Board 8 > charGen's First Annual Chicken Run!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I get the dislike for them, I can understand why don't like it. I just love those little burgers though.

Nothing today because of Dragoncon, back on track Monday.

Shake Shack: Chicken Shack: This is another chain that just has a few spots in the general metro area. Usually it's a spot we like going to if we're over near the area the only one we've been to is, which is around 30-40 minutes away but we do like visiting that side of town a good bit. I think they tend to have pretty quality stuff, but I had only ever ordered the promotional chicken sandwich they did with Hot Ones before this.

It's pretty good. I will say I just think their burgers, even the veggie ones, are probably better though. Even though I liked it relatively well I still found it to be one of the weakest items from their menu, which is kinda par for the course for a lot of burger themed restaurants I guess. They claim to use an herbed mayo here which I get is for keeping with the common theme of having mayo be your sauce, but I think they should just go with their signature sauce instead. Most of the best sandwiches don't just use regular mayo; it takes a special sauce to really pop out in the chicken sandwich game and they don't have a spicy chicken option either. One of those good but not great sandwiches I thought.

Grade: 71

Shake Shack's Chicken Shack

Grade: 70

It's a big chunk of chicken with special mayo and the typical chicken sandwich toppings of lettuce and pickle, but bigger isn't always better when it comes to chicken sandwiches just usually. The flavor wasn't bad, but given that our first experience with a chicken sandwich from this very same location was the LTO Hot Ones which was complex and all kinds of spicy the original just kinda paled in comparison. There's only five locations in my state and literally every single one is kind of a pain to get to, so despite being decent I would definitely not go out of my way to grab this one again, but if I happened to already find myself in the area I probably wouldn't mind giving it another shot, though as char mentioned I'd be way more tempted by a burger and shake, especially the delicious 'Shroom Burger which is hands down the best veggie burger I've ever had!

The SmokeShack burger is *chef's kiss*

just had shake shack (burger) for the first time 2 weeks ago, pretty good

Culver's: Crispy Chicken Sandwich: Usually I head to Culver's when I'm looking for a more "high end" fast food experience because typically, that's what you'll get here. They have a lot of great products, both sweet and savory. Almost always a top quality experience.

Their chicken sandwich is pretty good. They tout everything is made to order, and I feel like you could taste that here. The chicken was moist yet still crisp on the outside, and all the ingredients otherwise tasted of freshness. The only knock I can really give it is that it's a little boring perhaps; there's no uniquely signature flavor behind the sandwich, it's just a good quality crispy chicken. Even if this is pretty good, it's another case of their burger menu being a little more special/interesting than the chicken option. This place once had fried mozzarella patties on top of their butter burgers; we need more inventive chicken recipes!

Grade: 76

yea Wendys feels like the only place that offers more than the plain/spicy chicken sandwich with the standard toppings (even if it's just mirroring their burger options it's still nice)

KommunistKoala posted...

yea Wendys feels like the only place that offers more than the plain/spicy chicken sandwich with the standard toppings (even if it's just mirroring their burger options it's still nice)

I almost got the chicken version of the new loaded nacho they're doing, but I abstained since I knew I was doing this taste test and I didn't want to eat any chicken sandwiches leading up to it. Burger version was good; not their best work but fairly decent. I think the Pub Style one is the best thing they've come up with lately.

yeah the pub one was fantastic

Wow CharGen makes this topic and guess what gets announced:

https://youtu.be/icfv_T5pkdI?si=bT0WQ1eSWUqSJLWZ

Coincidence? I think NOT!

Culver's Crispy Chicken

Grade: 74

So... I don't know what's up with this huge boom of fancy burger and fancy milkshake restaurants. When I was growing up there was only Steak n' Shake. Now there's that, Five Guys, Shake Shack, BurgerFi, Culver's, Freddy's, and probably more that just aren't coming to mind. All of them even have their own take on milkshakes. Freddy's specializes in frozen yogurt or froyo shakes, and Culver's does a mean frozen custard. But you know what none of them specialize in? Making a great chicken sandwich. That said, of the ones that offer one at all I believe Culver's did the best at making a decent standard crispy chicken sandwich. There's nothing fancy about it, but you can taste the freshness of both the chicken and the toppings so while it's nothing to write home about it's fine for what it is.

