by Bottom Line: Popeyes knows how to make a good chicken sandwich, and they offer a nice twist with the Pickle Glaze version—but it lacks heat.
I saw something the other day that suggested the Chicken Sandwich Wars are over. But I have a hard time believing that, seeing as it seems like every fast food and fast casual restaurant out there has a chicken sammie of some sort on the menu, and they are regularly coming up with new twists on those. Case in point: the current market leader among chicken sandwiches just came up with its pickle glaze variation on its classic.
Here’s what that comes with:
Crispy, hand-battered chicken coated in a zesty pickle glaze, topped with thick-cut pickles and served on a toasted brioche bun.
I made a recent trip to that chicken slinger to pick one up and see if it brings any heat.
To start off with, the breaded and fried breast filet is not as big as it was when Popeyes kicked off the chicken craze a few years ago—not quite filling out the bun. Still, it had decent heft and a good meat-to-breading ratio along with a nice crunch from the crust. Plus, the meat was tender and well-seasoned throughout.
As for the “zesty pickle glaze,” it was more like a sauce, and it delivered some tang right away followed by a Cajun kick. There is also a notable taste of dill pickle, as you would expect, but that comes more from the pickles themselves than the sauce and seasoning. The sandwich is not as heavy on the dill pickle flavor as you may expect, but you definitely do get some pucker. The brioche bun did a good job of holding everything together, but it did not really stand out. Overall, it was a decent twist on the chicken sandwich, though it is nothing that would bring me back to the drive-thru on a regular basis.
As for the heat, there is very little. Though to be fair, they did not promise much in the way of burn, as the sauce is referred to as “zesty” instead of spicy. It did not even get to Mild on my scale, though it did at least have a bit of a Cajun zing. If you add on some of the Louisiana hot sauce they have in packets at the condiment bar, that gets the sandwich to a little above Mild.
I didn’t see the calories mentioned for this new sandwich, but their classic comes in at 700 cals, and I would expect this one to be in a similar range. That is a little on the high side, so you may want to choose one of the lower-calorie sides like coleslaw (140 cals) or mashed potatoes and gravy (110 cals).
The Pickle Glaze Sandwich is selling for $4.99 in my area, which is not bad considering this is a decent-sized entrée, even if shrinkflation has reduced the size of the filet. The combo, with a side and drink, will set you back about nine bucks, which is okay for the drive-thru these days. This is around for the dreaded limited time only, and I may make a return trip and ask them to add some of the Ghost Pepper sauce to see how that kicks up the heat.
