McDonald’s joins the fierce fight for chicken-sandwich supremacy
One of the fiercest foodworld fights in recent years has featured fast-food chains vying for supremacy over who can most successfully serve up a fried breast of chicken between two pieces of bread. This week, the battle will heat up again as McDonald’s enters the fray with its own take on the crispy chicken sandwich.
“We’ve been clamoring for it,” said Blake Casper, who owns dozens of McDonald’s restaurants in Florida and is chairman of the National Owners Association, an independent group of franchisees.
On Wednesday, McDonald’s is releasing three versions: original, spicy and deluxe, with lettuce and tomato.
In recent years, American fast-food customers have embraced chicken and, in particular, so-called Southern-style chicken sandwiches.
A bevy of fast-food restaurants — Wendy’s, Burger King, Shake Shack — have jumped on the crispy chicken-sandwich bandwagon, releasing or making plans to release new chicken sandwiches. Even Taco Bell is riding the wave, debuting a combination chicken sandwich/taco next month in limited markets.
For years, the leader of the category was Chickfil-A, which created its original chicken sandwich — with two pickles and a toasted, buttered bun — in 1964.
But the chicken-sandwich battle really started in the summer of 2019, when Popeyes introduced its own fried-chicken sandwich (brioche bun, with pickles). Within days, Popeyes locations around the country saw lines stretched out their doors, and the sandwich became a viral knockout.
McDonald’s journey into chicken sandwiches dates to 2008, when it introduced the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich. That was discontinued in 2015.
About four years ago, executives at McDonald’s decided it was time to try again.
Using the Southern Style Chicken sandwich as a starting point, chefs and a handful of franchise owners began weekly visits to the company’s kitchens in Chicago to meet with suppliers.
First came the chicken breast. “We looked at the Southern Chicken sandwich and knew it had to be modernized, reimagined from how it was,” said John Link, who began working at McDonald’s 50 years ago when he was 15 and today owns 13 restaurants in the Hickory, North Carolina, area.
Ultimately, McDonald’s decided, for the first time, to use a potato roll for one of its sandwiches. The roll is toasted with a creamy butter, dispensed through new warmers that are being installed in the restaurants.
Link said the crinkle-cut pickle that McDonald’s uses means more crunch and more pickle flavor on the sandwich.
Instead of the cardboard boxes that McDonald’s uses for most of its sandwiches, the original Crispy Chicken sandwich and the spicy version will be served in a foil bag.
That was quick. Just a little over a month on the outside, and Kodak Black is engaged.
The lucky lady? Fellow rapper Mellow Rackz, who announced their big news on social media over the weekend.
The singer posted a video showing a message Black had flown across the sky over the beach that said, ‘Might as well marry me Melody. I love u.’ On Instagram Stories, Black tagged his lady love, whom we had never really heard of before this, so great.
No sooner had the banner flown over the ocean did Mellow Rackz change the bio on her social media handles, which reads, ‘Mrs. Kapri ... I said yes.’”
The “Tunnel Vision” artist, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was pardoned by President Donald Trump in January. He was serving a 46-month sentence after admitting in 2019 that he falsified information on federal forms to buy firearms from a South Florida gun shop two times.
It is unclear when these two artists became romantically involved. Is a locally produced duet in the works?