spicy chicken sandwhich

I realize my past two posts have been about food, so I'm going to go ahead and keep with that tradition. My friend in Atlanta, Ryan, sent me a text at lunch today letting me know he was on his way to try the new ChickFilA spicy chicken sandwich. I hadn't tried it yet, and wanted to know what it was like. So I asked him to review it for me...thus the basis for this post. Enjoy!

Preface: The author sampled the deluxe CFA Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which features lettuce, tomato, pepperjack cheese and the signature two pickles.

This sandwich ends not with a bang, but with a whimper.

The sandwich is roughly the same size as the traditional CFA chicken sandwich. The texture of the chicken is similar and features the wondrous "crunch" that scores of Chicken Sandwich fans have come to adore. The bun is similar, as are all the veggies, the lone change is Pepper Jack cheese (more on this in a moment) and the overall spice of the sandwich.

Biting into the sandwich, you don't immediately taste the heat. It comes midway through the experience when you start to notice "hey - I'm eating something spicy!" The heat isn't overpowering and doesn't have a distinct flavor. It's not comparable to a buffalo sauce, a salsa, or some type of Cajun seasoning. If anything, it tastes like a dish that's had a little bit too much pepper used in its preparation. The pepper jack cheese doesn't add much - in fact it might cool down the taste sandwich more than anything. Throughout the entire meal, I only reached for my glass of iced tea once. This should give you an idea that it really isn't spicy or overly flavorful at all. In fact, as I sit here and write this, there isn't really an aftertaste to the meal.

Ultimately, it's a little bit of a letdown and I believe Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich has it beat. I'm of the opinion that Chik-fil-A might be one of the best fast food restaurants in America (if not THE best) and I can honestly say I wouldn't go into the store again and order this in place of a normal sandwich or nuggets/strips.

The upside is that they are selling them in truckloads. I stood in a 5 minute line to order and the two people in front of me and the one person to the left all ordered the sandwich. Their sales are gonna increase significantly this quarter because of the addition and they'll cover their R&D expenses for the development of the sandwich. I just don't think it has much "staying power" and will probably not stay on the menu longer than a calendar year.