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Chicken sandwich mania at Popeye’s: big crowds, long waits and our critic’s take
The food world is going cuckoo over Popeye’s new chicken sandwich, and South Floridians are flocking to the fast-food chain to try the hot and crunchy treat. I ate the classic and spicy versions of the $3.99 sandwich — hefty fried breasts on brioche buns with pickles — at two locations this weekend, but before I get to the critiquing, I’m still marveling at the crowds, the waits and the overall insanity.
“Everyone’s curious — it’s become the thing to do,” Carol James, of Pompano Beach, said Sunday as she waited in a drive-through line 25 cars long at the Popeye’s on East Commercial Boulevard in Oakland Park.
“Today’s my cheat day so here I am," said Isabella Clarke, of Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s crazy — we just waited an hour and 15 minutes," Johnny Pierre, of Miramar, said as his 14-year-old son Jomany proudly stood with a sack of sandwiches Sunday outside the Popeye’s on State Road 7 in Hollywood.
Nearly two weeks after its Aug. 12 debut, fueled by social-media buzz and widespread praise, the Popeye’s chicken sandwich has triggered a growing stampede that shows no sign of abating. Big crowds, long waits and supply shortages have become the new normal at Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, a fried-chicken haven with New Orleans roots, 23 South Florida locations and 3,100 stores nationwide.
“It’s blowing up on Instagram,” Jomany Pierre said. "All the hype — I had to try it.”
No wonder reigning chicken-sandwich king Chick-fil-A is nervous.
A slow go for fast food
I waited 61 minutes for my sandwiches at the Hollywood Popeye’s on Saturday, where crowds thronged the front counter and I counted 50 cars in the drive-through line at 2 p.m. My wait on Sunday in Oakland Park was a more manageable 30 minutes, but there were moments of concern when the lone cashier left the counter unattended for 20 minutes to help co-workers assemble orders.
Every day it seems more people are lining up at Popeye’s. On Saturday, a friend called to say that the Pembroke Pines Popeye’s had run out of sandwiches, with a hapless worker carrying a cardboard sign informing irate drive-through customers. Cops were summoned to cordon off the parking lot with yellow police tape.
Sunday was more of the same. The Hollywood location opened a half-hour late as workers unloaded a delivery of 100 cases, some 8,000 sandwiches. One worker told me the store served 1,000 sandwiches in a five-hour span Saturday. The Pembroke Pines location had a police officer directing traffic. The Oakland Park location still had sandwiches but was out of lemonade, cole slaw and soft drink cups after getting bombarded all weekend.
Is the Popeye’s chicken sandwich good? Yes.
Is any chicken sandwich worth an hour wait? No.
Is the Popeye’s chicken sandwich better than rival Chick-fil-A’s? It’s complicated. And subjective. But at this point, because of inconsistency and inefficiencies, I say no.
“I’ve been waiting 45 minutes — that’s not fast food!” a frustrated man shouted to nobody in particular at the Oakland Park location at lunchtime Sunday.
Southern showdown
Chick-fil-A gets crowded, too. But the chain has its logistics down pat, with expediters in headsets taking orders in parking lots and lines moving swiftly in stores. There are other fast-food chicken sandwiches in the land vying for supremacy and relevance (Wendy’s, Shake Shack) but Chick-fil-A is Popeye’s Southern cousin. Their sandwiches have similar, simple styles: battered fried breasts with pickles on buns. (I also ate a Chick-fil-A sandwich in the past week.)
Popeye’s is a hulking sandwich, with a thick toasted brioche bun and a big, plump breast with thick batter and crevices as craggy as the Maine coastline. It also has thick pickles, more garlicky than sweet, and comes with default condiments: regular mayonnaise on the classic, spicy remoulade on the spicy.
Chick-fil-A’s breasts are a bit smaller, more genteel and refined, with a thinner, flavorful coating that gets a boost from MSG and a soft, thinner bun that gets a little mushy in its foil-wrapped pouch. The pickles are a bit sweet. The sandwich comes unadorned, with DIY condiments (packets of mayonnaise and hot sauce are available).
Chick-fil-A’s sandwich is a warm hug from your judgmental, old-fashioned aunt. It has its faults but lands like a gentle, sweet kiss. Except on Sunday. The lady’s got to go to church.
Popeye’s sandwich is a heavyweight contender strutting into the ring, egging on the crowd with raised gloves, cocksure and a little too full of itself before wearing a championship belt.
It’s got heft. It’s got crunch. It should pack a punch.
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