Chick-fil-A's Deluxe (with American cheese)

Grade: 88

So I knew I wanted the Deluxe because that's the best version of the standard sandwich aka the one that's more than just pickles and a bun, but I panicked when the employee asked me what cheese I wanted. I had no idea it automatically came with cheese so instead of selecting "no cheese" which I didn't realize was an option at the time in order to give this sandwich the tiniest advantage possible I selected the most boring cheese product imaginable... and you know what? It was still amazing. When we tried this one charon pouted and literally said "oh no, it's so good". He's been boycotting Chick-fil-A for a while now, not because of their terrible business practices in the upper levels (though that is as good a reason as any to abstain from giving this restaurant any more funding than is absolutely necessary), but because he thought the restaurant was terribly overrated for the quality of food it offers. Well it turns out he was wrong.

This was the first sandwich that made us both take a second bite to confirm that is was indeed as good as we thought it was. Say what you will about the founder or the company as a whole, but they make a damn good chicken sandwich Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement for Chick-fil-A I mean, if your tagline is "We Didn't Invent The Chicken, Just The Chicken Sandwich." you'd better have the product to back up that blatantly fallacious claim.

Mmmm....culvers and chick-fil-a. That's a good fast food combo right there. Though, if I'm getting a chicken sandwich at culvers, it's the grilled chicken sandwich.

GenesisSaga posted...

but given that our first experience with a chicken sandwich from this very same location was the LTO Hot Ones which was complex and all kinds of spicy the original just kinda paled in comparison.

well, guess what they just brought back today

Chick-Fil-A: Chick-Fil-A Deluxe Sandwich: I feel it necessary to preface this by saying I don't normally eat at CFA. Most times I have the food is good and the service immaculate, but the obvious reason to not support their business is well known at this point. I do intentionally avoid them because of their owner's political stances; I realize that this doesn't "hurt" them in any real meaningful way but for me it does help me feel positive about my own decisions and morals. That being said, this is a ranking and simply excluding them is not a real option here. And as I said, I'm not foolish enough to think that by not purchasing this one sandwich on this one occasion would have ended some reign of tyranny they have going on.

On to the sandwich itself... well. I bit into it and was immediately upset. Why is this so fucking good? I probably have had a CFA sandwich in... honestly I'm not real sure. I feel like the last time I did have CFA it was the minis at breakfast. I had sort of convinced myself CFA was just overrated, just the McDonald's of chicken. While they do have the same sort of unmatchable flavor profile, CFA is actually really killer. I hated to love this so much. I'm still not going out of my way to give them my business, but damn it the thoughts of this sandwich will haunt me at night. To make a really great sandwich, you need to create a distinct flavor profile and they certainly have it. Chicken tasted great and the toppings all harmonized. It might have been unfair a little because they did put cheese on here, granted it was just a slice of American but as a sandwich the Deluxe is one of the best, much to my chagrin.

Grade: 90

the spicy deluxe with the chick-fil-a sauce on it is indeed great. only popeyes beats it for my money

cant think of the last time i ate a non-spicy sandwich there though

guffguy89 posted...

Mmmm....culvers and chick-fil-a. That's a good fast food combo right there. Though, if I'm getting a chicken sandwich at culvers, it's the grilled chicken sandwich.

You know, I've never trier the grilled chicken. Maybe I will next time I go to Culver's (which won't be that long)

I've had a spicy Chik fil a sandwich once because a friend was begging me to go with her for food and it was....fine? Like I'd say alright but nothing mindblowing so more power to yall I guess

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Like I'd say alright but

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXnGC6O5tOE

Trust me, I wanted so bad to use this meme on CFA's sandwich but yeah, I just couldn't.

