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THE WASHINGTON POST
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019
- POPEYES
Rallying cry: Love that chicken from Popeyes.
Birthplace: Arabi, La.
Known for: Twelve-hour marinade.
You can tell a piece of Popeyes fried chicken from across the room.
Distinctly orange-hued, and with a uniquely craggy crust, it’s almost — for
lack of a better word — petaled, like a flower. But close your eyes. When
you fracture that gorgeous surface by biting into it, the music it makes is
equally unmistakable, halfway between a corn flake cookie and the crust
of a good French baguette. Inside, if you’ve ordered spicy — and why
anyone would select mild is beyond me — you’ll see flecks of red clinging
to the moist meat, the peppery residue of the Cajun marinade it bathes in
before hitting the deep fryer.
Popeyes is the Holy Grail of fast-food fried chicken: a nearly perfect
trifecta of crispy crust, juicy meat and fiery heat. In a fast-food world where
most mashed potatoes taste more like they came f rom a tube than a tuber,
these are as close to homemade as you’re going to get, and the green
beans come in a thick pork gravy that’s great to dip a biscuit in.
About those biscuits: They’re unfortunately Popeyes’s Achilles’ heel.
Roy Rogers, Bojangles’, KFC and Royal Farms all served up golden-brown
discs that were taller, fluffier and more consistent than those from
Popeyes. Oh well, nobody’s perfect.
Pair with: Sweet tea, mashed potatoes. Food hack: The sweet tea here is a
little too sweet, compared with Bojangles’. Since it’s self-serve, mix half sweet,
half unsweetened, or to your taste.
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- ROYAL FARMS
Rallying cry: World famous chicken.
Birthplace: Baltimore.
Known for: Also being a gas station.
I was skeptical, despite Food & Wine magazine’s declaration that this
filling-station-cum-7-Eleven-knockoff made the best “fast-food fried chick-
en a la gas station.” But Royal Farms has won me over. I like the touch
screen ordering and that they’re open 24 hours. And you can fill up your
tank at the same time, while on the way to the beach. What’s not to love?
But it’s the chicken that sealed the deal: fresh, hot, moist, flavorful — if
not quite seasoned to the bone like Popeyes — and with a beautifully
golden, assertive, if slightly yielding, crust. It’s also unusually well-suited
for reheating as leftovers, if there are any. A lot of fried chicken doesn’t
hold up well in the fridge the next day; this did. Now what to do about the
fact that they’re all at least 45 minutes away from my house?
Pair with: Orange crème Slushee, western fries. Food hack: If you want an
extra kick of flavor — and you’re a rulebreaker — order Chesapeake (i.e., crab
seasoned) dipping sauce from a menu that includes the usual suspects:
honey mustard, barbecue, sweet and sour, ranch. It’s intended for chicken
tenders, but who’s to say you can’t use it to perk up bone-in chicken or fries?
- ROY ROGERS
Rallying cry: Our chicken is addictive.
Birthplace: Falls Church.
Known for: The Fixin’s Bar.
As a native Washingtonian, I grew up with Roy’s chicken, a descendant
of the Pappy Parker’s variety once available at the defunct Hot Shoppes. It
was my reward for cleaning my room as a child, and the franchise’s many
branches helped get me through college and early adulthood, before the
company largely abandoned D.C. and the close-in ’burbs for the
boondocks and highway rest stops. Which is just a way of saying: Full
disclosure, I’m biased, but it’s also been a while.
The good news is that Roy Rogers still exists, and its chicken doesn’t
disappoint, with a stellar crust that makes up for a somewhat fungible
seasoning. (Mostly, it tastes of salt and pepper. But really, who needs more
than that?) The pieces are generously proportioned, the mashed potatoes
are served under a piquant gravy, the biscuits are fluffy yet substantial, and
it’s the only chain that offers a real salad as a side (no, coleslaw doesn’t
count). That’s a plus, for a dish that ain’t exactly health food.
Great customer service is also surprising: At most places, a three-piece box
means a breast and two wings, or a thigh and two legs. Roy’s gives you a choice
of two breasts or two thighs — at no additional charge for the larger pieces.
Pair with: Chocolate milkshake (made with Edy’s ice cream), side salad.
Food hack: If you’re a cheapskate — guilty — you can cobble together a free
salad from the ingredients at the Fixin’s Bar: iceberg lettuce, tomatoes,
pickles, onions (white and red) and peppers. It isn’t pretty, and there’s no
dressing (or bowl; use the chicken box). If you ask nicely, they’ll probably give
you a packet of salad dressing.
PHOTOS BY BILL O’LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST
