McDonald’s Just Entered The Fast Food Fried Chicken Sandwich Wars And TBH It’s Got My Taste Buds Curious

I’m not a habitual fast food eater. These days, I mostly hit up the Deez when I’m on road trips or in an airport and crunched for time between flights. But just like everyone my age I was raised on McDonald’s. It was the go-to fast food option anytime my parents didn’t feel like cooking breakfast on the weekends or dinner/lunch on the go. I have nothing but the fondest childhood memories of Egg McMuffins + Hash Breezys and Chicken McNuggets + Fries. Maybe I’d eat it more for lunch if I didn’t work from home, who knows.

It’s probably been about three years since I’ve eaten McDonald’s. If I’m stopping for fast food locally then I’m probably going to Chick-Fil-A. But the great Fried Chicken Sandwich Wars of 2019 have thrown everything into flux. How do I know for certain that the Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich is better than Popeye’s? Or my personal favorite Bojangles? And now McDonald’s has entered the battle.

This week, McDonald’s is rolling out two new chicken sandwiches in their Knoxville and Houston locations that appear to be their mainstream answer to the viral success of the Popeye’s Fried Chicken Sandwich that dominated headlines all Summer long.

My interest is certainly piqued. It looks pretty solid. And if it’s eventually rolled out nationwide it will be a great option when you find yourself on a road trip through the middle of nowhere where your only option is McDonald’s. It’s also a solid option for anyone trying to cut down on their overall beef intake.

This is an interesting scoop. McDonald’s is reportedly getting into the breakfast chicken game next year so this could be a precursor to that.

Also, this isn’t their first foray into the ‘Southern Style’ fried chicken sandwich which leads me to believe this is all just a response to the popularity of their competitor’s fried chicken sandwiches over the past few months. Maybe they believe the market is finally ready for this.

Calling a mainstream McDonald’s sandwich ‘southern style’ seems like a bit of a stretch. This will be cooked in the same appliances as every other McDonald’s food item. I feel like in order for something to be ‘Southern Style’ you really need to take it the extra mile and not just slap a pickle on it but I’m still intrigued and will seek this out at some point.

Sadly, I cannot imagine the McDonald’s corporate Twitter account (find me on Twitter at @casspa) ever really throwing shade and getting into the Fried Chicken Wars the way Popeye’s did with other chains. McDonald’s is way too buttoned-up to have fun with their social media like those smaller chains.