Whataburger: Whatachick'n: This was the late addition to my list; initially it was this nice round number of 20 but as I was planning out the route to do the pick up on these sandwiches, I noticed a Whataburger icon near one of the other restaurants and was very surprised. I have heard of them, but I did not know they had expanded into Georgia already. I remember hearing rumors of them doing it but I guess I wasn't keeping up with it and it sort of fell out of my memory bank. I've heard people swear by them, and then everyone call them very overrated. This was my very first time visiting a location, so I have nothing to compare the sandwich to from their menu. We'll have to revisit this location eventually to sample the burger part from their namesake.

As for their chicken, hey, not bad at all. Their signature sauce really works well here (we thought it was just honey mustard though at the time). It's definitely a unique flavor against all the other restaurants we tried though. Chicken quality is pretty good and the sandwich did automatically come dressed with tomato and lettuce. I appreciate them for not just throwing pickles on it to copy the other restaurants, though I did find myself missing their presence a little. But for a first visit and first ever item to try from them, it's not bad at all.

Grade: 70

Whataburger's Whatachick'n

Grade: 77

After so many chicken sandwiches that kinda just taste the same: salt, pepper, a little SeCrEt SaUcE that's just like mayo with cayenne or whatever it was nice to give my mouth something different to experience. I thought it was just honey mustard on top, but then I realized there were more layers to it. It was a welcome change and a nice touch. The chicken itself wasn't bad, but like most of these burger restaurants you're better off getting something more from their wheelhouse. That said this sandwich was definitely above average when compared to others in this set.

Zaxby's' Signature Sandwich

Grade: 90

Zaxby's sandwich is kind of just their own take on Popeyes' sandwich. It's got the same brioche bun, the pickle, the SpEcIaL sAuCe, albeit their own Kickin' Chicken sauce and not Popeyes' Cajun or whatever. Even though it's not THE original it's still good in its own right- really REALLY good. Spoilers for my list I guess: this is one of only two chicken sandwiches to hit the 90s on my personal ranking. You can probably guess what the other is.

Zaxby's: Signature Sandwich: Zaxby's is a favorite of mine to hit up when I'm wanting a lot of things. Probably one of my favorite overall fast food restaurants they always have great quality control when it comes to what they serve.

The best way to describe their sandwich is imagine if someone told all the other restaurants that Popeyes had a hit item on their hands and they needed to follow suit. Zaxby's took this in the most literal way possible, because I do feel like their sandwich is a very close mimic at what Popeyes had put out at the time. Which is to say, it's a very very good sandwich. It's probably one of the top 2 or 3 biggest pieces of chicken you'll get across the board, and it's very tasty to boot. It's dressed with their signature sauce, which is pretty similar to Raising Canes' sauce I think. Both of those sauces are probably my favorites from respective chicken restaurants. Just about flawless.

Grade: 94

One day I will be south enough to at least try Zaxbys and how legendary it supposedly is

I got to at least try Bojangles it was solid

Hardee's: Hand-breaded Chicken Sandwich: I'll admit to not knowing the full details on the difference between the Superstar I'm familiar with and its relative on the western side of the country; different sources seem to say they're basically the same and others swear they are different. Obviously, living in Atlanta we're sampling Hardee's brand of chicken here, so if the experience is actually different at Carl's Jr., then we can't be held accountable!

Hardee's has changed their chicken a lot over the years. I remember a time as a kid that Hardee's actually just sold fried chicken ala KFC, but I think those days have come and gone. Today the menu has a sandwich and tenders, very similar to any burger based restaurant. I feel like they've changed their chicken sandwich several times too, though typically even though I like Hardee's on the whole, I don't find myself around it often enough to try every new item they roll out. The sandwich of today really surprised and impressed me though, which I was not expecting. This was yet another large chicken fillet and it did really taste like it was "hand-breaded", whatever that means in terms of fast food. Very nice!

