Balance of Food

The lack of fast food hype in a pandemic

In 2019, there was a late summer hype over a chicken sandwich, specifically the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich. In 2020, there is no hype behind any fast food product, whether that hype is deserved.

You might recall that the hype centered around a shortage of the chicken in the chicken sandwich. The chicken eventually came back. The Tennessee lawsuit wasn't part of the plan but fit in well in the plot. The hype did not come back.

Popeyes still advertises the chicken sandwich. We've learned in the past that looks in a fast food ad for a chicken sandwich do not translate to in real life.

A year after the hype: Still haven't tried the Popeyes chicken sandwich. Why?

If one human who I personally know had tried the sandwich and liked the sandwich, I would have tried one. If someone I knew tried the sandwich and didn't like it, I might have tried the sandwich based on their reaction. Still haven't had a conversation with anyone about the sandwich.

I was tempted this spring, early in the pandemic, even without a human reviewer whom I would trust, to try the sandwich. There was a problem. The local Popeyes was open for drive-thru service only. No car, no fast food sandwich. Going through a drive-thru without a car is illegal where I live.

Without the hype, the chicken sandwich is a chicken sandwich. Sure a brioche bun is nice. I've had Popeyes chicken. It's okay but not hype worthy.

You aren't going to get a run on a product in a pandemic. We've seen lineups of cars to get tested for COVID-19 and to get food at food banks. Having a line of cars to get a fast food chicken sandwich would be problematic.

After the chicken sandwich returned last fall, the hype disappeared. The pandemic has reduced the chicken sandwich to just another item on a fast food menu.

Will people come back for the Popeyes chicken sandwich?

Burger King is trying to bring some hype to its signature sandwich, the Whopper. The commercial mentions that food reviewers were invited to see how the Whopper is made.

Daym Drops, who apparently is a real food reviewer, is featured in commercials. In the first ad, Drops talks about the slicers for tomatoes and onions. Somehow the use of the microwave ovens never gets mentioned. Drops also talks about how "we" put together the Whopper. Drops, being employed by Burger King, loses whatever objectivity he might have on YouTube by hawking the Whopper. Drops is seen in a different Burger King ad where 2 sandwiches are $5 plus tax. His food blogger status is not mentioned in the second ad.

Food reviewers are just that. No criticism or objectivity. They might say negative things but there is a distinction between reviewing and criticism. Critics don't jump to get employed by the same forces that create the product. 

The last few Whoppers, none since COVID-19 kicked into the world, were particularly dry even with condiments. Eating them was more of a chore than even a fast food hamburger should be.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

The funny thing about the pandemic is fast food is not a necessary thing. I am not busy or rushed so I haven't any need for a quick snack. 

The fast food is fast, not good. Sometimes you make sacrifices. Money is a problem in this pandemic in the United States. Fast food is relatively inexpensive but a lot more expensive than buying real food and cooking at home. I can buy several pounds of spaghetti for the price of a fast food meal to produce a lot more meals. 

I miss French fries, not any fast food fries. I don't miss the smell of a McDonald's hamburger, which smells more like pork sausage after being in its own microwave oven. I don't miss the dry burgers at Burger King and Wendy's.

I definitely don't miss the poor service from fast food places.

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic gives us a chance to pick up some good habits and reflect on bad habits to wonder why we did so in the first place.

photo credits: Popeyes; Burger King

Supporting local restaurants during the pandemic is easier if you can get what you used to order

We all want to support our favorite restaurants in the time of COVID-19 to give them our business so they can stay in business. What if those restaurants aren't able to give us what we had before the pandemic settled into our lives?

Example 1

With my negative reaction to mozzarella cheese, I don't frequent too many pizzas in restaurants. I have a place that I love that makes a New Haven style pizza with parmesan cheese. The place doesn't require a special order, which psychologically is huge.

I was in the neighborhood of the place and called in an order for the lunch-size pizza. The pizza is a really good size for a single person. The regular pizzas are meant to be shared with 2-3 people.

I called in for the lunch-style pizza. I was told that the pizza was not available at this time. Confused? You weren't the only one. The person said I had to get the larger pizza. That wasn't going to happen and the conversation ended.

I noted my experience on the restaurant's Facebook page in a kind tone. Got no response.

Example 2

I have a favorite pulled pork sandwich place. The place requires 2 long bus rides there and 2 long bus rides back. I love going out there for the pulled pork sandwich, greasy fries, and the cutest cucumber vinegar cole slaw. When the weather is nice, I love eating outside.

I get out there after a long journey. There were no fries. They had no regular water. You had to buy a crappy bottle of water for a ridiculous price. I forgot to bring my own water (my mistake).

They did take my temperature (97.1°) before I decided that the effort was not worthwhile and went back home without barbecue.

Make al fresco dining the new trend in the streets

Feel free at this point in the stories to laugh or poke at me for being too particular or wanting what I had in the before time. I have routines that I like — this is who I am.

The pizza scenario was particularly odd. Maybe their profit margin on the smaller pizzas wasn't enough to make up for the lost time when they were closed. They wouldn't tell me that thought process but that would be logical. Then again, I was a customer and I was willing to give them money I didn't really have for a takeaway pizza. They said no to my pizza request.

The fries scenario has a back story. The place also has a downtown location where the setup doesn't allow them to have fries. So in the before time, you knew that about the downtown location. I would not have been on 4 buses in total if I knew there were no fries. There was likely a reason why the fries were not viable.

Food banks now more important than ever in COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

I love the idea of supporting local restaurants to buy gift cards to keep them afloat. Go back when things are somewhat normal and use the gift cards.

This works if you have regular money coming in during the pandemic. The United States has been woeful in giving help to its citizens who were barely making it. The unemployment didn't kick in for 2 months after the pandemic started. The $600 unemployment supplement has expired. The $1,200 one-time check was so long ago and had to go to rent.

Gift cards are a difficult purchase if rent is an issue.

These local restaurants deserve better and generally aren't getting the kind of support from the federal government. Did we mention the House-led Dems passed an extension of those unemployment benefits in May that would have extended the $600 supplement through the end of January 2021?

Rich people have received a lot of money from the current regime. They don't spend money on local businesses for the most part. The rest of us do spend money on local businesses but we don't have the money to spend on them.

Even with limited money, I am willing to spend some of that money on local places. I do want what I used to have.

photo credits: me