Where’s the Fried Chicken?

Fried chicken has always been a favorite comfort food. Most people will offer up their favorite fried chicken spot if asked. A few months ago, Popeyes started running TV commercials about coming up with the perfect chicken sandwich. Flying largely under the radar, I paid little attention to these commercials, thinking that, at some point, I would go off my diet and indulge in this sandwich at least once.

Then boom! All of a sudden, the Popeyes' fried chicken sandwich became a thing, and actually finding one became a game of hide and seek. Not to be outdone, a lot of other competitors in the fried chicken arena ramped up their marketing as a better alternative to the elusive Popeye’s version. 

National chains such as Whataburger, KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King and others jumped on the bandwagon, as did the popular Chick-fil-a. Ads focused on how their sandwiches were available and tried somehow to compete with Popeyes' cult following. Local favorite BB Lemon began to showcase their fried chicken sandwich on social media, as did Antone’s with their “Hot Wang Sandwich.” The options continue to grow.

In my quest for the best, I was not about to let the Popeyes' fried chicken sandwich phenomenon pass me by. Last Saturday, I made plans to arrive at a local Popeyes just as they opened only to be greeted by a sign sadly informing me that the chicken sandwich would be back soon.

When Russell Weil went in search of the Popeyes' fried-chicken sandwich that went viral, he discovered that they were out. But he was determined to taste the coveted sandwich.

Determined to get an answer as to when the sandwich would return, the nice manager at this location (no – I’m not sharing their address) told me when the sandwiches would be available and to come back at that time. As advised, I showed up and was third in line to get the coveted Popeyes chicken sandwich. Sending a photo to my coworkers, I was immediately shunned for not bringing one back for everyone in the office; however, they were all interested in knowing if it was worth the hype.

Here are my thoughts: I really enjoyed the chicken sandwich – the flavors of the breast, toasted brioche bun, spicy sauce and pickles together made for a delicious sandwich. However, when I took everything out of the equation and ate only the chicken breast, while quite good, there is a flavor lacking that exists at Chick-fil-a. Crispy outside, juicy inside, but not the "pickle juice" taste of Chick-fil-a. I had the spicy version - which is the same as the classic, but with spicy sauce on the bun. All in all, a very tasty chicken sandwich adventure.

While this is only my opinion, I hope each of you tries the chicken sandwich from Popeyes once it returns to their menu so you can form your own. The good thing is that there are so many other fried chicken sandwiches to try until then. Why not try them all?

Author of the blog Eat More Burgers, Buzz staff writer Russell rounded up the best Houston fried-chicken spots for The Buzz in 2016 here. See all stories on food and dining here.