Popeyes’ Fried Chicken and the Virtue of Being #2
29 June 2010 - James BooSeveral years ago, I realized that The Impressions‘ “I’ve Been Trying” is my second favorite song of all time.
My rationale behind naming this sweet piece of soul my definitive #2 lies in the fact that naming a definitive #1 is a hopeless and hollow act. Favorites shift over time and space, and while the peak emotion of listening to whatever happens to be my favorite song of the moment is more than enough to overpower “I’ve Been Trying,” Curtis Mayfield’s 1964 composition will always be there, waiting for me to realize what a fool I’ve been to give away my heart so easily.
It’s no coincidence that “I’ve Been Trying” is the second track on its LP release, Keep on Pushing – in fact, much of pop music that I hold dear exists in the form of track number two. While the opening cut of a full-length record is usually intended to grab your attention, pull out all the stops or ease listeners into the listening experience, the second and third track are more often what set the tone, fully identifying what that experience is supposed to be.
I feel the same way about the United States’ second largest fried chicken chain, Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits. I’ve cleared my #1 pedestal in the fried chicken world many times for more fanciful birds, from Charles Gabriel’s to Donahoo’s and everything between, but Popeyes’ spicy fried chicken will always be there to comfort me when the best is out of reach. As the second best fried chicken in my life, it’s the baseline against which I judge all first-place contenders. If ever I find myself falling in love with another, I ask: Does this chicken make me happier than Popeyes’?
The answer is often “no.” Founder, original recipe guardian and dead man Al Copeland, a man whose tastes for life were so unhinged that he met his end by cancer of the salivary gland, wasn’t fucking around when he flipped us this particular bird. Cranking New Orleans flavor through the mind of a franchise mogul and the soul of a reckless thrill seeker, Copeland fathered a distant fast food relative to Tennesee hot chicken, a spicy style of fried chicken championed by classic chicken shacks such as Gus’ World Famous in Memphis and Prince’s in Nashville. Popeyes’ chicken, wrapped up in greaseless folds of crisper-than-crisp, flour-dredged skin, is not nearly as distinctive its authentic superiors, but it is just as much a painstaking work of talent.
No fried chicken dinner is complete without its own #2 dish, and when I visit Popeyes, that role falls to red beans and rice. Throwing just as much MSG and liquid smoke at the customer as it does cured pork fat, this side is not nearly as noble as Popeyes’ chicken and biscuits. Yet, there’s something about the strange and strong taste of these red beans that keeps me coming back – if anything, they’re certainly preferable to another bowl of fake mashed potatoes.
Back to the chicken: There’s a tangible reason for Popeyes’ permanent occupation of second place. A head-to-head taste against KFC favors Popeyes – by a wide margin, and on almost every variable – but Popeyes, undeniably entrenched in the business of fast food, still uses factory-grade chicken parts pumped with MSG and artificial flavors to close that margin of cost. While the first bite into a piece of Popeyes’ chicken yields a steaming-hot, juicy chunk of meat, what clings to the bone is not so pleasant without the aid of its consistently excellent skin-and-batter counterpart.
Resulting in a price point of $3.49 for a wing, leg, thigh and biscuit that are available and ready in minutes almost anywhere I end up, this is a minor flaw. Every visit to Popeye’s in my life has been a reminder that being the best is less important than doing what you do best – and when it comes to fried chicken, no one can be my only bird.
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June 30th, 2010 at 9:43 am
ah… Popeyes… I am also in love with that super awesome deal for three pieces of chicken. It’s amazing how cheap Popeyes is and how great it tastes. Sure, it’s factory chicken but… man it’s good. Like you said, the meat near the bone requires hot sauce but that’s a minor issue since there’s so much great skin.
July 1st, 2010 at 2:34 am
I squealed like a little school girl *inside my head* when I found Popeye’s in the HK airport. KFC in Asia tastes different, so I figured I’d try Popeye’s as well. I swear, they add 5 spice powder to their spice rub since it has this odd taste that I associate with pig’s feet. Chew on that for a moment, cajun + pig’s feet flavored fried chicken.
While I do agree that it’s fruitless to rank anything #1 for anything subjective, at some point I wonder whether or not consistency should rank over passing fancies. You had mentioned that favorites would also shift and change, but if you keep going back to something as means of comparison, I’m pretty sure in some sense it already is your top choice.
July 1st, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Danny – Hell yeah!
Nick – I think Danny’s post on Popeyes (http://www.foodinmouth.com/restaurant-reviews/2010/05/popeyes-fried-chicken-midtown-manhattan-nyc.html) is more in line with your conclusion. I really do think that the subpar quality of meat at Popeye’s is enough to keep it from #1 in any sense… I’ll never get the same amount of visceral joy from eating a Popeye’s chicken thigh as I would from eating a chicken thigh at, say, Gus’ chicken in Memphis, or at Pies and Thighs in Brooklyn. So it’s not that the chicken at each of those other spots is inconsistent in of itself or quick to fall out of favor with my tastes, but that they’re all entitled to the #1 spot on any given day.
Popeyes in HK sounds outstanding. How was the KFC?
July 1st, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Alas, I didn’t get to try the KFC in HK. Every single time I began to walk into a fast food restaurant, my better judgment told me there was probably something local that I probably should try instead. It is interesting to note though, that despite only being separated by 1 hour flight, the KFC menu in Taiwan is different from HK’s.
I guess I can see both points of view regarding ranking foods, but wouldn’t that ultimately mean that Popeye’s isn’t really your true #2, but a de facto basement of comparison for whether or not something is even worthy of number 1 consideration?
July 1st, 2010 at 10:44 pm
That, good sir, is what I submit to you as my definition for #2 :)
June 24th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I always get the three piece meal from Popeye’s and it’s always spicy. The food is just so good. I love KFC and Popeye’s both and I love the fries at Popeye’s along with their biscuits and red beans and rice with a cup of sweet tea. True southern meal folks!