Midtown Lunch

It’s rare that I actually want to step foot in a fast food restaurant although there have been a couple of gems discovered through reviews including Checkers and more recently, Potbelly Sandwich Shop. Popeyes is one of those places that I feel I can eat at every once in a while and not feel ashamed of it – completely unlike all those people who look embarassed to be eating at the Blimpie’s at John & Nassau every time I walk by. Normally, my go-to at Popeyes is spicy fried chicken but I’ve been intrigued by the BBQ chicken sandwich pictured in a giant sign on the window. It coincidentally came out around the same time as the BBQ pulled pork sandwich at Subway, although I trust the people at Popeyes more with making an edible lunch. The other day I took the plunge and stopped at Popeye’s on Fulton St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau) to see if they could do anything good with chicken besides fry it.

It’s been a while since I’ve been inside a fast food place, and the un-air conditioned wait in line was a long one. I placed my order for the BBQ chicken sandwich combo meal ($6.99) although I was nearly sidetracked by some other new product called “Rip’n Chicken.” It appeared to be a single gigantic chicken strip with a wide bottom and three points that you could rip apart. Marketing at its finest!

There was about a five minutes wait as the guy who took my order disappeared in the back to make my sandwich. When I unwrapped it it looked almost exactly like a Subway sandwich in that it appeared it had been sat on. Pulling back the top was also a mistake as the BBQ chicken sat in a few sad clumps with more sauce than meat, and some pickles scattered about.

The first bite of the sandwich was mostly sauce and that was not a good thing. It was too sweet and the pickle was disconcerting. After a few bites and more chicken the taste grew on me as some spice built. I was mostly impressed by the chicken that seemed like it was actual chicken breast that had been pulled apart. While this wasn’t the best BBQ chicken sandwich I’ve ever had it was good in a “I know this came from a package” way but at least I knew I was eating real meat.

I washed the taste of that BBQ sauce out of my mouth the mashed potatoes and gravy that I got as my side. It’s been a few years since I ate this and the gravy was as tasty as ever. I’ve paid far more for far worse sandwiches, sadly, but I don’t think I’d buy this again. It’s probably best to stick to anything coming out of a deep-fryer at this chain.

Popeyes (Multiple Locations); 143 Fulton St., (212) 227-1433