Posted on 06/12/2017 11:31:54 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
People love Chick-fil-A, the poultry-centric fast-food chain whose corporate purpose is to “glorify God,” and whose strict Sunday closure means that every employee gets at least one day of rest.
People love the carnival-like waffle fries, the neonatal ward-like hospitality, the cleanliness on par with a Silicon Valley chip manufacturer, the fresh-squeezed lemonade spiked with soft-serve ice cream, the aromatic peach shakes, the admirably bare-bones fried-chicken sandwich, the viral fan song set to the tune of the Beatles’s “Yesterday,” and the famous Polynesian sauce, an agrodolce condiment that looks like what would happen if a stop sign were melted down in a magical volcano made of pineapple, ginger, and corn syrup.
People don’t love Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based, family-owned chain that’s heavily rooted in the South but that’s expanding aggressively into new markets like New York and Washington, fueling long lines and, occasionally, opposition. Millions of dollars of the chain’s past profits funded groups that opposed same-sex marriage during an era when millions of Americans were fighting for their civil rights; smaller donations went to a group that practiced conversion therapy, a practice that stems from the discredited belief that homosexuality is a mental illness.
About a year before the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013, chief executive Dan Cathy said that “we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.” Following an uproar over those comments, Chick-fil-A pledged, on Facebook, to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena, and “to treat everyone “with honor, dignity and respect,” regardless of sexual orientation.
This is all to say, reckoning with Chick-fil-A is complicated. There’s the social question, which is how a Biblically grounded institution — whose $8 billion in sales dwarf KFC’s domestic operations — will fare as it expands outside of regions where it’s perceived as a beloved community cornerstone, rather than a venue whose mere presence evokes the type of anger normally directed at unqualified politicians.
And there’s the culinary question, which is whether you should brave the (fast-moving) lines at the home of the “original” pressure-fried chicken sandwich, or whether you should patronize more ambitious (and progressive) poultry-purveying peers like Fuku (only in New York) or Shake Shack.
I used to visit the Chick-fil-A during my D.C. college days, circa 2000, as a cheap and reasonably tasty source of protein after a workout. Nearly two decades later, in my capacity as a restaurant critic, I’m here to report that the increasingly ubiquitous chain serves a pretty good fast-food breakfast, a pretty great frozen coffee, and a pretty average chicken sandwich.
I’m also here to report that it’s the only top 10 quick-service restaurant that doesn’t mention sexual orientation in its online equal opportunity statement, and that it holds a zero rating on LGBT benefits and worker protections from a prominent advocacy group. McDonald’s scored 100. (When I asked Chick-fil-A about this, a rep responded with a general statement reaffirming its commitment to equal opportunity and said that it’s up to local franchisees to determine benefits.)
New York City's first standalone location of Chick-fil-A opened nearly two years ago to small protests and heavy lines. The chain plans on opening about a dozen restaurants across the five boroughs in the next three years, and it’s hard to blame it; the three locations I visited for this review continue to attract the type of fervent lunchtime crowds one might’ve expected during the early days at Momofuku Noodle Bar.
Chick-fil-A’s draw is simplicity: It’s all about the chicken. There are no burgers, hot dogs, tacos, cakes, hand pies, or lunchtime burritos — unless you count the 1990s-style wrap sandwich. There isn’t any beef, and the only pork is relegated to a bit of breakfast sausage or bacon.
That simplicity extends to the chicken sandwich, which is largely free from adulterants. The larger fast-food industry, which has no problem selling Froot Loop shakes and other things that will turn our livers into foie gras, generally abides by the false assumption that America wants a crummy house salad — watery lettuce, out-of-season tomatoes, and a chokehold of mayo — on its chicken sandwiches. Chick-fil-A knows better: The classic sandwich is nothing more than chicken, pickles (always on the bottom, so your tongue is instantly zapped with acidity), a white bun that gets out of the way of the chicken, butter, sugar, and enough salt — 1,350 milligrams — to turn your duodenum into charcuterie.
Structurally, it’s tempting to call it the platonic ideal of the chicken sandwich. It doesn’t exist to highlight infinite trendy toppings or revel in assembly-line customization, a la Chipotle. It exists to show off chicken. Until you start eating it. And you realize it’s not showing off much at all.
The only chicken at Chick-fil-A is boneless, skinless breast meat. While some parts of the culinary world explore how to extract more nose-to-tail goodness from poultry, or at least find a way to make sure your white meat doesn’t taste like seitan, the country’s most prominent chicken chain is focusing on the part of the chicken that bores, and that, in the hands of the corporate chefs here, really doesn’t taste like a whole lot.
To be fair, not a lot of folks turn to fast-food chicken expecting an epicurean inquiry into poultry funk or arcane breeding. People eat fast-food chicken for salt, fat, and perhaps most importantly, crunch. Problem is, Chick-fil-A’s chicken has too much salt, not enough fat, and very little crunch. The chief flavors of the sandwich are industrial neon pickle, sugar, and peanut oil.
