We all remember the famous chicken sandwich wars. While we were taking sides,
some of us may have missed the fact that several of these beloved items are no longer with us.
You might be under the impression that every discontinued sandwich on this list
was a long-running menu staple. Though the short-but-sweet — or,
rather, savory — existence of Burger King's 2021 entry — The Ch'King — was
discontinued by the chain in 2022, after less than a year on the market.
"Ch'King."
"People are going chicken crazy."
"Ch'King."
While the exact timing of an item's discontinuation can be difficult to
nail down — along with the precise reason behind the decision — that wasn't the case
with the Ch'King. According to some employees posting to Reddit, the sandwich was immensely
time-consuming to prepare, causing a number of logistical challenges for restaurant
staff. It was likely doomed regardless of quality, as Jose Cil — former CEO of
Burger King's parent company, Restaurant Brands International — told CNN in 2022,
"[the Ch'King] created a ton of bottlenecks operationally."
While we'd all love to see a Ch'King comeback, with Burger King's Royal Crispy Chicken sandwiches
being introduced in August 2022, it's unlikely that'll happen anytime soon.
We're not sure if any sandwich says "fast food" less to us than a chicken salad sandwich. But,
given how easily it can be prepared with premade filling, a chicken salad sandwich
is pretty amenable to a quick-service restaurant setting. So while Chick-Fil-A's
chicken salad sandwich was discontinued in 2017, we've been longing for its comeback.
According to Today, when announcing the sandwich's removal in August 2017,
Chick-Fil-A acknowledged that many of its customers loved the item. But the fast
food chicken chain also noted that its fans are constantly on the lookout for new experiences.
Chick-Fil-A tried to ensure that the chicken salad sandwich's biggest supporters weren't
left empty-handed, so several months before its official discontinuation,
the company shared the recipe with fans via its official website.
The entire concept of fast food seems to evolve depending on the time of day. Maybe it's a
convenient and affordable way to find lunch; or maybe the industry is built on overconsuming
indulgent, decadent food items. Since those two options aren't necessarily mutually exclusive,
it's nice when a fast food chain maintains some sort of balance between its high-calorie,
artery-clogging options and somewhat healthier fare. In other words,
we're disappointed with McDonald's for discontinuing its Artisan Grilled Chicken
Sandwich in 2022, and we already wish it would make a comeback.
"I know exactly what he likes to eat."
"Definitely. That's definitely my meal."
The permanent removal of McDonald's grilled chicken sandwich didn't happen overnight.
According to Business Insider, it was originally another temporary casualty
of the restaurant's slimmed-down menu in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. But a
continued labor shortage — and the fact that a slimmer, streamlined menu made locations more
efficient and accurate with orders — forced the burger chain's hand. And, by June 2022,
it was confirmed that grilled chicken sandwiches wouldn't be returning to Mickey D's menus.
But since many of the fast food chain's own staff wouldn't even eat its grilled chicken
sandwich — at least according to a 2015 Ask Me Anything thread on Reddit with McDonald's
employees — we may be in the minority by wishing it would return. But either way,
for those who've enjoyed the fast food giant's grilled chicken, we'd love nothing
more than to see a healthier selection of menu items underneath the Golden Arches.
It's not really our style to kick anyone or any restaurant while they're down — or, well,
anything at all, for that matter. While pointing out Subway's continuous downfall throughout the
2010s doesn't really count as rubbing salt in a wound, considering the sandwich chain's rough
go of things, complaints can quickly make any Subway employee cringe. But we simply can't deny
our wish to see the brand's oven-roasted chicken breast sandwich return to menus.
Perhaps we're a bit sore about Subway removing the oven-roasted chicken breast option,
since — according to The Takeout — there was no public process for removing it.
Other than a number of Reddit commenters noticing the oven-roasted chicken breast's
disappearance at Subway locations by the end of 2021, no other indication
or announcement had been made regarding the item's removal as of October 2022.
Of course, we're no longer all that interested in learning why Subway decided to phase out
its oven-roasted chicken breast sandwich. All we want to know is when to expect the item's return.
There's a decent chance some folks haven't even heard of the Chicken Supreme sandwich
from Jack in the Box — quite possibly the oldest fast food chicken sandwich on this
list. But a lack of general fanfare in the 2020s doesn't diminish our determination
or enthusiasm for this particular item. And, based on the hundreds of followers
on a Facebook page dedicated to the sandwich's memory, we're not alone.
"What can $1.49 buy today? Well, something like this. Okay, what else? Oh, this."
Even the low-level video quality from early 1980s Jack in the Box commercials do little
to diminish the Chicken Supreme sandwich's superb, mouth-watering appearance. According
to the San Diego Reader, the sandwich was a menu staple throughout the '80s.
The publication claims it played a key role in the fast food chain's rise and expansion during
the decade — and we can't imagine anyone being disappointed after taking a bite.
When it comes to the KFC Snacker, we wouldn't be surprised if some people refuse to believe
the item is no longer on the menu. But the Snacker is indeed just a memory. And while
KFC's similar Chicken Little sandwich is still being sold, it simply can't compete.
According to QSRWeb.com, the KFC Snacker was a hit upon its introduction in 2005.
So why exactly did the fried chicken conglomerate decide to discontinue the delightfully delectable
Snacker and replace it with the Chicken Little sandwich in 2012? We haven't the foggiest idea.