Grade: 89

Hardee's Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich

Grade: 82

Before Chick-fil-A started the chicken sandwich feud with Popeyes, and thus stoked the flames of what led to THE Great Chicken Sandwich War of the 2020's Hardee's was my go-to for a good chicken sandwich. Honestly it still holds up well, but I preferred the Big Chicken Sandwich to this one. They're similar enough both certainly use a big honkin' piece of chicken breast that's for sure. But now I've been spoiled by brioche buns and spice blends and... *sigh* pink mayonnaise and/or special sauces that add so much more to the chicken sandwich eating experience that the super star just doesn't do it quite the same for me anymore. That's not to say it's bad as it's still obviously above average, but it's not as great as I remember.

Dairy Queen's Original Strip Sandwich

Grade: 40

It's edible if you're starving and can't gain access to anything with flavor or you've had your taste buds surgically removed. My gut reaction (which is how we determined these rankings) was to rate it in the lowest of the 40 range because in my mind it was only half as good as a "good" sandwich, but in retrospect I really should've gone even lower. DQ had the advantage of being the final restaurant's sandwich I picked up during my half of the Chicken Run by happenstance. I was planning on retrieving Bojangles last, but a minor mishap led to DQ having the freshest sandwich, and it still sucked all of the ass. I could feel the heat from the outside of the paper bag as the cashier handed me the food and I could even see a bit of steam emanating from it. So tell me why by the time we ate it the tenders were hard and lacking in any decent flavor or texture? It really does not compute. Now I'm led to believe that if you're going to Dairy Queen for anything other than a Blizzard or soft serve you're doing it wrong. I know that's simply untrue. I've had good things other than dessert from DQ before, but as far as their chicken sandwich don't. Just... don't.

Dairy Queen: Original Strip Sandwich: Dairy Queen is a fun spot, can't go here TOO much though or else you'll become unhealthy in a hurry. It would be tough to choose my favorite "shakes" restaurants; there are a lot of good ones. You can't go wrong with a Blizzard though.

You can, however, go very wrong if you order this sandwich. Much like Genny I feel like I initially ranked this too high, because having to finish the sandwich later as leftovers was a reminder of just how bad this thing was. After having a lot of good to great sandwiches all in a row, biting into this was a rude awakening. The chicken, if you could call it that, was so hard and mostly breading. So not only is it not a chicken fillet, but the tenders were nearly inedible. It was bad... I mean I guess it's food. But there's just nothing good to say about this one. I wish I had ranked it lower, but I guess I'll stand by my score.

Grade: 40

Sonic: Crispy Chicken Sandwich: Sonic is a favorite place to head for their beverage menu mostly. I will get the coney if I do order food here usually, because getting a hot dog that's fast food is a novelty most restaurants just don't offer.

I had never had their chicken sandwich... and I will make sure I never do again. I feel like I should have ranked it lower, again. It was food and all, but the taste of this sandwich was just disgusting. There's a very mechanical flavor to it... best way I can describe it. Perhaps it was just this location having old oil or something, I have no idea really. It just didn't taste much like chicken despite resembling it. They've also made no effort in adapting to modern chicken sandwiches, this was a McChicken level size patty almost. But even the most mayo ridden McChicken could have topped this. Just gross.

Grade: 38

I remember loving sonic in my younger years but now they're pretty much just a drink spot yeah, and a Chicago dog. Everything else I've tried has been disappointing

Sonic - Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Grade: 43

I used to enjoy Sonic a lot more in my youth, but several consecutive mediocre experiences combined with the fact that the closest location to me and charon has shut down (probably for good reason) means we don't get the option of redeeming it these days. That said I tried to approach this sandwich as unbiased as possible, and honestly I didn't despise it as much as the hubby did. Don't get me wrong: it's still bottom tier, make no mistake. However, I didn't taste anything "mechanical" nor would I compare it to the McMayonnaise. There was a bit of a strange aftertaste, but I would personally chalk it up to the lack of freshness. Maybe their chicken isn't "handbreaded" or "made to order" affecting the overall quality of their sandwich experience. Maybe it sat in the food warming bag for too long. I don't know, I'm not here to make excuses for this sub-par sandwich. All I'll say is that it wasn't as bad as DQ's. At least Sonic's chicken didn't feel like biting into three small flavorless bricks in a bun.

