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.
Left wing bigots gotta hate.
Anti-Christian zealots can eat wherever they please, as can normal people.
It’s called freedom. Give it a try.
Their waffle fries are the best.
Hilarious truth: in Fort Lauderdale there is a Chick Fil A and a McDonalds next door to each other. Chick Fil A always has a line. McDonalds doesn’t. Love it.
Yes. And I highly recommend their peach shake.
If CFA is a pretty average chicken sandwich, all the others are below average.
So I’m a little biased. My son until last week worked at a local CFA. As a first job, it was perfect. He loved working there. He left to volunteer at a Christian summer camp for the summer. They want him back in August.
They have very high expectations of their employees, and that seems to move on toward higher level customers.
A buddy and I were there a few weeks ago at breakfast. 3-4 soldiers in uniform were behind us. I trusted the young lady at the register just because she worked there. I left my credit card on the counter and said to charge their meals to me. I walked away. ten minutes later, she came by with the card and receipt.
My son earned a very high honor with an organization of which he is a member. It earned him a municipal proclamation. I found the email address to the CEO of CFA and asked if he would write my son a brief letter of congratulations. We had a short email conversation and he sent a great very personal letter to my son.
Good luck getting that from Shake Shack. Progressives don’t normally bother with nice personal stuff like that.
Side note, they have a completely off menu item for breakfast. Biscuits and gravy. It’s really good.
Here’s a thought ... maybe they don’t exist to solve the LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ problems. Maybe they are there just to serve good and fast chicken sandwiches and salads. In a clean store with friendly, polite staff. And maybe they are just doing that really well.
I am near and eat at three different CFA restaurants and they all seem to do fantastic business, from mid-morning to night. Inside the restaurant, customers seem happy, enjoying the atmosphere and the food. They all have double drive thru lines that move fast. And the Wendy’s or BK next door will have only 3 or 4 cars.
Some people cannot appreciate success ... they have to find something to complain about. Too bad.
Yes this fellow should be deep-fried. After he has cooked then put into pallets and fed the chickens.
Such a thing is not possible!
Didn’t know they served breakfast. Now I have an alternative to the golden arches for those mornings I do a drive-through!
But because said issue is my raison d’être, I hope they all DIAF.
Leave early, the drive through line starts before dawn around here.
That being a New York business, is Fuku pronounced like it looks?
Liberals eat, drink, and sleep nothing but politics.
“Chick-Fil-A for me tonight.”
Same here. I eat Chick-Fil-A on those rare occasions when I eat fast food. I make a special effort to go there any time a Social Justice Warrior reminds me that Chick-Fil-A is on the right side in the battle between good and evil.
The first time I come across one I will buy lunch or dinner there, just on general principles.
Great spicy sandwich; I haven’t had the KFC Zinger yet but the best I’ve had in fast food. Fried in peanut oil, so mind if you have allergies.
This is not a restaurant review. It's a political hit piece pretentiously using unproven dietary theories to support sexual perversion by denigrating a company's legitimate moral philosophy.
The "review's" author is a food Nazi.
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