The Hyde Park Harold's, sitting next to what has to be the most profitable liquor store in the city, often has people sitting at its five eat-in tables. Sadly, it's the worst Harold's in the city. 63rd and Cottage Grove, right past the El tracks, is a much better location, although there is no place to eat in at all.

back in the days when I lived in HP, if you feel like shooting a little stick, you could often see folks eating their harold's at the pool hall across the street (you also sometimes saw games there for white/dark "sandwiches")

Evanston Chicken Shack for tip-top fried chicken on National Onion Rings Day.

Chicken fantastic as always, onion rings and fried mushrooms fine, benefited from a perfect fry job, but didn't hold a candle to the juicy crisp fried chicken.





Evanston Chicken Shack, Count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote:I don't have extensive Popeye's experience, but the one on the 6300 block of Lincoln Ave satisfies the occasional craving. I lean more toward KFC

First and foremost, since this post KFC has basically turned to oily dog food and Popeye's, at least the one in Lincolwood is still tasty. Though, just as before, Evanston Chicken Shack is worlds above in taste, crunch, consistency, service and any other quantifiable aspect of fried chicken one can imagine.

Reason for this post, I succumbed to the Popeye's fried chicken sandwich frenzy and stopped for a chicken sheeple sandwich this morning. They were out, counter woman said, with a laugh, they have been very popular. I may try again, I may come to my senses.

I've had the spicy sandwich twice and both times were excellent. The chicken, when fresh and prepared by a good cook, is quite addicting (spicy only).

On the other hand, the service at the Howard location is, more often than not, abysmal.

scottsol wrote:I've had the spicy sandwich twice and both times were excellent. The chicken, when fresh and prepared by a good cook, is quite addicting (spicy only).

On the other hand, the service at the Howard location is, more often than not, abysmal.

By chain standards, the new Popeyes chicken sandwich is a very good sandwich. A juicy, contiguous piece of boneless chicken with a spicy, ultra-crispy exterior crust. Pickles were placed on the sandwich at the last minute, by the counter personnel, after they left the kitchen. Even the to-go packaging helps the sandwich shine. It's half-swaddled in a paper wrap (like a SoCA-style burger), then gently placed in a heavy foil pouch. In this wrapper, the sandwich maintains its crispiness and its structure, as it doesn't get mushed.

We opted for Buffalo Grove, where the service couldn't have been any better than it was on Howard. Drive-thru non-functional, multiple customers in front of us returning to the counter with wrong orders and 20+ minute waits for certain pieces of spicy chicken during the dinner hour. I almost never go to Popeyes -- any Popeyes -- without thinking "this is the worst Popeyes ever." Well, they can't all be the worst, right? Having lived in NOLA for a spell, I guess we should be grateful for this level of authenticity, as the service was typically awful at most every Popeyes there, too. It almost made me homesick.

=R=

Couldn't agree more. I love Popeyes but the service is generally mediocre. Funniest experience was at the aforementioned lincoln location a few months back.

Me: hi, I have a coupon on the app that I'd like to use. Heres the coupon on my phone
Them: ok, you have to hit back and show me.
Me: well I just clicked on it and here it is. If I hit back, the coupon will disappear
Them: you have to show me the coupon so go back
Me: ok but the coupon Im showing you will no longer appear. (clicks back to show remaining coupons)
Them: ok which one of these would you like to use.
Me: never mind. Have a good day.

Popeye's has reformulated their fried chicken sandwich so as better to compete with Chik-Fil-A. This spurred a flurry of comparisons in the Tribune:

Are Popeyes new fried-chicken sandwiches better than Chick-fil-A? We take a taste.

