As a general matter, I don't eat fast food.
Almost 3 years ago, I dipped my toes back into the marketplace, doing some online searches and following up on a bunch of ranking articles and videos in search of the best chicken nuggets. Chik-Fil-A was indeed the clear winner on friendliness, cleanliness, and taste 6 days til Sunday. I've got no interest in fast food sides, so I was in and out (I know) quickly with as few as 4 or 6 nuggets at a cheap price on a portion that wasn't large enough to trigger remorse except for crossing someone genuine political sympathy boundaries. It was infrequent, and I rationalized that those with whom I am allied have their vices and inconsistencies that I don't hassle them about. And I've endured many a fellow liberal-leaner's indifference, criticism, shade, mocking, push back, minimization, and such on a particular area that has some meaning and full validity for me, so I'm not guilt-wracked, while also having understanding for dimensions grievance by self-claiming oppressed majorities, because I see something similar in the defensive blind spots of many dear social justice pals and intimates. But that's off topic.
Enter the chicken sandwich.
I barely take a whiff of the NBA until they've whittled away more than half the teams, which means that the 2nd Round Playoffs might possibly compete for my time with playing outside until dark and then getting ready for bed. From that, I'll estimate that it was during a 2019 Conference Semi game that Popeye's ran an ad that did exactly the old school definition of an ad's purpose was: get you to TRY the product or service ONCE, after which whatever was being touted was on its own. Everything thereafter is brand-building or brand-management. Somewhere you can find the story about how Gablinger's -,the original reduced carb bee - was a smashing success in generating interest until people actually tasted the Matt's Brewing product, whereupon it died a horrible death because it was so bad, and the category was only revived by Miller Lite taking a chance on, the "Tastes great" vs. "Less filling" angle.
In the commercial, a patient was lying down on the couch recounting his compulsion to have a moist & crunchy, perfectly-spiced, boneless breast chicken sandwich that came on a buttered brioche bun (or some such). There were lip-smacking jump-cuts to a clearly aroused woman therapist who was shown hurrying out the door before the commercial ended. I was on the hunt within a couple days, and locked myself into the locations and hours and prouct quality at the Hamden, Whalley-Goffe downtown, Kimberly Avenue, and Milford truck stop area outlets before the whole thing blew up into a nationwide phenomenon and exhausted supply. The management & emploee attitudes, staffing irregularities, and cleanliness profiles varied, but bad experiences were not going to make me stop seeking the solid $4.28 value that was available on short notice until late hours, and sometimes gave me a NoLa soundtrack if I lingered inside.
I endured the supply disruption, and rebooted along with the initially overtaken management. I was even there when Whalley Ave was already packed with Yale AND Harvard faithful even before the rivalry football game ended in dark skies after 2OTs on top of a halftime climate change protest delay, whereupon I experienced the huge swell as hordes arrived surprising quickly from Westville when the afternoon-into-evening at the Yale Bowl ended. So yeah, I got some history and affinity. I even mentioned a bit of it here at the time, to no great response, but no biggie.
It took COVID to make Popeye's too sketchy for me, and by the time I was ready to return, there was the current chicken sandwich competition that gives rise to this thread. I did some new reading, and it looked like KFC was the most legitimate contender, so I gave it a try in either West Haven or Orange. It was OK, but not as flavorful as Popeye's, which was the same as my Chik-Fil-A opinion.
Tbh, I've only had 2 Popeye's since vaccination, both satisfying, and both from the Goffe St drive-thru, which requires forethought in planning both one's entry and exit route, and also greater conscious than elsewhere driving up to the window which is at an odd angle. Of course, you can always enter the dining room from the parking lot accessed by Whalley Ave just past the Broadway Triangle parking lot at the western border of The Shops at Yale, across he street from the Courtyard by Marriott. Not sure if the walk-up window at the far end of the lot is still operating, but it's a fun alternative that many don't choose. It shares staff with the drive-up. Bollards separate cars from any Whaley-Goffe travel. The location is open late. Overall, i's been reliable, as some say here, "from the gekko." Call it my home court.
I don't think there are any Zaxby's within the Big East footprint, so the best I can do is take
@August_West's rankings as a prompt to try another KFC. It's not as though I disliked the KFC, not all. I'm just not a fast food guy, but if I've got a good second choice, fine. Popeye's is pretty much as convenient to me as BK, maybe a BOGO coupon could get me to the window. And maybe there'll even a Whalley Avenue side-by-side-by-side some day on my way to Westville from downtown. Dunno.