Bojangles - Bo's Chicken Sandwich

Grade: 64

I had the highest hopes for this one to upset coming into this project, and indeed the flavor of the chicken was great. So what's the issue? Maybe it's a regional thing or something coming from upper management, but I've noticed any time I order ANY sandwich from Bojangles- not just this Bo's- they give me less and less Bo Sauce. This time it was a literal drizzle in the very center and nowhere else as though someone took an eyedropper and squirted out four droplets and called it a day. This wouldn't have been bad if the chicken weren't dry. It was ready pretty dang quickly so I know it was likely sitting under a heating element, and I have no qualms with that. However if you're going to give me a pre-prepared sandwich at least slather it in the good stuff so I'm not left gasping for soda like a SpongeBob or a Patrick out of water. I NEED IT! A restaurant that preps for heavy lunch traffic should live or die by its sauce, and Bo's died for me.

P.S. Last time I ordered the Cajun filet from Bojangles they forgot to put the sauce on there completely and I was left with nothing but dry chicken. NGL I'm starting to feel some type of way about this because I've had some great experiences from Bo's, but it's really going downhill at least in our neck of the woods.

Bojangles: Bo's Chicken Sandwich: I wonder how available Bojangles is outside of the south? A brief search says they've expanded into places like Ohio and New Jersey, and good for them. I feel like they have something unique to offer the fast food world and up until recently, I would have had nothing but good things to say about them. Unfortunately, a lot like Genny I've had a bad run with various locations nearby. I remember going once and not only had the signature Mountain Dew they carried for years been discontinued, but they didn't have their sandwich that day OR their own sauce. How can a restaurant not have their signature sauce?

They must still be out because there was literally just a dollop right in the center, and only on one side. Bottom bun was completely blank and void. It's a shame because even though it was a little dry, the chicken taste was quite good and unlike any of the other sandwiches. There's a strong black pepper flavor in the sandwich itself; which I guess makes sense since Bo's does not actually have a spicy sandwich. I wouldn't call this a spicy sandwich either though, it just had this little black pepper finish I thought was nice. Just a shame they didn't put anything else on there with it...

Grade: 66

v_charon posted...

Sonic is a favorite place to head for their beverage menu mostly

Yeah, I feel like the only thing I remember from Sonic is their drinks. I know I don't really get to branch out to fast food that I don't eat at all too often but at least some places that I have eaten at I generally remember liking or disliking whatever I had. Usually it's like because I'm not all too picky with fast food. So it's weird that I remember nothing of Sonic's food.

Arby's: Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich: I'm not sure but I feel like online Arby's has one of the worst reputations amongst all the fast food restaurants. Maybe the people who dislike it or simply loud, but I don't get it. Arby's is (hilariously) my mom's favorite restaurant. I usually have to convince her when I say we can go out anywhere that I mean like, real restaurants to sit down in. That said, I really like their food generally. They actually had a great burger released a little while ago and obviously if you're in the mood for roast beef, no one else really has one. When I was a kid I would always order their "Big Montana", which isn't around anymore but was just a bigger sandwich I think.

I've had their chicken sandwich in the past; and I was expecting it to be awful because it certainly used to be. Thankfully, they have upgraded their chicken since last time I ordered it. They tend to use way too much lettuce but it was more subdued this time, and not the way I remembered it. Which was good. Flavor wise it was decent I'd say, not at all a bad one.

Grade: 60

I've also never understood the Arby's hate.