Interestingly enough, according to Serious Eats, the Chicken Little sandwich itself
is a once-popular fried chicken sandwich that was exiled off the national KFC master menu for nearly
20 years before its reintroduction in 2012. So while we may not love the Chicken Little as much,
its mere existence gives us hope that the Snacker may also return one day.
According to QSR Magazine, McDonald's and Burger King were the best-selling and sixth
best-selling fast food chains in the U.S. in 2021, respectively. With that said,
it's not wholly inaccurate to say that if McDonald's and Burger King go,
so does a sizable chunk of the entire industry. It was likely, then, that Burger King expected to
make a big splash when it introduced its revamped grilled chicken sandwich in 2019. But as of 2023,
the sandwich is nowhere to be found on its menu — and we wish that wasn't the case.
"Been coming here for forty years for the burgers. Now they making chicken burgers, look at that."
"Oh eat it already, I'm getting old over here."
We don't have much of an idea when or why Burger King decided to stop
its non-deep-fried chicken sandwich option. Our only evidence regarding
the sandwich's disappearance comes from a January 2020 Reddit thread noting a
number of restaurants around the U.S. had already stopped selling the item.
With McDonald's also discontinuing their grilled chicken sandwiches,
it's looking less likely that fans of these types of items are going to get any kind of
fast food renaissance. As a result, we're eager to see Burger King's grilled chicken sandwich
make a comeback — even if we doubt there's any real chance that will happen any time soon.
If we're being perfectly honest, one event surrounding the fast food industry in December
2022 nearly made us rethink our desire to see Wendy's Fresh Stuffed Pitas return to menus. Not
that we have any issues with the fast food chicken sandwich line itself; instead, our concern lies
with Wendy's being named the most expensive fast food chain — according to Yahoo. So even if the
Fresh Stuffed Pitas made a comeback, we may not be able to easily afford the discontinued item.
While we strongly wish these genuinely unique chicken sandwiches would return
to Wendy's regardless of the potential price, for consumers, it's the general
lack of healthy or non-fried options at fast food chains today that is tough to swallow.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, how about something different?"
"I hear they have pitas at Wendy's."
"I'm hungry."
"Yeah, me too."
"Let's go to Wendy's and try the pitas."
Since we absolutely love a fresh pita pocket stuffed with grilled chicken and vegetables,
it's pretty self-explanatory why we want this sandwich to make a comeback, isn't it?
When Popeye's released its famed fried chicken sandwich in August 2019, it was almost the fast
food equivalent to Lexington and Concord. But we do occasionally wonder why Popeye's started this
fight in the first place, since it already had the phenomenal chicken Po'Boy sandwich,
which it sadly discontinued in 2019, according to Business Insider.
It made all the sense in the world for the Louisiana-style fast fried chicken
chain to offer a Po'Boy, given the southern state's connection
to the sandwich. And Popeye's version — which featured two chicken tenders,
lettuce, pickles, and mayonnaise on a sub roll — was arguably quite delicious.
Now, we won't go so far as to claim that the chicken Po'Boy was a better overall product
than the famous fried chicken sandwich that replaced it. But we can definitively say we
wish it would make a comeback. And we will never quite understand why
Popeye's couldn't continue selling its Po'Boy alongside its newer sandwich.
When we think about a chicken sandwich and Cheetos — even an off-brand,
generic version of the cheesy snack — we envision a side of crunchy cheese curls
next to a sandwich. Not inside of one. But, perhaps the incorporation of Cheetos
into a chicken sandwich was more logical than we initially imagined. Take KFC's
Cheetos chicken sandwich for example, which was briefly released in 2019.
"Is that a KFC chicken sandwich with Cheetos sauce and also actual Cheetos on it?"
The collaboration between Cheetos and KFC may not seem like a natural pairing,
but any concerns about the item's palatability would've been put to rest after consuming
one. The general simplicity of the Cheetos chicken sandwich certainly upped the appeal,
featuring a chicken filet sitting on top of real Cheetos, mayonnaise,
and doused in a Cheetos sauce. The Takeout described this concoction as:
"Cheetos in oil form, as if cheesy dust was blended into melted butter."
Of course, since its entire conception was based around a limited-time availability,
the KFC Cheetos chicken sandwich was never going to be long for this world. In that sense,
we're not nearly as bitter over this sandwich disappearing as we
are about others, but that doesn't mean we don't want to see it back.
Sure, some may quibble with our decision to include a wrap among our list of sandwiches. But,
according to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, wraps are a form of sandwich.
And we agree with that definition. With that said, the fast food chicken sandwich we wish
would make a comeback more than any other is the Chicken Snack Wrap from McDonald's,
which was bafflingly discontinued nationwide in 2016, according to KTLA5.
An exceedingly simple and exceptionally tasty item, the Snack Wrap featured either
a grilled or crispy chicken strip wrapped in a tortilla with lettuce,
shredded cheese, and a sauce of your choice. As a lighter snack option from McDonald's,
it was popular among consumers, which is evidenced by the more than 17,000 signatures
and counting on a Change.org petition demanding the return of Snack Wraps.
It seems McDonald's understands this better than anyone, since the fast
food chain teased fans on Twitter about the Snack Wraps' non-comeback in November 2022.
Whether this makes it more or less likely the beloved item eventually returns is unclear,
but we'll be waiting and hoping in our heart of hearts to see it on the menu again one day.