We ranked 26 fast-food fried-chicken sandwiches (including Popeyes) (these are chains)

The 15 best fried-chicken sandwiches in Chicago (these are standalone restaurants)

There are a couple of other LTH topics also about Chicken Shack in Evanston:

Evanston Chicken Shack + Usmania for Paya [Pictures]

Evanston Chicken Shack-revisit

nsxtasy wrote: Popeye's has reformulated their fried chicken sandwich so as better to compete with Chik-Fil-A. This spurred a flurry of comparisons...
[edit]

This would explain why there was a long line for the Popeye's at the Ogilvie Transportation Center Wednesday afternoon.
(I instead opted for the two for $6 Original Roast Beef sandwiches at Arby's.)
The Popeye's with which I am familiar are

1. 5248 W. Belmont Ave.
2. 1600 W. Irving Park Rd.
3. 4866 N. Milwaukee Ave. (Jefferson Park T.C.)

I usually order the spicy chicken tenders, although I have tried the fish and shrimp entrees. Coupons for Popeye's appear monthly in the Retail Me Not flyer which may be changing from weekly Wednesday delivery to weekly Monday delivery.

Another vote for the new Chicken Sandwich. Never been a big fan of Popeye's, but like others above, succumbed to the recent round of advertising. I fell victim to a similar campaign a few years back for the McRib, even though I knew better, so I was hoping for the best, expecting the worst from Popeye's.

What I got was surprisingly tender, juicy breast meat in a light crispy/flaky crust, served on a better than average Brioche Bun with a good spicy sauce. I usually get their Sweet Heat sauce to supplement. I've had it twice now and looking forward to a third time. Only complaint is, they're stingy on the pickles, but I can remedy that easily with a request for extras. A few shards of onion wouldn't hurt either, but I'm not sure Popeye's has that in their topping arsenal.

No problems with the service at the Addison & Western location. In fact the guy who's taken care of me on both visits had an attitude bordering on enthusiasm! Must be bucking for manager.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:A few shards of onion wouldn't hurt either, but I'm not sure Popeye's has that in their topping arsenal.

Maybe not as a topping, but as also noted in this other topic, Popeye's has outstanding onion rings. They're never displayed on the menu boards, but in my experience most locations have them available. Oh, so good! So consider also getting the onion rings if you're going to Popeye's for the chicken sandwiches.

I have tried both the regular and spicy sandwiches from Irving/Ashland and was pleased with both options. I really wish they had a solid spicy honey mustard option as that would take this sandwich to the next level. Really appreciated the size of the chicken, definitely dwarfs any of the mainstream fast food competition. Obviously, in a town where we have Roost and Budlong, this isn't the best chicken sandwich here, but it's very likely the best chicken sandwich to be found along the highways and byways of middle America.

I'm pretty sure they have a mustard based sauce available on the side for dipping. You could ask for that and put it on yourself. I believe it's their Mardi Gras Mustard.

In fact, they a have a whole display rack full of a wide variety of dipping sauces worth trying.

Buddy

The 5248 W Belmont location gets my business for a decent fast food fix. The Popeye's app has an ever present special for $7.99, which gets you 5pc chicken, 2 sides and 2 biscuits. The onion rings are always dropped when ordered.

mkess wrote:The onion rings are always dropped when ordered.

I hope the word "dropped" means they are fried when ordered, and not that they are dropped on the floor. If that's correct, that's a new term for me.

Tried Popeye's chicken sandwich today at Highland,In location. A little after 2PM and there had to be a dozen cars in line at the drive thru. Since Popeye's as a rule usually has the worlds slowest drive thru I opted to order inside. There were several people inside waiting for their order and I was told there would be an 8 minute wait.

I thought the sandwich was pretty good but definitely not worth the waiting involved. Print,TV and YouTube reviews are what's fueling the frenzy. I think the crowds will die down once people sample it for themselves.

Big portion but a little bit tough. Liked the crunchiness and taste. Overall I'm big fan of Popeye's in general but if faced with a choice I'd go for a Chick-Fil-A sandwich almost every time.

nsxtasy wrote:

mkess wrote:The onion rings are always dropped when ordered.