My guess is that it stems from the Simpsons joke in the 90s for a certain generation and other jokes throughout the years on various other tv shows just kept it going.

It's one of the better fast food places.

Arby's - Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Grade: 61

I mean... it's alright I guess... but if I'm going to Arby's I'm going for the French Dip, Gyro, or that new hushpuppy breaded fish strips they have for limited time that I've still yet to try, and that's only if they don't have the delicious Wagyu burgers next time I go. When THEY HAVE so many of THE MEATS to choose from they really need to step up their original chicken game to even give it a fighting chance to contend with all their other offerings. Maybe they should've taken a page out of Freddy's book and put their honey mustard on their classic chicken sandwich because I've heard it's pretty good on their chicken bacon Swiss.

Wendy's - Classic Chicken Sandwich

Grade: 64

"Hi, would you like to try the new Loaded Nacho ch-" is how I wish the employee at the speaker greeted me so I could have interrupted with "CLASSIC CHICKEN" instead of "FO FO FO". Sadly the meme potential was lost before it could ever be found. I like that Wendy's is always innovating and testing the market for new ways to tweak their rotational menu. As charon has mentioned somewhere their pretzel bacon pub sandwiches are on point, and while the loaded nacho looks to be a bit much I appreciate that it's there. Unlike McDonald's they are willing to take chances with new items. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but they're always trying something new. If only they'd try to rework something old because their classic chicken could definitely stand to come out of the 20th century and into the new millennium of brioche buns, signature sauces, and pink mayonnaise because as it stands it's just a relic of the past. It tastes decent, but it's really nothing special. I can't even remember much about it, and, as THE signature chicken sandwich of one of my favorite fast food restaurants, I believe not remembering what makes it special is a sign that it is unworthy of standing out in the crowd.

Wendy's: Classic Chicken Sandwich: As mentioned before, I appreciate Wendy's for their innovation. They try different stuff at least a few times every year, and unlike a lot of places they let you try those new combinations on both their burgers and their chicken sandwiches. I'll always be a little partial to them; when they do it well, it's a really good experience.

Wendy's was a little quiet in upgrading their chicken game. They did do it, eventually, but they didn't ever go full on on the chicken wars game like many places did. Their sandwich, while slightly upgraded, was not created with the idea to go up against Popeye's like a lot of places decided to do. While I think their spicy sandwich is the signature one, the original one isn't a bad offering either. It's pretty run of the mill as far as these things go, nothing very special about it but completely servicable as an option as well. Hard to recommend though, considering they are almost always assured to have something better/more interesting on their menu.

Grade: 62

Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich is one of my go-to's tbh. It's very to the point and not overdone which I appreciate, a spicy chicken sandwich that does too much can turn me off from wanting it more than like, once in a blue moon.

I very much disagree with your ranking of Dairy queen's chicken.

I think Dairy Queen's chicken is the best (at least the chicken tenders.) It is my go to place for chicken tenders.

I also really like DQ chicken tenders, bit I've never tried their chicken sandwich

Popeye's: Classic Chicken Sandwich: We didn't really have any specific order these were picked in, though this one ended up being one of the final entrants. What can really be said about Popeye's? They're the originators of the chicken sandwich wars and their bold take on what it meant to offer a chicken sandwich on your menu in fast food changed the game forever. They may never enjoy the reputation of having the best service like CFA, or possess the broad marketing power of some of these other restaurants, but no one can ever take away what they brought.

So does THE sandwich still hold up all this time later against so many different competitors? Well, without question! Almost every time I order this sandwich I'm reminded why so many others tried to replicate it. This is just about as close as a fast food restaurant can get to a perfect item. It's probably hard to outdo this sandwich even at a fancy sit down place, but I'm sure it could be done I guess so I can't give it the perfect score. But for the price and taste ratio factor, this can't really be beat. While the spicy version is typically what I'd order, the original still packs loads of flavor and isn't boring in any way, which is pretty impressive considering many of the other sandwiches I tasted were a little boring without a spice factor.

