Forgive, but chicken has been on my mind lately. Specifically, what is up with Chick-Fil-A? Why does everybody love Chick-Fil-A?
For those of you who don’t know, Chick-Fil-A is a fast food joint on par with Roy Rogers that sells variations of the chicken sandwich.
I’ve seen status updates extolling the deliciousness of the chains’ sandwiches on Facebook.
My friend A makes a point of stopping at one every time she drives south from New York (apparently, there are no Chick-Fil-As in Manhattan). When I asked her about it — “G-friend, what is so freakin’ special about Chick-Fil-A?” — she thought about it for a moment and responded thoughtfully, “I like the spices.”
The spices? Really?
Even my own husband — the otherwise all-natural chicken farmer — makes a pit stop there whenever we head out of town, with me chastising him from the navigator’s seat.
I’ve tasted their Spicy Chicken Sandwich. I’ve sampled their cottage fries. I’ve nibbled their nuggets, and I say: “Meh.”
My biggest bone of contention with this place? The wacked-up spelling: ”Chick-Fil-A “– really? It took me two weeks to figure out the phonetics. Are all those hyphens really necessary?
All original content © 2012 by Jessie Knadler
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m with your friend – growing up, the spiced breading on Chick-Fil-A’s nuggets was WORLDS better than the weird fried coating on McNuggets or whatever was passing for a chicken tender at Burger King. And the nugget was clearly made of chicken meat, unlike the others. These few qualities made it the “gourmet” choice for fast food in our area. The factory-farmed provenance of the birds got to be too much for me last year, so I reluctantly gave up the habit, but I can still mentally taste the special Chick-Fil-A flavorings. Yum.
Geez, you guys are almost making me feel bad for not understanding the allure of this place!
Also Chick-Fil-A has extremely high customer service standards and better business practices. They are family friendly, and they more or less provide the same service as a restaurant with no expectation of tips. They also do tons of family activities and their play areas are exceptionally clean, along with all of their facilities. Their policy of remaining closed on Sundays is also commendable, and in my opinion, their service and people that work there reflect that.
Who knew? Considering I am a highly suggestible person, I will be heading that way after work (and I’m not joking). Besides I gotta have some thing to help me get off those damned double downs!
Kathryn: What’s a “Double Down????”
Simple answer: Peanut oil. They fry their chicken in Peanut. Oil. Tasty.
Jessie, don’t feel bad; I don’t understand the allure either. I’ve lived in the south now for close to five years and have yet to eat at one.
Tom and I met the owner and founder of Chick-Fil-A last year at the Hotel Roanoke. He was giving some talk because he’s a big Christian and philanthropist. We were there for a romantic night away from children. He’s ancient but we got to shake hands with him and we got a cow toy for the kids to boot.
Their chicken is better than KFC or McDonalds or Wendys. I don’t eat fast food much but if there’s a Chick-fil-A around when I do I often head to that. Except on Sunday’s when they’re closed b/c the owner believes in the whole day of rest thing.
Casey’s right, I’ve had great service every time I’ve eaten at one. That’s so refreshing.
Chick-Fil-A is also popular in Maryland, which is where I grew up. It is strongly affiliated with the far right-wing group, Focus on the Family (anti-choice, anti-gay, pro-censorship). If you are a liberal, I recommend getting your chicken sandwich somewhere else.
Heddy: Geez, I didn’t realize chicken sandwiches had been politicized.
I didn’t realize about the whole right wing group. I don’t like them, but the husband does. I’m with all of you and say what gives?