Thoughts On: Popeyes Chicken Sandwich

I would like to add I ordered this on Sunday

When Popeyes first dropped their new chicken sandwich, which sold out in two weeks, I missed it because I actually have somewhat of a life believe it or not. I wasn’t going to again though, which I guess is my justification for waiting over forty damn minutes for this fucking thing. The line indoors was almost touching the back wall of the restaurant, but the drive-thru line was out onto the main road in traffic. The turn lane basically became the Popeyes lane. This shit must truly slap for normal everyday people to be waiting this long. I ordered both the classic and the spicy without pickles (not my thing) and two biscuits to function as a palette cleanser.

Overall the sandwiches were . . . good? I don’t know, that seems anti-climatic but honestly I never would’ve written on these if it wasn’t for the hype surrounding them. The chicken was fat, juicy, crispy, and yet pretty flavorless. I snatched a little packet of cajun seasoning which really helped the classic, as it predominantly tasted like bread and breading. The mayo helped by adding moisture to the sandwich, but that’s about it. Pickles would completely overpower this thing, as they already tend to do on far more flavorful sandwiches. The only difference between the spicy and the classic is that the spicy has this spicy mayo sauce instead of just straight up mayo. The chicken itself was the exact same, which to me isn’t a spicy chicken sandwich, it’s a chicken sandwich with some “spicy” shit slathered onto the bun. This was, unexpectedly, the better of the two as it added a much needed layer of flavor, but considering that that’s even a problem in the first place, it isn’t surprising I didn’t find these to be worth the hype. The sandwich looks much better than it actually is. The bun is all toasted with a piece of plump fried chicken overflowing out. It comes half wrapped in a thin piece of paper giving it a more “artisan” feel. But once you get past all that delightful presentation, the taste itself really isn’t anything to freak out about.

Due to its inherent quality, Popeyes chicken sandwich is better than any chicken sandwich McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s is cranking out, but it isn’t the “Chick-Fil-A Killer” that some people have falsely labeled the sandwich to be. Say what you will, but Chick-Fil-A continues to be unrivaled as far as chicken sandwiches are concerned. But you know what else is a step above this Popeyes sandwich? The cajun filet biscuit at Bojangles. While completely different, what both the Bojangles biscuit and the Chick-Fil-A sandwich have in common that the Popeyes sandwich doesn’t is that the chicken, not the breading, but the chicken itself is incredibly flavorful. Popeyes either needs to break out that Louisiana seasoning or they need to marinade their shit a bit longer.