TL;DR: The sandwich is absolutely delicious, the best on the fast-food market. It’s probably not worth a 45-minute wait, but if easily attainable, it’s absolutely worth pursuing.
I entered my initial encounter with the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich with a healthy dose of excitement and skepticism.
On one hand, Popeyes chicken is inherently delicious, and I seriously doubted slathering it with mayo and slapping some bread around it would make it worse. I’d had plenty of friends and trusted food allies sing its praises.
But the hype was a little too out of control. The sandwich was initially met with such fanfare that Popeyes had to temporarily take it off the menu in August. It returned with a vengeance in early November, bringing with it clogged drive-thrus and throngs of fans desperate to get their hands on it.
I typically avoid fast food marketing ploys (though Popeyes deserves serious kudos for its troll job of Chick-fil-A), but my curiosity got the best of me. Nothing on the internet has a perfect approval rating; there’s always someone who will find a way to complain. But the reviews of this sandwich are almost universally positive, making this sandwich a cultural phenomenon no self-ascribed foodie can pass up.
After reading reports about the insane lines most Popeyes were experiencing, I strategically planned a visit outside peak meal hours. My ploy was semi-successful: the crowds weren’t insane when I arrived at 10:45 on a Wednesday, but there were still a dozen cars in the drive-thu and another 10 people inside. Undeterred, I ordered my sandwich—which, at around $4, is a complete steal—and prepared myself for either an epic meal or a massive disappointment.
My first impression of the sandwich was its sheer heft. The chicken breast is quite large, a solid eight ounces of fried goodness. There was a pleasant buttery sheen on the bun, reflecting the light to create a halo effect. The smell was intoxicating, drawing my inquiring coworkers to my desk like bugs to a lamp. They gawked at this famous food item as if seeing Sasquatch for the first time; we’d all heard so much about the sandwich that actually seeing it in the flesh was a bit surreal. With the eyes of the offices anxiously monitoring my reaction, I dug in.
The first flavor to land was the delicious chicken, which was classic Popeyes in all the right ways. The chicken was moist and tender, and the breading was exactly what I hoped it would be. It was crispy, but not overly so, providing just the right texture contrast to the soft, pliable bun. The batter clumped up in areas, providing unexpected but welcome bursts of Popeyes delicious seasoning mix.
The tangy mayo provided a nice contrast and cut through the saltiness of the breading, and the bun was the best I’ve had on a fast food sandwich. It was unfairly tasked with containing the enormous fowl, but it did so while maintaining its structural integrity and injecting a slight squeeze of buttery goodness into each bite.
The pickles proved to be the most surprising element. Though there were only two, they added an acidic, sour element to complement the enormous piece of poultry. They represented Kevin Durant on the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors: the sandwich was already a champion without them, but they raised it another level.
As I contemplate this experience hours later, my feelings are a mixture of both sadness and hope. There’s regret that my sandwich is gone, now deep into my digestive system and actively clogging my poor arteries. Another certainly lies in my future, but I know not when or where it will come from. That will likely be decided by how soon the hype diminishes and America chases the next shiny object propped up on social media.
However, I fear that may require some time. Tasty as the sandwich is, I don’t think it’s going away any time soon. Popeyes has created a beautiful monster, and in doing so, it achieved something I thought previously impossible—it got the internet to collectively agree on something.
In terms of fast food sandwiches, we’ve found a new pinnacle. Popeyes has ascended Mount Everest has planted its flag, laughing as its competitors struggle through the crags and canyons below.
In doing so, I hope Popeyes has inspired other restaurants to raise their standards. There’s nothing particularly innovative or grabby about this sandwich. It’s beautiful in its simplicity.
Get out of here with your white “spooky” buns, Burger King. Same to you and your Stuffed Cheeze-It Pizza, Pizza Hut. Those items languish under heat lamps while hoards of hungry customers choose to invest their precious time waiting for a sandwich a toddler could have dreamed up.
That’s no knock on Popeyes, but rather a hat tip to their genius. Rather than hold strategy sessions to determine how to grab the internet’s momentary attention with Instagram-able stunt food, it took its current ingredients, already of high quality, and combined them. I’m not sure why it took so long for this idea to come together, but I really don’t care. I’m just happy it eventually did.
I doubt my college journalism professors would be proud of the fact that I just used my education to wax poetic for 800+ words on a fast food sandwich. But if they were disappointed in me, I’d simply hand them one of these sandwiches.
And then they, like the rest of society, would understand.
I have been wondering what made it so special! Thanks for the explanation!