The $1 Chicken Sandwich Experiment

Written By Talmage Hansen

This past Winter Break we went on a vacation to Utah. I don't think I'll go as far as Jared Scott and covenant to never drive to Utah again, but I will definitely avoid it--especially with a small car like our Volkswagen Beetle and 2 babies. So, in order to spice things up (no pun intended), I decided to do a taste test/experiment on the drive up.

Goal: Determine which of all the fast food dollar menu chicken sandwiches was the best.

In order to do this I tried to control the experiment as much as possible by making sure that each scenario was the same.

Controlled Variables:

1. I would be in the passenger seat and take notes on the sandwich as I ate.
2. The chicken sandwich was always a snack food, not a meal, so the level of hunger was the same going in.
3. All cost 99 cents or $1.
4. I would eat the sandwich "as is" and no add any condiments to it.
   

Uncontrolled Variables:

1. Varieties of chicken sandwiches (i.e. spicy or not)
2. Unexpected sickness which seemed to increase with each chicken sandwich

Results: Following are the results from this test on a scale of 1-10.

1. Carl's Jr. 6.0 Overall it was the best. Good bun, awesome lettuce, zesty mayo sauce, bigger, and good flavored and textured chicken. Their new commercial should say "Chicken sandwich. Fries. and a Coke. Get the _____ away from me. I'm eating!!!"
   
2. Wendy's 5.5 The chicken was very real tasting and looking (irregular shape) which is the reason this got 2nd. The bun wasn't special and the lettuce was poor (1 big floppy piece).
   
3. McDonald's 5.0 The chicken had an all-around good texture. The flavor was good too but a little unnecessarily spicy, the kind that detracts from the flavor. The mayo was okay. It gained some points on the chopped, crispy lettuce and a bun slightly toasted on the inside.
   
4. Jack-in-the-Box 4.5 Had a bun toasted on the inside as well, but also had 1 big slightly limp lettuce. Mayo-okay. Okay texture. There wasn't as much flavor in the chicken which actually wasn't a bad thing, it gave it a more natural taste.
   
5. BurgerKing 4.0 Had the best lettuce, it was a compromise between the 1 big piece and the many chopped up little pieces, like homemade lettuce. Unfortunately, I did not order lettuce, I ordered a chicken sandwich. The bun was toasted on the inside, but it was big and engulfed the chicken (not the bad actually). the reason it lost was the chicken which had the worst texture and flavor of all the sandwiches.

*I also did try a KFC sandwich but eliminated it from the results because it wasn't the same style as the others. It was smaller and different shaped. But as far as taste went it was the best.

Although, I did start to dread having to eat another chicken sandwich each time we pulled up to a restaurant, I don't think that it skewed the results. I am known to eat until I am full and then continue until I am sick. So I can differentiate between feeling nauseous because I am full and because of bad food. And don't think either that just because BK got last I won't be returning there. In fact, I probably eat KFC and Carl's Jr. the least because they are not convenient.

So there it is folks. A solid chicken sandwich evaluation to kick off 2010. I've heard (and read) a variety of opinions about differentfast food and there is no consensus. Too often people associate a bad experience or many other factors into it. But not here. "Unprejudiced. Unbiased. Fair." (Two-Face)