temperature and are they supposed to have some kind of flavor? They didn't.
The piece of chicken was fine. Tender, juicy and could've been warmer.
The coating was okay. Nowhere near as good as Popeyes.
Now, about that Nashville Hot part. Yeah, MIA. Maybe I got regular, old, plain vanilla type chicken instead? I mean, that "Nashville Hot" would be Budlong's worst nightmare. I should file a lawsuit for slander or something. If that truly was their version of Nashville Hot, they should be embarrassed.
Sounds like you got the pre-existing chicken sandwich, which can be ordered in their variety of finishes. The new item is called the "New KFC Chicken Sandwich" and is still only at a few locations as Nick mentioned in the Trib, and available just in regular or hot. Mine was had in Oak Park on Madison.
That they recently (corporately) turned wedges back into fries is unforgivable, and but for this new devilry I would not have not had returned.
hoppy2468 wrote: That explains it. My misteak.
JoelF wrote:According to The Takeout, Popeye's has removed Cajun rice and green beans from its list of side dishes.
The rice was my #2 choice, after the beloved onion rings. If they 86 those, that place will likely be dead to me.