It's Been One Hell of a Week for Fried Chicken in America

From Esquire

Dip me in a recipe-specific ratio of corn meal and flour, season me to your liking, and drop me in a vat of oil, because I'm cooked! August has been a banner month for fried chicken; it's about time we had something to celebrate. Over the course of the past week or so, a "chicken war" has launched, pitting Popeyes' new chicken sandwich against Chick-fil-a's famed sandwich dish. Kentucky Fried Chicken debuted meatless fried chicken, which was met with incredible fanfare in Atlanta. And to my knowledge (do not correct me), Chick-fil-a did not make any obtuse statements demeaning the existence of human life. Look at God!

Unfortunately, I did not get a Popeyes chicken sandwich, because I'm a survivor of a 1998 Furby stampede and no longer wish to participate in consumer hysteria, but from online reviews, it appears that this truly was one of the best chicken-fried inventions in recent memory. The sandwich was so well received that the franchise ran out of the menu item, announcing plans shortly after to include it permanently on its menu later this year.

Even when the chicken isn't particularly chicken, it remained a winner. The launch of meatless fried chicken at KFC could usher in a whole new revolution for fast food—a world where the essence of chicken is packed into a combination of plant-based fats and oils, then presented as meat that is chicken-enough. Although initially apprehensive about the change, if it falls under the welcoming umbrella of fried chicken, then I now say, why the cluck not? I'll eat your damn not-nuggets if it's in the spirit of solidarity.

This resurgence in fried chicken, or "The Chickening" if you will, is one of those fleeting good moments in our lives where we can come together for healthy public discourse. The reckoning is overdue. Fried chicken has come to represent something dirty in our world, be it Paula Deen's racially-charged-grandma vibe or the dark cloud of moral superiority that Chick-fil-a flexes ever so often—and the Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich, like most of the establishment, has gotten too comfortable in its position of superiority.

But in this moment, let us relish all fried chicken. Let us believe in our ability to improve upon it while never forgetting the delicious moments it has given us so far. And for the record, let us not forget the all-time heavy hitters who are too often overlooked. (Popeyes is excluded from the discussion until its sandwich returns.) Our history matters. They are as follows:

KFC's Double Down Sandwich

Kentucky Fried Chicken once dared to ask: What if we made a sandwich that could kill someone on sight? The Double Down sandwich, gone too soon, was the Camelot of our time. The bread was replaced with two deep-fried chicken breasts, while the insides contained bacon, pepper jack cheese, special sauce, and a death wish. It was the most American thing to ever happen to us.

Zaxby's Kickin Chicken Sandwich

I've always said that if you made Chick-fil-a less righteous and added hot sauce, you would land on the delicious product of Zaxby's, a Southern chain unfairly left out of most chicken war conversations. The bonus of hot sauce should not be understated, but the chicken alone is out of this world. Offering a subtle sweetness that's hard to fully describe, Zaxby's is a clutch member of the fried chicken family, just with fewer of the accolades.

Bojangles' Cajun Chicken Biscuit

So confident that it dares to wager its name on its product, Bojangles' Chicken and Biscuits serves the ultimate chicken biscuit in its Cajun chicken biscuit. Do not come here with that Texan Whataburger nonsense. Bojangles is a fringe player that exists primarily in the South, but represents the best of what chicken for breakfast can be.

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