- In September 2021, Taco Bell released
their meme-influenced Chicken Taco Sandwich,
marking the latest and probably weirdest entry
in the fast food battle
for fried chicken sandwich supremacy,
a war that's been raging
since Popeyes turned a humble experiment
into a legitimate national sensation.
But how did the Cajun-themed Chicken Slinger
strike deep-fried gold with their sandwich?
Why did every fast food brand in existence decide
to make their own riff on Popeyes' success
and maybe, most importantly,
is Popeyes still the unquestionable champion
of fast food fried chicken sandwiches?
Let's find out!
It's unclear who first decided to put a fried chicken breast
between two buns,
but we do know fried chicken sandwiches have been
on diner menus dating back to the 1930s.
Though it didn't make the leap to fast food
until the early 1960s.
Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A,
decides to put his signature fried chicken on a sandwich
and implements the slogan, "We didn't invent the chicken,
just the chicken sandwich."
They actually didn't invent either
but it is the first mainstream
fast food fried chicken sandwich.
Anyway, in 1980,
McDonald's introduces the McChicken Sandwich
and it's a bigger flop than Caddyshack II.
They pull it, but end up putting it back on the menu
in the late 80s.
Now you can find it slumming it up in the dollar menu.
Fast forward to April 2010:
KFC's April Fool's joke turned monstrous reality debuts
as the Double Down features two fried chicken patties
in lieu of bread.
It turns into one of fast food's first viral phenomenons.
In 2017 Sweet Dixie Kitchen in Long Beach,
California is caught reselling Popeyes chicken
in their extremely popular chicken
and waffles brunch special.
And while they had to cease passing off Popeyes chicken
as their own, the Louisiana-based chicken brand
couldn't have been too pissed as two years later
in August 2019, Popeyes launches their top secret,
super ambitious Spicy Chicken Sandwich
at Sweet Dixie Kitchen before dropping it
in Popeyes across the country.
But let's back up a second.
In 2016, after failed attempts at a po-boy
and a chicken tender sandwich, Popeyes was still pining
for the fast food chicken sandwich market
that Chick-fil-A comfortably owned.
So Popeyes took the spiced chicken breasts their fans loved,
added the butter spread from their biscuits
with creamy Mayo, noticeably thick and tart pickles,
and put it all between a sweet brioche bun
to create the most popular fast food dish
since the Doritos Locos Taco.
One of the sandwiches creators told Thrillist,
"It's everything customers love about Popeyes.
It's like a microcosm of our brand that you can hold
in your hand."
Hell yeah!
Back to 2019.
Soon after nationwide release, the initial positive buzz
around the sandwich prompts Chick-fil-A to react
in an uncharacteristically insecure fashion,
leading to an online debate that thousands
of internet smartasses, some bored celebrities,
and most other fast food brands weigh in on.
Naturally, this only leads to more attention
on the sandwich.
Every publication in the country is covering Popeyes.
Every morning TV show is doing a taste test
and soon enough, stores literally can't keep them in stock.
It's a bonafide cultural phenomenon and throughout the fall
of 2019, as some people were prepping to raid Area 51..
remember that?
People sold secondhand sandwiches on the internet
for ridiculous markups.
A dude sued Popeyes when they ran out of stock,
and unfortunately, violence and even death occurs
at some locations as people vie to get their hands
on the year's most popular food item.
And every other fast food brand takes notice
and subsequently unleashes their own derivative
of a deluxe style fried chicken sandwich.
September 2020, in a retaliatory strike,
Chick-fil-A adds a new spicy option
featuring pimento cheese.
October 2020, Wendy's, Church's,
and Zaxby's all release new jumbo versions
of their chicken sandwiches.
By January 2021, Jack in the Box, Sonic,
and Carl's Jr have new chicken sandwiches on their menus
that kind of look like Popeyes
if you don't look too closely.
And by February of 2021,
Burger King releases a new chicken sandwich,
KFC drops an upgraded version of their Crispy Colonel,
and McDonald's, the Goliath of our fast food nation,
releases three potential usurpers to the deep fried throne:
a classic, spicy, and deluxe chicken sandwich.
So what's the verdict?
While taste is obviously subjective,
Popeyes chicken sandwich still tops our on-site ranking
at the moment.
So we salute you fried chicken wars!
For helping up the poultry game
of nearly every fast food brand in the States.
For providing minutes, if not hours
of entertaining internet content, and for proving
that competition always breeds excellence.
And in this case, tacos too!