If we lived in a post-apocalyptic world where Chick-fil-A was the only restaurant chain and all the remaining medical centers still had world-class dialysis machines, maybe this would suffice. But walk into any Shake Shack and your chicken sandwich will shatter with eons more crunch. It’s enough to make you want to forgive the mayo. Swing by a Fuku, whose lean butter- and pickle-topped sandwich is heavily influenced by Chick-fil-A, and you’ll experience an incendiary thigh meat with tons more flavor and texture. Heck, even drop by McDonald’s, order the buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich, hold the tomato, and you’ll still have a chicken sandwich with more texture and less sodium shock. The state of fast-food chicken sandwiches is strong, and The Chick just isn’t at the top of the list anymore.
Chick-fil-A, alas, doesn’t have much to worry about financially; it’s currently America’s favorite fast-food restaurant, according to one consumer satisfaction index. Sales actually soared the year Cathy made his controversial remarks. That means we can all expect more mayo-free chicken sandwiches across our fruited plain. So when you find yourself at Chick-fil-A, by choice or by chance, here’s a rundown of what’s great, what’s good, and what other prominent chains do better.
Chick-n-Minis (aka mini chicken sandwiches, breakfast only): These nuggets stuffed into mini yeast rolls aren’t a pretty dish; the craggy bits of breaded chicken are halfway falling out of the undersized rolls, some of which are nearly broken by the time you pick them up. If you saw these at a hot buffet you’d hop into your car and find another hot buffet. So be it; the rolls, brushed with honey butter, are chain’s best foil for its salt-lick chicken. This is a dish that doesn’t try to be something better than it is; it basks in the baseness of its own junk-food turpitude. Rating: 9/10. Calories: 350. Fat: 14g. Sodium: 880mg.
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Yogi Berra’s great quote seems to sum up the reviwer’s complaint. I love Chick Fil A.
Me too. The CFA peach shakes rock! Tastes almost as good as the homemade peach ice cream we used to make at my grandfather’s house. Although...nothing tastes that good.
I still don't like the taste of Chick-fil-A food but I want to support them in a real-world way, supporting them financially if only by contributing to their bottom line.
I am inspired by the mindless tenacity of the Pervert Mafia. It's easy, when I read by crap like this...
"I’m also here to report that it’s the only top 10 quick-service restaurant that doesn’t mention sexual orientation in its online equal opportunity statement, and that it holds a zero rating on LGBT benefits and worker protections from a prominent advocacy group. McDonald’s scored 100."
Of all the world's disgusting condiments that exist, the most distasteful to me is the unwelcome and undesirable addition of pervert politics into my fast food.
Mine just tasted like chemicals, yuck.
Actually Krystal has the best milk shakes.
ditto #25
Had a chicken biscuit and sweet tea for breakfast. Chick filet is our families go to food.
ok
then ditto 102
Actually, In-n-Out has the best shakes...but you can only get chocolate or vanilla. And my new favorite is a little local place near me that has chili-chocolate shakes. Yummy!
Chick-fil-A and In-N-Out burgers are both good quality and openly pro God companies. I like voting with my dollars.
Ha, ha! “Poultry centric....?”
I New it would be downhill from there!
In the NY Tristate area we celebrated a cross Christian denomination gathering in 20 plus locations called Hope Day....
CFA donated 1000s of free sandwiches... Guess the other FF orgs couldn’t associate Christian outreach to those in need.
Implied in the comment about homosexual "marriage". Don't eat there in solidarity with then queers.
Glad tet doesn’t like the peach shakes. More for our family.
“Chick-fil-A’s draw is simplicity: It’s all about the chicken.”
This one line from the article says it all. I mean, what else SHOULD it be about? The political, religious, racist, and sexual B.S. that seems to be dictating how a business ought to be run today puts me off, and has really limited where I shop or eat.
Don’t tell me who you voted for, who or what you worship, be content with the race or gender you have and don’t pester me with your orientation, except to orient yourself 180 deg. from my face and move out smartly.
I’m not asking too much, am I?
The anger is strong with these types, isn’t it? They’re so insanely popular it makes them foam at the mouth. Don’t worry though, your “review” won’t affect their business one iota.
We didn't invent a means of spreading hundreds or thousands ways to spread deadly diseases worldwide...
We just support it.
Catchy in the abstract, isn't it?
Composed to taunt Chik-Fil-a.....but it has a nicer opposite effect.
that was a laundry list of why I SHOULD eat there!
can’t wait for our local restaurant to open!
It lost its label as mental illness only because the shrinks have no therapy for it. Lol! It magically becomes “normal”. Refusing a shrink’s diagnosis is a mental illness though.
A total scam.
“Didn’t know they served breakfast.”
Tokyo Breakfast - chicken and waffles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgjwjaBJ5Do
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