I hope the word "dropped" means they are fried when ordered, and not that they are dropped on the floor. If that's correct, that's a new term for me.

Dropped in the deep fryer.

Owed my kids some fried chicken so figured tonight was the night for a Popeye's fix, with a fabled sandwich for me. Oak Park location around 6:30, there was a line of cars spilling out onto Madison, blocking a lane. Went around the block, thinking it a snafu in the parking lot, but no, line was just as long, if not longer, sticking out into traffic. Life interfered for a couple of hours, so I swung by again, and the car line was just as bad (and dangerous). It will have to wait, but ... good for Popeye's?

Saw this on a different site, figured it would end the confusion

Stopped at the Des Plaines Popeye's (where the White Castle on River Road was a few years ago), and it was a zoo: long line where usually it's empty, 20 minutes to get my sandwich (and they announced at the 15 minute mark that they had no more spicy sandwiches).

It's a really good sandwich: the pickles work, the sauce works, it's pretty big and crunchy and juicy.

After reading about this here and in other media outlets, I had to try one today. The Popeye's on Wabash in the loop had about 150 people waiting in line. My lunch break isn't that long, so I went around the block and had a Chick-fil-A (this place was also packed) spicy sandwich. It was good, but I've had it before, so the Popeye's sandwich stays on the radar.

JoelF wrote:(and they announced at the 15 minute mark that they had no more spicy sandwiches).

LOL - this is so typically Popeyes, it made me smile. Reminded me of my younger days in NOLA.

=R=

I haven't yet tried the Popeyes new chicken sandwich yet but from my informal observation of the parking lot and drive through of the Morton Grove location on Golf Road there was a line of cars from the street trying to get through today. I do not recall hype about a fast food item like this from any other place. I know at 1 time the McRib from McDonald's with their false scarcity created with marketing and limited time frame promotion of said sandwich a couple years ago made it for a popular in demand item. But this Popeyes thing looks to be pushing the companies profit margins into over drive and the corporate heads are probably dancing in their offices with the success this chicken sandwich has created.

On a side note I see some funny memes posted on Twitter / Instagram regarding the popularity of the Popeyes chicken sandwich:

polster wrote:. . . from my informal observation of the parking lot and drive through of the Morton Grove location on Golf Road there was a line of cars from the street trying to get through today.

The popularity of this sandwich has been snarling traffic near my house at the intersection of California and Diversey since its release. It's absolutely crazy.

=R=

Happened to be by the one on Devon and Broadway last night and there was no crowd. Turns out they ran out.

This morning, the one at 6321 N Lincoln had a sign saying no sandwiches til Wednesday.

On a related note, I bought some shares of QSR on Friday...

WhyBeeSea wrote:Happened to be by the one on Devon and Broadway last night and there was no crowd. Turns out they ran out.

This morning, the one at 6321 N Lincoln had a sign saying no sandwiches til Wednesday.

Popeyes' New Fried Chicken Sandwich Is So Popular No One Can Buy It

Sounds like the Yogi Berra quote, "No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded."

Yes, there were also lines in Tucson. Generally, the Popeye's closest to my house (25 miles) is empty. However, there were 14 people in the drive-thru last night so we passed. We had a concert to get to that we did not want to miss.

Maybe a month from now ...

I tried it. Saturday went to Captain Nemo's on Ashland for some turkey chili only to find out the location closed down. Figured I would try the Popeyes at Irving and Ashland. Only 1 car in drive thru, not busy. Got 2 spicy sandwiches, but was denied extra pickles. They were running low.


Sandwich is not worth the hype. It's all batter. If that's your thing, go for it. There were several bites that were nothing but fried batter. Didn't find much spice at all in the sandwich. Sauce seemed a little spicy, but it was hard to taste it with the overpowering batter. Hard to even taste the chicken.

In summation, if you want a fried batter sandwich go with Popeyes. If you want a more balanced chicken sandwich go with Chic Fil A.