Zapp’s zapping pretzels with its seasonings. I’m surprised there hasn’t been Zapp’s Voodoo-flavored popcorn. (Spotted by Robbie at Brookshires and Target.)
REVIEW: Popeyes Blackened Chicken Sandwich
It is undeniable the impact the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich continues to have on the fast food landscape over three years since it first debuted. With its newest offering, Popeyes is looking at the unbreaded chicken sandwich options and raising the bar yet again. The Popeyes Blackened Chicken Sandwich starts with a 12-hour marinated filet that is finished with a unique blend of spices that give the item a signature blackened flavor. After frying it, it’s placed on a brioche bun with crisp pickles and mayo (or spicy sauce if you opt for the Spicy version).
While I am a huge fan of the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, I was a little worried about this new version. Unbreaded (“grilled”) chicken sandwiches at fast food restaurants are usually awful in my experience. They are often a bizarre textural blend of wet on the outside but dry on the inside. I also wanted to find out how the blackened flavor would be as I’ve had some instances where it overpowered the protein it’s used on.
The aromatic smell of the spices was absolutely delightful as I took the sandwich out of its bag. In case you’re not familiar, blackened seasoning is a blend of spices that usually has paprika as the base with cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano, thyme, and garlic. Popeyes’ version adds three types of pepper (red, black, white) and cumin to give it a unique flavor profile.
The blend that Popeyes developed for this sandwich was perfect. It’s well balanced to have a bit of the peppery spice but not cross into painfully spicy. There was even a bit of sweetness in the seasoning that really pushed it over the edge in terms of deliciousness. Since this was an unbreaded filet, I was incredibly curious about how it would come out. My worries about it being overly dry were immediately put to rest as I cut the sandwich in half.
The outside of the filet was crisp but not dry, and the inside was incredibly juicy and tender. The mayo and pickles work well with the blackened seasoning by supporting it and not competing with it. The brioche bun elevates the whole thing by adding a slight sweetness. The first few bites were nearly perfect, until the chicken’s succulence started to create a soggy mess. I think the person who made the sandwich went a little heavy on the mayo, and the bun wasn’t nearly toasted enough to stand up to the components as they sat longer.
There is no doubt in my mind that Popeyes continues to set the bar when it comes to chicken sandwiches. Even though it wasn’t made “perfectly,” my sandwich was incredibly delicious. The blackened seasoning works well, the unbreaded chicken filet is extremely tasty, and when you get that bite with all the ingredients, it’s just an enjoyable flavor experience. I will absolutely get this again and look forward to trying the spicy variation.
Purchased Price: $4.99
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 550 calories, 29 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 1900 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 32 grams of protein.
SPOTTED: Lay’s Crunch Tators Extra Crunchy Potato Chips
These make me wish all potato chips were called crunch tators — it’s such a better name. Oh, um, from what I read, Crunch Tators were available in the 80s and 90s, and they were pretty much what we consider kettle cooked potato chips today. So if you want Lay’s Kettle Cooked Potato Chips in retro bags, which Frito-Lay seems to love nowadays, here you go. (Spotted by @TheJoshCatlett at Dollar General.)
REVIEW: Taco Bell 7-Layer Nacho Fries
I’ve never thought about finding out if there are actually seven layers with every 7-layer dip that comes my way. I just blindly shovel tortilla chips with a Tex-Mex rainbow of ingredients on them.
My mind is on this stupid tangent because Taco Bell’s new 7-Layer Nacho Fries technically has eight ingredients smothering a bed of the chain’s Nacho Fries — seasoned beef, black beans, guacamole, nacho cheese sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, creamy chipotle sauce, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese.
I understand that combining the two cheese products will make seven. But, if we’re using Taco Bell math, shouldn’t the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito be the Beefy 4-Layer Burrito since it comes with seasoned beef, beans, sour cream, nacho cheese sauce, and cheese? Yeah, I’ve spent too much time thinking about this.
Also, because I’ve been thinking way too much about 7-layer dip purity, what we have with this Taco Bell menu item aren’t layers like with a dip at a party. It’s more like various colored bloops, gloops, glops, and blops on the fries.
But enough with my seven layers of insanity. How does this new menu item taste? As expected, it tastes great. It also tastes familiar since there’s no new sauce, and it has ingredients that have seen each other so many times in other products.
Since the toppings weren’t in layers, I dipped fries in various ingredients, but that was inefficient. So I thought it was best to mix everything. That resulted in consecutive forkfuls not tasting the same and the least appetizing photo in this review. The somewhat spicy creamy chipotle sauce, nacho cheese sauce, and tomatoes stand out the most. But everything else blends to create a pot of flavor that you’d taste at the end of a Tex-Mex rainbow.
If you’ve been enjoying all of these loaded Nacho Fries varieties, I’m sure you’ll also enjoy all the bloops, gloops, glops, and blops the Taco Bell 7-Layer Nacho Fries have to offer.
Purchased Price: $5.99*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 610 calories, 39 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 1420 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
REVIEW: Burger King Italian Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Despite its godawful name, I liked the Ch’King. While it wasn’t Popeyes-level delicious (I mean, what is), it was better than many other fast food chicken sandwiches. But, as with my appreciation for McDonald’s short-lived Arch Deluxe, I was in the minority and the Burger King fat cats 86’d it. So it goes. In its place is the Royal Crispy Chicken line, which, I guess is “Royal” because of the whole “King” thing.
Between us, it just seems to be a pretty standard chicken sandwich patty.
First, I’ll tell you some things I liked about Burger King’s new Italian Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich.
The chicken patty was quite large. Two of its edges hung off the side of the bun, which, as we all know, is a generally agreeable quality in a chicken sandwich. (Well, okay, provided you want to actually EAT said chicken patty.)
Further, this large chicken patty was not dry. I’d stop short of calling it juicy, but I’ve had much drier chicken patties from the King and his many competitors.
And finally, the “marinara sauce” that lightly adorned the sandwich was definitely recognizable as an Italian red sauce, and not just like ketchup with some oregano.
That’s it. Those were the three things I liked: the big piece of chicken wasn’t bone dry and it had a little Prego on it.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know. But then again, if I didn’t like it, I guess I shouldn’t give it a ringing endorsement, right?
Here’s my main complaint with this chicken sandwich: it was completely uninspired. Yes, it was problematic that the execution and ingredients were lackluster; the big-and-not-dry patty was bland and void of any real flavor; the marinara was indistinguishable from a jarred supermarket spaghetti sauce; and the long slice of mozzarella was, for lack of a better word, floppy and tasted like white American cheese.
But aside from the poor ingredients, were we as consumers really clamoring for another burger baron’s take on an Italian chicken sandwich? It feels like everyone trots theirs out every couple of years and none of them are ever very well received, and they eventually fade into the lost land of LTOs, where they silently remain for a handful of years before bursting back onto the scene with an un-triumphant flourish.
I mean, if you’re gonna do it, maybe try something interesting like Wendy’s with its Deep Fried Mozzarella Disc. Or what about doing something with Alfredo sauce instead? But also, do I really want to eat Alfredo sauce from Burger King? And why am I asking so many questions?!
In the end, this sandwich will fade from memory, just as the universe intended. If you liked it, I’m sorry. Take solace in the fact that it will be back again in a year or two, just the way you remembered it.
Purchased Price: $5.49
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 533 calories, 21 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 5.4 grams of saturated fat, 78 mg of cholesterol, 1641 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of total carbohydrates, 8 grams of sugars, 9 grams of fiber, and 33 grams of protein.