This big ruckus swirling around fried chicken sandwiches has me a little nervous. They are running out of the sandwiches in some places, and there are long waiting lines in others. That’s alarming.
The whole chicken sandwich uproar seems to have started when Popeyes put them on their menus a few weeks ago. That sparked an avalanche of publicity about the sandwiches on social media.
At the root of all the conversation is the question of whether the new Popeyes sandwich is better than the fried chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A, Cane’s and other fast food chicken places.
Opinions are varying among all those people lighting up the social media platforms, but folks like me who love fried chicken sandwiches want to decide for ourselves which sandwich is best.
A lot of us have not been able to do that because we can’t get our hands on a Popeyes sandwich. Most of us have had chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, Cane’s, Wendy’s and other places, but Popeyes keeps running out of chicken or buns or both.
All the social media stuff is just creating confusion. I don’t know much about social media, but I am an expert on fried chicken sandwiches and could probably clear all this mess up for everybody if I could just get a Popeyes sandwich.
Other so-called experts who have been able to get a fried chicken sandwich from Popeyes are comparing it in newspapers and on social media and websites with other sandwiches.
Just the other day, a food writer at a South Louisiana newspaper rated fried chicken sandwiches from Popeyes, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A and Canes. There were pictures and all in the article.
I could just pass that information along, I suppose, to folks who didn’t get to see the story, but that wouldn’t be fair. People either need to do their own tests or wait until I can compare the sandwiches and share my findings.
My affinity for fried chicken is well documented. Regina, our kids, grandchildren and other family members and friends will testify that my first question in every restaurant is whether they have homemade--not frozen--fried chicken. If they do, I order it.
Evan and Amanda, our grown twin grandchildren, started years ago beating me to the punch. When a waiter or waitress came to the table, they asked if they served homemade fried chicken.
And long before there were Popeyes, Chick-fil-A or Canes on every corner, I was having my fried chicken on a sandwich if there was any way to get buns or bread.
That all started decades ago when my mother packed my lunches for school in a brown paper bag. My favorite was leftover cold fried chicken between two slices of white bread with mayonnaise.
We raised chickens in our back yard, so we had a lot of leftover fried chicken. I wish I had known then to put some dill pickle slices on the sandwiches like some of the fast food places do now.
My dad raised cucumbers in his garden, and my mother canned pickles in Mason jars every summer, so those homemade pickles would probably have made the chicken sandwiches even better.
It’s really disappointing that Popeyes keeps running out of fried chicken sandwiches right here in Louisiana where the whole Popeyes chain got started.
I worked at a newspaper in New Orleans for a few years and am familiar with the very spot where the restaurants originated. It was called Chicken on the Run back then, and their slogan was “Get your chicken before you get your change.”
When I first heard that the name of the place had been changed to Popeyes, my first thought was that they had started selling creamed spinach or something like that instead of fried chicken.
The old Popeye cartoon character ate spinach to stay strong. On the 75th anniversary of the cartoon, the Empire State Building was aglow with spinach-colored green lights to celebrate the occasion.
It’s a good thing Popeyes no longer has that motto about getting your chicken before you get your change. That would sound a little silly with all those folks waiting in line for a chicken sandwich.
I will keep having chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, Cane’s and Wendy’s to compare them with the Popeyes sandwich if I can ever get one and will share the results with you.
REPRINTED FROM THE NATCHITOCHES TIMES