A year ago today, Popeye’s launched the first salvo of the Great Chicken Sandwich War by showcasing their Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which went from Instagram fad to cultural phenomenon as quickly as you could say “combo,” please”.
Of course, these were much simpler times, when we could stand in line inches from other humans for a taste of the elusive bird, and when our social media feeds were populated with dueling jibes of fast food mascots instead of disastrous news on the rise. cases of coronavirus and grim economic forecasts.
Yet for all that has changed in the past 365 days, the battle for poultry supremacy shows no signs of abating. Fast food companies continue to refine and expand their offerings, which we are moving quickly. And there’s no indication that America’s collective obsession with a crunchy piece of bird in a bun is going nowhere.
“It captured our imaginations and we’re still hooked on it,” says David Portalatin, food industry analyst with market research firm NPD Group. “The chicken sandwich hasn’t given up its place at the top of our wish lists.
[How 2019 became the Year of the Chicken Sandwich]
Portalatin notes that even though the restaurant industry crated during the pandemic, with sales down 24%, sales of fried chicken sandwiches were actually up 1.2% from a year ago. In the 12 months ending in June, Americans consumed an astonishing 2.3 billion.
To feed our seemingly bottomless appetite, this week Wendy’s introduced another spicy chicken sandwich to its line-up, a low-budget patty for its “4 for $ 4” menu.
And it looks like the Goliath McDonald’s fast food industry will soon – finally – jump in the deep fryer. Since late last year, the Golden Arches have been teasing the debut of their “premium” sandwich, something franchisees have long been clamoring for to better compete with the drive-thru next door. The company’s new CEO recently told Time magazine that he “feels good where we are at” with “the innovation in chicken.”
More evidence that we are only seeing the tip (of the wing) of the iceberg? KFC is also testing another entry to the market, this one with a bigger fillet, thicker pickles, and a chicer bun than in its original.
While the vast majority of these sandos are served by fast food chains, artisanal offerings abound, and many upscale restaurants across the country are putting their turns on steep coated cups topped with things like peach salad. and miso jam. .
It’s also delivery that dominates: online ordering services Grubhub and DoorDash report that chicken sandwiches are at the top of their list of most popular items.
It’s not hard to see why we are the chicken sandwich nation these days: we crave comfort food, and there is a decades-long trend to overshadow chicken as the protein of choice. Many of the sandwiches are served in takeout windows, which have exploded in popularity during the pandemic.
Which brings us to this new item on Wendy’s menu, and my furtive suspicion that this unassuming little puck isn’t just a sandwich; it is a Trojan horse wrapped in paper and dedicated to world domination.
Hear me out here: in terms of taste alone, the dubiously dubbed Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich is forgettable. Its reddish hue and pepper-strewn coating overwhelms the pale heat. The patty is flat and formed from pieces of chicken, like a crushed nugget. Its texture is springy and bouncy, which are great adjectives if you like a shampoo, but not so much for a chicken disc.
And it’s dry, with just a smear of mayonnaise to squeeze it. I much prefer the chain’s beefier spicy chicken sandwich (can you use that word to describe the chicken?), Which is made from real brisket and gets a help from a slice of tomato.
This thin pancake isn’t about to dethrone its toughest rivals – but that seems to be the goal. This girl is not trying to be the star of the series, the Beyoncé who will leave Destiny’s Child in her rearview mirror. It seems to be designed for a supporting role: when you buy it as part of the “4 for 4” deal, it can easily blend in with the suite of fries, nuggets, and soda.
And that’s when I realized: This sandwich really wants to be… a secondary order. What could mean that just like chicken sandwiches have usurped burgers, they are now coming for fries? Apparently there is no container walking the chicken sandwich. Resistance seems futile.
And besides, given everything that happened in 2020, why would we want it?
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