I haven't tried the Popeyes chicken sandwich. Perhaps the sandwich is as wonderful as the hype has claimed. Likely not, but I haven't tried the sandwich.
I do like a good fried chicken sandwich. I've had the Chick-Fil-A regular and spicy versions. There is a local, mildly spicy version on a buttermilk biscuit that is the best I've had.
Those who were fast enough got the Popeyes sandwich. Many didn't get a sandwich.
Weeks have gone by without a return of the sandwich. Will people come back to the sandwich?
Popeyes announced the shortage on August 27, a mere 8 days since the online battle with Chick-fil-A. Brevity on Twitter was never done as well as "...y’all good?"
The timing of the sandwich was ideal: late summer when the news is slow. When (if?) the sandwich returns, there will be plenty happening in the news. The Tennessee lawsuit will not repeat itself.
Those who tried the sandwich should come back for the sandwich. If they liked the hype more than the sandwich, well, the hype won't be there when the chicken comes back.
Those who didn't get a sandwich won't get the hype of the chicken sandwich. They can get the chicken sandwich and see for themselves.
In the height of the chicken sandwich craze, you couldn't speak up and say the sandwich was okay or that you've had better. You could only say the sandwich was awesome. After all, if you wait for an hour for a fast food chicken sandwich, you won't say it's okay or not that good.
Popeyes will get plenty of chicken for the chicken sandwich and won't bring the sandwich back until the company is sure the sandwich won't run out. That may be a different kind of problem. Were people eating the chicken or the hype? The sandwich might not be that special without the hype.
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Popeyes had a little fun with the delay by having people buy chicken tenders and put them on the bread you bring into the restaurant.
The emphasis is on "little" since the chicken hopefully is better than the regular chicken tenders on the menu. Also, pickles.
Popeyes sure proved that the company is doing better accidentally than when it actually tries to do something.
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I've had Popeyes chicken. The chicken experience is pretty good flavor for fast food chicken. The pieces were incredibly small. The sides are decent to fine. The hype that Popeyes could come up with a chicken sandwich that is so much better than their actual menu would be quite a surprise.
Those who will try the chicken sandwich will wonder if the hype was worth the wait. Their expectations will be heightened. In the end, this is just a fast food chicken sandwich.
If your world involves finding the best chicken sandwich under $10, Popeyes has a few advantages over Chick-Fil-A. Popeyes isn't giving money to anti-gay organizations and is open on Sunday.
Then again, you might find that the best chicken sandwich is at a local place that uses better quality chicken. Not much hype there but eating food is about quality and taste, not hype.
video credit: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
photo credit: Popeyes
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