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.
>>>LGBT benefits<<<
OK, what is an LGBT benefit, a guaranteed lifetime supply of Preparation H when the Hire you?
They have Strawberry Shakes too.
Karma, line Mother nature, can be a bitch. Not always, but there is no mercy, no PC, no sympathy, no second chances there; it's all up to the individual; if anti-perverts are self-centerted, arrogant, have an uncontrollable mouth, quick to anger and have anger management issues, they too, can lose everything as a result.
Some people may be born to serve as good examples of the fate of bad behavior.
Usually, not more than once.
:-)
The long lines are at nearly every Chick-fil-a.
I always feel a little sorry for the fast food burger place next door. They rarely have more than a couple cars lined up, and often none, while the CFA has a dozen or two.
PLUS, many of the CFA places have order takers in the line, and cashiers, they move with the cars. The drive through window simply hands out the food.
One of the order takers told me they do 100 orders per hour, for 2 hours straight at lunch time.
Nice bonus, the burger place parking lot usually has lots of room to park and eat.
Who gives a flying fig?
I like Chil Gil A
There salads and soup and chicken salad sandwiches are very tasty. Never been to a Shake Shack or Fuku. The Chik Fil A is a good hot sammie
All the other was psychobabble
***groups that oppose equal rights for marginalized and bullied people***
statistics say that the individual most likely to be bullied is a straight white female, and she is most likely to be bullied by the exact same people who claim they are being bullied:
According to the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010 report,1, 2 : Fewer Asian-American students (18 percent) reported being bullied at school or cyberbullied than did white students (35 percent), African-American students (31 percent) or Latino students (28 percent).
(In 2011) Overall, the percentage of students who reported being bullied at school was highest for White students and lowest for Asian students in 2011. Specifically, 15 percent of Asian students ages 12–18 reported being bullied at school during the school year, compared with 31 percent of White students, 27 percent of Black students, and 22 percent of Hispanic students. Nine percent of Asian students reported being made fun of, called names, or insulted, compared with 21 percent of White students and 16 percent of Black students. Similarly, 8 percent of Asian students reported that they had been the subject of rumors, compared with 20 percent of White students, 19 percent of Black students, and 15 percent of Hispanic students.
(pg 48) https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014042.pdf
In 2013, about 22 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school during the school year. According to NCES data, this percentage was lower than the percentage reported in every prior survey year since 2005 (when it ranged from 28 to 32 percent). Similarly, lower percentages of students reporting being bullied in 2013 were observed across some student characteristics. For example, in 2013 about 24 percent of female students reported being bullied at school, compared with 29 to 33 percent in prior survey years. While girls ages 12 to 18 tend to report being bullied more than males the same age, the data shows that the pattern of reduced rates over time for males was similar. In 2013, females also reported being cyberbullied more than males
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/new-data-show-decline-school-based-bullying
The feeling is mutual...
No, of course not. There are a lot of people, including me, who will make a diversion to stick it to the PC crowd. Especially if it involves tasty food.
I’d eat at Chik-fil-A just to aggravate commiepuke deviant loving aholes like the author, if I knew where one was. Even though I never eat junk or fast food.
Do all CFA have the biscuits and gravy? Cause I love their biscuits
How can this schmuck say that people don't like Chick-Fil-A? The chain is growing fast it seems, so someone likes it.
MORON
Order the platter. Your choice of meat (chicken breast, bacon, sausage) with scrambled eggs and gravy biscuit.
5 bucks. It isn’t on the drive-thru menu.
English is a dead language, replaced by pidgin.
Sure does. Chick-fil-A could not have become “America’s favorite fast food restaurant” if its corporate VALUES were not evident in every aspect of its operation. Those values are Christian values.
English is a vibrant and very expressive language. It’s just that folks aren’t taught to speak/write it properly anymore.
And a lot of the problem with many of the younger writers that we’re subjected to these days boils down to the fact that they haven’t READ enough of quality writing!
They’ve just picked up a lot of ‘tricks’, and they think that ‘tricks’ make their writing ‘clever’.
The CF A Platter isn’t on any menu, but all you have to do is ask for it.
I happen to work at a Chick-fil-A. I am one of a few ‘well-seasoned ‘ workers at my location. We’ve been open in our city since February, first location in our city.
I work with some really great people. They are most mostly clean-cut, well-behaved young people who would shudder with revulsion at some of the stuff done at other fast food places. Our owner-operator is ex-Navy, an officer of over 25 years service. We’ve been received by the community with open arms, despite being close by a hotbed of liberal idiocy.
I really enjoy working there,and the food is quite good, as evidenced by our brisk sales.
If anyone doesn’t like CFA, that’s their choice.
In N Out also has strawberry shakes. And as a ‘secret menu’ item you can get a neopolitan shake (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry swirled).
Chili-chocolate does sound yummy!
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