CHICKEN SANDWICH WARS BY VEGAS FOOD NERD 2021, It’s been quite a year so far. It will resonate in our memories for quite some time. It won’t have anything to do with the pandemic or some virus. It’s going to stay in my mind for something equally as important to this nerd. This will stand out in my collective scrapbook of a brain as the year of the chicken sandwich wars. Fast food giants have been battling it out for top billing since Popeye’s started the whole thing by taunting Chick-Fil-A on Twitter last year. The frenzy over Popeye’s new menu item hit a fever pitch with long lines and inter-customer violence with fans desperate to try their crispy chicken sandwich. Once the violence died down and I saw the fierce competition between fast food hit volcanic proportions, I decided to sample all the new creations for myself. My family decided to embark on a drive-through quest to test the top chains and determine our favorite. The key was to sample it directly from the window. It’s no secret that fast food tastes best fresh.
#9 McDonald’s – The golden arches might have to go back to the drawing board on this one. This one was our least favorite of all the sandwiches that we sampled. It was blisteringly hot, which was a promising start, but one big bite in it took a turn for the worst. The chicken was a complete rubbery disaster. No one could even finish it.
#8 Carl’s Jr. – This was the most expensive of the greasy delights that we sampled. Towards the end of the sandwich, the chicken took on a weird texture that we didn’t like. Topped copycat-like with mayonnaise and a few pickles. It just didn’t taste that great and was a disappointing order.
#7 Wendy’s - The pig-tailed redhead seemed to cheerily welcome us to their take on a classic chicken sando. The first bite was as dry as your best friend’s great-grandma. It wasn’t all bad once you got to the toppings of lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo. It still ranks down on our list of favorites.
#6 Arby’s – Their take on the sandwich war, also called their classic crispy chicken sandwich, is good. They top theirs with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. No pickle, though. Big mistake the pickle makes it. It’s like no one told their test kitchen!
#5 Cane’s – I can generally get tempted into getting some chicken finger combos at this place. The sauce, the bread, the fingers, and even the coleslaw are a guilty pleasure that we as a family sometimes indulge in. We’d never tried the sandwich here, though. It was a colossal bun stuffed with three tenders, lettuce, and topped with their signature Cane’s sauce. We took it out of the box to take a bite, and the sandwich promptly fell apart. Not good for the driver, messy shirt and pants. It was tasty but crazy messy, and when we generally limit our drive-throughs to road trips, it didn’t get a higher ranking on our list.
#4 Chick-Fil-A – This place is who started the chicken craze to begin with. Their original Chick-fil-A sandwich is fresh breaded, pressure cooked in 100% peanut oil, and served on a toasted buttered bun with dill pickle chips. This was good. It comes in a bag keeping it piping hot, and the flavor was delicious. It didn’t make it to the top three, but pro-tip add their Chick-fil-A sauce, elevating the experience.
#3 - KFC – Kentucky Fried Chicken is the name of the restaurant. With that name and their heritage, you would think they’d take top billing in this poultry war. While a good sandwich, an extra crispy filet with premium pickles, mayo, on a brioche, it took third place in our list—sorry Colonel Sanders.
#2 Burger King – The new Ch’King sandwich was a pleasant surprise. Their chicken filet was thick, crusty, with ample pickle positioning. They top it with a secret sauce that is a perfect complement to the juicy chicken center. It does have the distinction of being the highest calories of all its competitors, with a whopping 800 calories per entrée. It is the home of the Whopper, after all.
#1 Popeyes – Hey, this Louisiana-style chicken fast food outpost did start the war, and I think they have ended it with their take on the craze. The thick and crispy texture is drool-inducing, and their thick cut pickles on the soft toasted brioche bun toasted and just the right amount of mayonnaise is a diet-busting delight.
Let me know if you agree with our rankings @vegasfoodnerd.