Places: Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's
Items: chicken nuggets
Prices, respectively: $1.19, $2.66, $1.99, $1.79, $.99
A chicken nugget can be a beautiful thing. Think about it -- a nugget is potentially the best of a chicken, all the meat and fried seasonings with none of the bones.
The relentless McDonald's advertising of its new McNugget inspired us to have a nugget showdown, pitting the often maligned multi-piece lunches against each other to find the queen of the hen house. The beautiful nugget does exist. But how ugly are the others?
Tom: Chris, I've figured out what's wrong with nuggets: They're for kids. They're fun to look at, fun to order, fun to throw -- they're even fun to eat. But if you're older than 12, they just don't taste good. Naturally I'm not including Chick-Fil-A nuggets in this grouping. Chick-Fil-A is to nuggets what Krispy Kreme is to doughnuts or Texas is to barbecue. If I lived somewhere that didn't have a Chick-Fil-A, I wouldn't eat nuggets. No, actually, I'd move. Because nuggets, in this day and age, are the ideal high-protein snack, and nothing satisfies my hunger more than a small order of Chick-Fil-A nuggets. They are pure chunks of solid white meat, coated with a sublime dusting of peppery flour, then flash fried to create steaming
that literally. While the white-ish meat tastes almost as spammy and reheated as its lesser counterparts, the pepper flakes give it a racy zing and the “skin” tastes like real fried chicken skin. The Wendy's nuggets rank slightly higher than the deplorable new McNuggets because the chicken itself looks whiter, though I suspect it's not from better meat, but a dab of whitening toothpaste.
At the bottom of the barrel is KFC's Popcorn Chicken. I can't believe the Colonel has the audacity to sweep up the particles that fell off his good chickens, then fry them up so the meat morsel is like a wee little apple seed inside a giant fried apple. No wonder you get 33 pieces.
Tom: You actually counted? Fortunately the Colonel may be coming to his senses because some stores have dropped the Popcorn Chicken. The other chains should follow the lead of the wise old man.
Chris: Good advice, Tom. Once you've had Chick-Fil-A mignon, how can you go back to hot dogs?
Rating: Chick-Fil-A: 5 sporks. Burger King: 2 sporks. McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC: 1 spork.
Food Facts: Chick-Fil-A 8-piece: 260 cal. (42 percent from fat), 12g fat, 2.5g sat. fat, 12g carbohydrates, 1090mg sodium, 26g protein.hunks of pure fried chicken perfection. McDonald's and Wendy's, on the other hand, should be ashamed of their offerings. I can't think of a worse way to spend a dollar. The consistency on both is as if a whole chicken (sans bones) were ground up, formed into pieces like tiny chicken-flavored sponges, then dumped in a heavy batter and fried. The King does a slightly better job with its Tenders, but they still don't feel like any chicken I've ever had. If there's any chicken in KFC's Popcorn Chicken, it's a scrap, but you need glasses a lot thicker than the Colonel's to find it.
Chris: Tom, I have come to the Chick-Fil-A nugget late in life, having spent the past 20 years living in non-Chick-Fil-A towns popping McNuggets. I regret that I will never get those years back. The CFA nugget seems to be created by a sushi chef dicing out the best chunks from a fresh chicken. The essence of true poultry shines like a beacon.
In a distant second place are the Burger King Tenders. Each looks like a chicken finger -- and I mean
Going to pieces over chicken nuggets
