The Louisiana-based Popeyes and Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A are two of the biggest names in fast-food fried chicken.
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The chicken tenders, the nuggets, the chicken sandwich — these are staples at any go-to chicken spot.
But how these restaurants distinguish themselves from each other is by offering a unique and distinct take on these classic dishes.
We sampled the most popular or best-selling menu items from each, referencing rankings posted by the companies and other publications and public forums.
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For Chick-fil-A, that was the chain's chicken nuggets, which was the second most ordered main dish on the chain's menu in 2018.
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... but the sheer quality of Popeyes' crispy chicken earns it the trophy for this round. The chain gets it right every time.
But that's just the chicken on its own — how does it fare when it comes to each chain's take on the chicken sandwich?
... which is iconic for a reason. The perfect combination of the buttery bun, crispy chicken fillet, and pickles is unbeatable.
Chick-fil-A's sandwich is a more cohesive dish, with its chicken and bun making for an entree that is more put together.
With the Po' Boy, you are reminded that it's indeed two pieces of Popeyes chicken sandwiched between bread ...
For the side orders, we went with french fries at both restaurants. The menu item has been ranked as some of the best that the chains have to offer.
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Chick-fil-A's waffle fries took the No. 1 spot as the chain's most ordered menu item in 2018.
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And for good reason — the fries' unique shape, perfectly salty taste, and texture alone would warrant a trip to Chick-fil-A.
And while they, too, claim victory in the battle of the side orders, Popeyes' french fries are delectable in their own way.
The same could be said about the flaky, buttery triumph that is the Popeyes biscuit. It was a nice addition to our meal.
The contents of our meal, the fries, the chicken, and the biscuit, came packaged in a box with a wide opening.
The same could not be said about Chick-fil-A's food packaging — we had to fight over each other to grab the chicken nuggets from their small box.
But what Chick-fil-A does to single itself out is take each of its menu items and make it entirely its own.
From its chicken sandwich to its chicken nuggets and chicken strips, Chick-fil-A isn't the only fast-food restaurant with these items on the menu, but it crafts them in such a way that its competitors don't stand a chance against.
We got one of each available sauce for this taste test: the original Chick-fil-A, the Polynesian, the honey mustard, the garden herb ranch, the zesty Buffalo, the barbecue, and the Sriracha.
The sauces were so much fun to mix and match with our food that we abandoned our goal of dipping only Chick-fil-A's nuggets into them and started using them with Popeyes' dishes.
Part of the fun of going to Chick-fil-A is experimenting with all of its different sauces, and double, triple, or even quadruple dipping to see what flavors can arise out of the various combinations.
That's not to say Popeyes doesn't have good sauces, but, again, Chick-fil-A just dominates in that department like it does in almost every other one.
So it's easy to see why the chain has gone from a regional favorite to a nationally ranked chain with a cult following in recent years.
Source: Business Insider