Popeyes chicken sandwich is hard to find in Denver, but there is

Perhaps no chicken sandwich in the history of fast food has been as publicized as the one presented this month by Popeyes.

In mid-August, after Popeyes pulled out a fried chicken sandwich reminiscent of Chick-fil-A's signature dish – leading to a passive-aggressive Twitter fight between the two fast-food brands – the sandwich became a product lighthouse, drawing long lines and sales to popeyes locations across the country. The Dallas Morning News, joining 36 Popeyes in North Texas, said the sandwich was "almost impossible to find." The Tampa Bay Times could not find either. Long queues and sales have also been reported in Witchita, Kan; Lansing, Mich .; Naples, Florida .; Pittsburgh and beyond. Helen Rosner of the New Yorker boldly declared that the sandwich is "here to save America".

On Thursday, the Denver Post joined Popeyes in all eight Denver locations, but could only reach two – the other six, perhaps, were too busy making sandwiches to answer the phone. The Popeyes on Peoria Street were sold at 3pm. On Wednesday and Thursday, an employee who answered the phone said the store may be selling 20 sandwiches, but customers may have to wait a while before getting one. Customers were ordering almost nothing but the fried chicken sandwich, the employee said. In a Popeyes on Federal Boulevard, an employee said the fast food had missed sandwiches Wednesday but had been replenished the next day.

So for those who can get their hands on one of these mythical fried chicken sandwiches, is this really up to the hype?

As a Southerner, I was looking for this sandwich. It took two tries to find it in Denver, but it's available – but it's best to go early in the day.

On my first attempt on Wednesday night, my husband and I drove to the location of Parker Road in Aurora. The steering wheel drive that wrapped around the building, the line inside was deep 10 and the shop looked like a hurricane from Louisiana that had crossed.

We were three orders from the counter when we heard the cashier throwing the white flag, "I'm sorry. We are short of chicken sandwiches. "

We left and went to Chick-Fil-A.

I tried again – successfully – Thursday with three colleagues. We lined up for 21 minutes at Popeyes on Colorado Boulevard near Interstate 70.

It immediately became apparent that the demand for fried chicken sandwiches exceeded Popeyes' employees. The restaurant was messy. The coke machines were broken, there was no ice and – horror – no sweet tea. They were temporarily short of sporks until a journalist cried out, "No sporks!" And a worried employee rushed with a new case.

But it's not about sporks or sweet tea. It's about a sandwich.

My friends, it's a real piece of fried chicken on a bun. It has that warm and crispy skin that makes fried chicken so delicious. The bread is hot and butter. The pickles are crisp and substantial, better than the average Vlasic thrown on so many fast food sandwiches.

In addition, this sandwich is great. I hardly touched the fries that came in my combo.

The only thing I would change, is the mayo. I am not opposed to the mayo, but I am very difficult as to its quality and quantity. (I've already heard of Duke's?) I prefer to add mine rather than allowing someone else to drag it onto a perfectly fried chicken piece.

But Jason McCloskey, a customer standing in the crowded restaurant while he was eating two sandwiches, said that the inclusion of the sauce gave this sandwich a length ahead of Chick-Fil-A .

"It's very good, man," McCloskey said of the Popeyes sandwich. "It's more crispy. He already comes with the sauce, which, in my opinion, is huge. "

"I will definitely come back for that," he said.

As for me, I'm not giving up Chick-Fil-A – but Popeyes has the real fried chicken sandwich.

Beth Rankin, entertainment editor and restaurant journalist Josie Sexton, contributed to this report.

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