I have finally tried Chick-fil-A: my review
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I’ve managed to put this off for quite a while, partly due to political differences, party because of annoyance at their drive-thrus backing up to major connecting arteries, and part refusal to wait in said lines. Well, I was at a place that had one attached, I really didn’t want McDonald’s later, and there was no line, so I tried it out.
My order was an original chicken sandwich, a spicy chicken sandwich, a medium waffle fries, and house sauce.
First of all, the house sauce is disgusting. It is bar nothing the worst sauce served at any fast food establishment including any sauce from Arby’s (and their honey mustard is b-a-d BAD). It is not tangy, it is not zippy, it is not spicy, it is not botanical... there is no texture, and the closest thing you could use to describe a texture is “Mayo with a double helping of trans fat”. It’s like eating thousand island dressing mixed with lard in a kitchenaid so it has that nice meringue sheen to it. I cannot believe this is the house sauce. There is nothing to salvage it. It is disgusting.
The waffle fries were “average.” They did taste and feel more of freshness and actual potato than many fast food fries (complete with a few skins), but that’s all they had going for them. No particular crispiness or textural excitement, just a half baked, half fried potatoes. Better than frozen waffle fries, worse than McDonald’s, about even with Wendy's but the polar opposite.
But this is not Fries-fil-A so let’s get to the main event. We’ll start with the spicy chicken sandwich. I’d rate it as “good.” I can see this appealing to people who do not like much in the way of sauce or thrills on a chicken sandwich, as there is none on there. The spiciness is breaded and cooked into the chicken, which is a definite plus for flavor, but zaps out some of the crunch. It was a nice piece of chicken, but the pickles didn’t do much for me here, and yes I know I didn’t get the deluxe but there was nothing to balance the heat, which was minimal anyways. If you like the Wendy's or Burger King spicy chicken sandwich, you’ll like this too, possibly more. If you like Popeyes or McDonalds spicy chicken, which is far crunchier and sauced, you’ll want to stick with those. Maybe some cheese or buffalo sauce could have gotten this to the next level, but for me it fell short.
And finally the main event, the classic original. I’d rate this one as “very good” but not “great” or “excellent”. The chicken was again a great cut, breaded and very nicely cooked and seasoned, but it’s only served with pickles and bread. If you’re banking on only 3 ingredients to make a banger sandwich, they all need to be bangers. The chicken was preeeetty much right there, but the pickles and bread were definitely not good enough to share the spotlight. Both McDonalds and Popeyes have better pickles, but none are really known for bread. So sure, I’ll put Chick-fil-A up there in the bread category. Why not. But overall, I’m not positive I’d rate this as the best fast food chicken sandwich, and certainly not one worth waiting 30-45 mins for. It needs either better and more exciting pickles, a little more crunch on the chicken, or a fourth ingredient. It’s very good like I said, but it’s not excellent.
Overall, would I come back? Sure. If I was hungry I’d probably get one of each and skip the fries. Maybe try some extras on the spicy chicken. If I wanted a snack I’d give the fries a second look, but not with that atrocious house sauce. Would I wait more than 15 minutes? No.
So what’s better, you ask? For a regular chicken sandwich, the clear winner, and I’m increasingly convinced nothing will ever beat it, is Shake Shack - which is positively heaven on a bun. I’d say this was about a tie with Popeyes and McDonalds for second, largely coming down to preferences. For the spicy, in my opinion, it’s McDonalds then Popeyes ahead of this. I prefer the crunch of those, the spicy sauce McDonalds uses has actual heat, and their pickles blow away Chick-fil-A. It’s not close. But if you like the more baked-in style of Wendy’s and Burger King, you might find a winner in Chick-fil-A.
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@notsomethingstructural interesting. I haven't tried the chicken at Shake Shack (the gross burger and frozen food isle fries turned me off) but I may have to. Chick-fil-A is my current go-to for a chicken sandwich, although surprisingly enough KFC does pretty good too. Tastes like a real chicken breast that you breaded at home. Wendy's is a bit bland for me, not a McDonald's fan, and I haven't tried Popeyes.
Chick-fil-A really shines with the spicy chicken biscuit on their breakfast menu.
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@notsomethingstructural My Chick-fil-A order is a spicy deluxe, with no pickles. I don't like pickles, or sauce. I agree, the fries are meh. The sandwich I think is much better than McDonald's or Wendy's though, both of which I like. It's a thicker juicier cut of chicken at Chick-fil-A. None of them are worth waiting more than 15 minutes though. I have not tried Popeyes chicken sandwich yet. Nor have I ever been to a Shake Shack.
