Popeyes Fried Chicken Sandwich is better than Chick-fil-A

I am able to separate politics and food, or if we are honest, I can close my eyes. I find Chick-fil-A's policy loathsome, but they are also close to home, their sandwiches and fries are delicious, and my 3-year-old son thinks the same thing. Believe me, this concerns me, but this triangulation between convenience, efficiency and quality of food is a priority once you become a parent.

But this post does not concern Chick-fil-A, thank God. This is Popeyes and his new chicken sandwich. It's a sandwich that, if you feel guilty about giving money to Chick-fil-A, you can now turn to it because I think it's just as good.

With Popeyes and Chick-fil-A, you get a boneless fillet of chicken breast fillet and two slices of pickles, sandwiched between buttered buns resembling brioche steaming in a honeycombed envelope. Here the paths diverge.

Chick-fil-A breadcrumbs are light, with more crunch than crunchy flavors, and their flavor is driven by significant flavors –code for big-on-the-MSG (for recording, I do not find that a negative). Popeyes', however, has this popcorn ceiling, and this seasoning and frying work contributes to the "Popeyes Fried" aroma. Chick-fil-A Chicken Chips also tend to be flatter discs, while Popeyes Chicken Breast is downright thiccccMy pieces were about 1 1/2 inches tall while maintaining a high juiciness.

There is also the difference between Chick-fil-A and Popeyes in its standard and spicy versions. Chick-fil-A spices are part of the breadcrumbs, while Popeyes uses standard mayonnaise and a "spicy Cajun spread" for both sandwiches. The spicy chicken sandwich is the highlight, for sure. It's hotter than most fast food, spicy word definition, at a spicy level that most Louisiana foodies could at least respect. Will it burn your tongue? No. A little "Oooh yeah, that's it" – yes.

In my mind, the tradeoff is the flavor of Chick-fil-A's fried chicken versus the satisfaction of the fried chicken Popeyes' texture. But with the added richness of mayo, Popeyes has a chicken sandwich that I find just as tasty of Chick-fil-A, minus the psychic shame – and in the case of the spicy version, even tastier.