Grade: 96

This chicken sandwich deserves its own post.

Popeyes - Classic Chicken Sandwich

Grade - 91

As far as fast food chicken sandwiches this is the one that truly lives up to the hype. Now is it the best chicken sandwich ever? Is it worth waiting in lines that wrap around the building two (or even more) times through? Is it worth risking getting stabbed over? Hell to the fuck NO to all of the above. However it is a damned good chicken sandwich, and while others come close to matching it in quality none can exceed it. This is hands down the best chicken sandwich you are going to get outside of something cooked at home or prepared by a professional chef at a sit down restaurant .

Every so often you might get a chicken breast that's a little bit skimpier or drier or a little overcooked, but on the whole the quality control is way more consistent than your average fast food joint Disclaimer: at least when it comes to the sandwiches. Not do I have some horror stories about trying to get certain sides and desserts from Popeyes hoo boy. Let's say their sandwiches are way more homogenous than Bojangles for example, but not nearly as uniform as Chick-fil-A and leave it at that.

The sandwich we got was a typical one from Popeyes- which is to say it was delicious, but not flawless. Big hunk of all white meat chicken breast, beautifully breaded and seasoned immaculately, plenty of sauce spread a bit unevenly, and pickles distributed willy nilly with little rhyme or reason. I can forgive pretty much any flaws in the presentation when the end result is so tasty though. It's the sandwich that started it all and should've ended our list, but unfortunately we still have two to go!

Stay tuned folks. We're planning on finishing this out tonight and fielding suggestions for our next few Chicken Runs.

Almost always a nice big piece of chicken, but the buns and pickle are also so much better than other restaurants offerings. Tough to beat!

Popeye's pork and beans isn't super great but other than that yea, their spicy chicken sandwich is the shit. The fries are pretty good too.

What's the final bill for this adventure? Have you been keeping track?

Burger King: BK Royal Crispy Chicken: I feel like BK is the current laughing stock of the fast food world for whatever reason. I've always been okay with them, and I think the Whopper is pretty decent. Their burgers do have a signature flavor because of how they're prepared and I appreciate that. What I don't appreciate is that back when I was kicking around in my head about doing this ranking, this was not BK's chicken sandwich at the time. They, in fact, had one of the best sandwiches on the market in the Ch'king. The name was catchy, and the sandwich was hands-down one of BK's best ever items. It was in a lot of ways a rip off Popeye's sandwich, but almost all the best sandwiches are. The chicken was huge, the sauce was actually unique (their spicy version was actually dunked in a sauce if I recall). I was floored when they removed it. Apparently the sales weren't good enough for the trouble it was, or some shit they claim.

Whatever because the Royal line of sandwiches is just suck. Seriously BK why do this? I ate this sandwich and it was just not good. There was some sort of sweet aftertaste that I couldn't figure out where it come from. The size is like, half, of the old Ch'king. I'm really disappointed in them for this change, and on that note for the ridiculous "country of origin" line of chicken they did a little earlier. But that's another topic I guess. This sandwich makes me sad.

Grade: 43

guffguy89 posted...

What's the final bill for this adventure? Have you been keeping track?

Could probably pull up the info with a little research. On average I would say the sandwiches are like 6-7 dollars with a few outliers. Final cost was likely somewhere around $150 perhaps? But that's split between the two of us, and it was also several days worth of food so ultimately probably not a bad price for a couple to eat on for 3-4 days!