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@notsomethingstructural
I agree on the fries, and I won’t touch the sauce. My daughter seems to like it, but I don’t think it adds anything. I always get the spicy chicken deluxe. The regular chicken sandwich is good, but I like stuff on mine. The deluxe has lettuce, tomato, and cheese. The veggies are consistently crisp and fresh and add a lot. The spice breaded in is about perfect for me. If I want more heat, I can add it. I like the McDonald’s chicken sandwich, but this is better. -
@AestheticsInMotion did you have the shake shack fries? They look like that but are quite tasty. Popeyes in general is underrated. Their gravy is unbelievable. Also, to be clear, this is the new McDonalds chicken sandwich (under a year old) not the mcchicken or old Chicken classic
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@Shop-Teacher if you don’t like pickles or sauce then yeah I’m not sure you could get much better than a spicy deluxe
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@notsomethingstructural You should try their grilled chicken. Though with my gluten allergy, the words "chicken sandwich" mean less than nothing to me so I can't really say if it's good or bad.
Color enthusiast, Citroën fanatic, and Cruze driver
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@WhoIsTheLeader ehh maybe. Who gets grilled chicken at a fast food place lol
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@notsomethingstructural You just said it. Who does.
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@WhoIsTheLeader @notsomethingstructural the grilled chicken nuggets are pretty gross—haven't tried the sandwich.
Shake Shack has the crinkle fries, right? Or am I thinking of a different spot.
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I'd say this is an accurate review of Chick-fil-A. If you go back, request well done fries for additional crispiness and a multi grain bun, which I prefer to the normal bun.
I might have to try the shake shack chicken. I've never even considered that.
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@notsomethingstructural yeah I've always found it mediocre. And it seems like any time I say that, someone responds with "yeah, but the sauce is amazing!"
K, but it's not tho
I've only ever gone when someone else wants to go, and usually say something along the lines of "yum, this chicken tastes like homophobia!" -
@notsomethingstructural It's middling, and there are plenty of much better fried chicken joints that don't actively try to quash LGBT rights. I'm a big proponent of going to Zaxby's instead, and I'm deeply sad I live outside of their range.
The person reading this is a doo-doo head
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@AestheticsInMotion yeah crinkle fries. They do look like they’re out of the freezer section, but they’re pretty top tier in execution.
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@Hike it’s a well kept secret that it’s quite possibly the best thing on the entire menu
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@EssExTee For me, the “hurry up and expand your network” fast food is Bojangles. I’d eat their ham and egg biscuits for any meal, any time of day, as often as I could.
It seems like they were gradually making their way closer to Indy, but they seem to have stalled out in northern Kentucky.
Jeeps
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@Alfalfa fortunately I’m in deep blue enough turf that if someone was like “u wanna get chix fil a?” I could just be like “I’m not doing that” and it would be understood.
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@EssExTee definitely don’t have that up here. I’d do Popeyes if the three were side by side in a mall food court, even if they were all on a level political playing field. So given they’re not, it’s a no brainer.
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@Just-Jeepin I always find their food too greasy, like the fryer is set too low or something.
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@Just-Jeepin noted. Haven’t had it, but certainly seen it.
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@notsomethingstructural oof, 45 minutes?? Miss me with that, I’ll go to the tavern down the street that definitely knows how to fry some chicken in just the same amount of time and probably doesn’t hate gay people. Which IMO is a definite bonus.
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Full disclosure: I've never had Chic, and probably never will due to them using peanut oil and me being allergic. So Chic gets a last place default vote in my Chicken Sandwich rankings
Having said that, I have takes based strictly on appearance and feedback from others:
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Their service always rocks. I can't knock that. I'll take the wife through the drive through once in a while. Regardless of the length of line, it's always moving.
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I'm a sucker for waffle fries, and theirs look great. Heard they are good fries for "fast food"
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I've actually had Chic sauce, and it isn't bad. I agree with your take that it lacks significant flavor. There are hints of a few here & there, but nothing stands out. Maybe that's why it is popular?
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I've never been impressed with the appearance of the chicken sandwich. In a now saturated segment of chicken sandwiches, theirs falls near the bottom of the list in terms of appearance. I agree it shares a lot of similarities of the McDonalds fancy chicken sandwich, although it's one of my least favorite out of all of them. The standard for chicken sandwiches now is the large piece of chicken. Any synthetic looking patty gets a demerit in my book. I heard Chic's sandwich taste good, and I'm sure it does. But if I had no allergies, and wanted a crispy chicken sandwich. My top 3 are Popeyes, KFC, and the BK Ch'King (severely underrated)
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@beefchips I’m told it isn’t actually that long, it just looks like it’s that long, but they are very efficient at order handling. I’ve heard that before, but even if they turn cars over twice as fast I don’t see how it would be less than 25-30 mins.
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lol you noobs! the Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce is the best kept secret at chickfila.
also, no body orders the deluxe.
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@notsomethingstructural maybe try the deluxe version of the sandwich next time - adds lettuce, tomato, and cheese. The lettuce and tomato are always real fresh and crispy, gives it a little extra character
