POPEYES CHICKEN SANDWICH

I'm sure you are aware of the buzz about the chicken sandwiches that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen introduced last summer. I'd been wanting to pop into the Popeyes that is located right across the street from a courthouse where my caseload frequently has me at to get one, but for months the restaurant has been mobbed by crowds clamoring for these chicken sandwiches. So when driving by heading home from court the other day and noticing this Popeyes parking lot practically empty, I made a U-turn to stop into the restaurant.

It must have been the holiday week being the day before Christmas Eve because in the past there had been over an hour wait or the Popeyes chicken sandwiches had been sold out when I'd stopped by. With everyone else focuses on holiday shopping and get-togethers the craziness that I'd witnessed going on there just as recently as last week had evaporated. I was able to walk-in and get a few Popeyes chicken sandwiches to bring home for dinner. It took me just five minutes to buy them and get on the road again!

So is this sandwich worth the hype? Believe it! Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has created a great chicken sandwich that is one of the most delicious ones I've ever eaten from a fast food restaurant. It has a gourmet taste at an affordable price. I've come across a number of burgers and subs at various eateries priced at $3.99 that are no match to this Popeyes chicken sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised that the Popeyes chicken sandwich exceeded my expectations!

I was impressed before even biting into the sandwich by the way it was packaged. Popeyes serves the sandwiches in an insulated foil wrapper that keeps them nice and warm until you are ready to bite into your meal. They were still hot when my family bit into them after my 20 minute drive home. Plus these insulated wrappers are just the right size to eat out of or place your sandwich on so you don't need to grab a plate.

The Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches come in two varieties. Classic or Spicy. Both of these are the same except for the sauce spread over the chicken filet. The classic has mayonnaise and the spicy has a New Orleans style remoulade sauce on it. I bough a few of both types of sandwich. Both are good but my family preferred the spicy chicken sandwich. The spicy sauce isn't "HOT" but rather adds tasteful sass to the flavor of the sandwich.

The sauces aren't what make this sandwich special though. They compliment the other ingredients which include a quality chicken filet.  You receive a big breast of meat that looks substantial and tastes great. Just looking at the size of the filet compared to ones I've had on sandwiches at other fast food restaurants made me say WOW! More importantly though these chicken fillets aren't just big but they are tasty to eat too.

The meat is prepared in a multi-step process before the chicken is cooked to make sure it is mouth watering when you eat it. First, the all-white meat chicken breasts are marinated in a blend of Louisiana Kitchen spices. Then they are hand-battered in a buttermilk coating before being fried up.

These chicken breasts are then placed between toasted buttery brioche buns. These buns are toasted enough to give them some extra texture but you are still soft to bite into. They are so much better than the typical hamburger buns used on sandwiches at many restaurants. The fact Popeyes included an out-of-the-ordinary bun highlights the effort made to enhance this sandwich over those found at other restaurants.

I have to give a shout out to the pickles too! Often times the pickles found at fast food restaurants are just little slivers of things. You can taste the pickles on these sandwiches. They have substance to them, flavor and crunch. If you like pickles you are sure to appreciate these and may even want to ask them if they can add on a few extra ones.

Not a pickle fan? You may want to ask them to hold the pickles then as they are a big part of the mix in putting this sandwich together. Though I'm sure the sandwich is still good without them for those who wish to forego the pickles.

After biting into a Popeyes Chicken Sandwich would I wait in line for an hour or more to get my hands on one? Absolutely not! No way! But if Popeyes can get their wait times and inventory management under control so that you can conveniently buy them without a hassle this is a sandwich I would definitely stop by to buy it from them over and over again.

If they can maintain the quality of the sandwich and don't jack up the price, I can see myself becoming a frequent customer at Popeyes. That is a win for them because I hadn't previously been visiting their establishment and a win for me because I LOVE this sandwich! Popeyes Chicken Sandwich gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.