Burger King - Royal Deluxe

Grade: 46

Go back in time a decade and a half ago and Burger King was going toe to toe with the top dogs McDonald's and Wendy's, but recently the restaurant has been struggling to find its footing. (By the way I swear the last two sentences weren't intentionally formulated to call to mind "Burger King foot lettuce" I just had to connect two thoughts and 'toe to toe' and 'find its footing' were the first things to come to mind) They can't seem to commit to a single chicken sandwich aside from their biggest piece of garbage that shitty long chicken which in my opinion would be better off long gone! The Tendercrisp chicken sandwich was my favorite thing on their menu and then one day it's just gone. The Ch'King and every chicken sandwich in between eventually met the same fate. BK's nuggets are so bad they will occasionally GIVE them away in what 10 piece orders for $1.59? The point is I get the feeling that aside from their signature items they never gave much of a crap about their menu and in this sandwich it really shows.

Bland, unoriginal, and incomparable are the three words I'd use to describe the sandwich char and I shared because it really didn't stack up to the quality of past offerings. Burger King has become the butt of the joke in terms of fast food, and in my opinion it's for good reason. If you don't like Whoppers (that's me) or Chicken Fries there is basically no reason to ever go to this restaurant. Sad indeed...

Church's Texas Chicken: Original Chicken Sandwich: I never really knew what to make of Church's Chicken when I was growing up, I actually had no idea they were even a chain because I only knew of just one location and it always felt like just some place to get chicken from. Later on obviously I would recognize the era of my ways, and also change my opinion of them a bit as a pretty decent spot to head to. They've rebranded a little recently to make sure you know they're TEXAS fried chicken. I have no idea what that means though.

My first time having Church's sandwich was a bit of an ordeal. The location isn't in the greatest of areas and people were roaming all about loitering, playing games in the parking lots and the building itself didn't look great. But the sandwich they gave me was pretty amazing. In my mind, at the time, it was a true contender (this was a spicy version; they also gave you a pickled jalapeno in a small bag with it). This sandwich was... still good, not as great as I recalled or maybe it was the spicy only that was. Still a well above average sandwich though, with a very unique breading and frying method to it. It almost seemed Korean in style; maybe that's the Texas?

Grade: 78

Church's Texas Chicken - Original Chicken Sandwich

Grade: 80

We might not have saved the best for last, but this was a solid one to be sure and I'm glad we didn't end on literally BURGER KING. This sandwich wasn't as good as the spicy version, but the texture was pretty great which I'm chalking up to the unique breading- something KFC could've really utilized in their own batter frying process- and the flavor didn't leave too much to be desired. I'm still expecting Church's to shine during what is most likely to be our next project, but it did well enough during this Chicken Run. If you have any in your area it's definitely worth going out of your way to grab their offerings because they don't taste like anybody else's. Church's knew they couldn't beat anyone at their own game (looking at you, Zaxby's) so they didn't even try and did their own thing instead and I can appreciate that.

'Til next time!

Popeye's: 187
Zaxby's: 184
Chick-Fil-A: 178
Hardee's: 171
Raising Cane's: 161
Church's Texas Chicken: 158
Culver's: 150
Whataburger: 147
Panera Bread: 147
KFC: 141
Shake Shack: 141
Krystal: 138
Bojangles: 130
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: 128
Wendy's: 126
Arby's: 121
Checkers and Rally's: 102
McDonald's: 96
Burger King: 89
Sonic: 81
Dairy Queen: 80

Personal Worsts:

charon: Sonic
Genny: DQ

Ties were broken by whichever restaurant possessed the overall highest personal score. And with that, we hereby deem Popeye's as the definitive best fast food restaurant to get an original crispy chicken sandwich! Surprised, right? The rest of the rankings are probably more interesting and informative, I think everyone knows Popeye's is probably the clear cut winner. Zaxby's does have a near perfect alternate for you if they're in your area though. This was a lot of fun and I'm glad we finally got to do it, thanks for following along.

We're planning to do another one of these next year, probably with the Spicy Sandwiches specifically this time. Any other thoughts or ideas? The only thing I am definitely saying will happen next year will be pictures of the products we receive.

Aside from the pictures and spicy sandwiches, I believe someone also mentioned nuggets/strips.

I, personally, would love the second one being about nuggets!

This was a fun read, thanks guys.