The Culture of Free Food Court Chicken Samples
The voice calls in the distance—"try our Bourbon chicken." Or sometimes, no voice at all, just an aggressive body hawking a toothpick-pierced sample in your face. Like a Hare Krishna proselytizing with devotional books at an airport, the chicken sample reps in mall food courts have an iconic, unavoidable presence. Everyone "samples," as if curious, but fess up. We all know what it tastes like, and we all secretly love it.
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10 Comments:
I love the way it tastes but I have a weird phobia, if someone offers me a free little bit of food, I just cannot accept it, it freaks me out, so when walking through the food court I have to juke and jive around the sampler people
Costco is even worse, they have one at the end of each aisle, so if I want to get a package of "heat and eat" mussels in garlic sauce I have to approach it craftily so as to avoid the sample people. It can be quite difficult.
Maybe I am the only sample-phobic person in the world, who knows, all I'm saying is that if I want to eat your product I'll buy it and prepare it at home, you need not entice me with the allure of free samples.
redfish at 4:41PM on 01/07/08
The Cajun Grill with Chinese food is a chain? Wow...I thought it was just a Memphis thing.
jccvi at 4:46PM on 01/07/08
Oh man! I fell for that the last time I was traveling in DC-- it was late, I was tired, they gave me a free sample in Union Station and the next thing I knew I was eating this awful plate of greasy, nasty 'Chinese' food. It's effective marketing, I'll give it that.
therealpotato at 5:01PM on 01/07/08
Jccvi, oh it's definitely a chain! Part of all our collective unconscious for sure.
Erin Zimmer at 5:47PM on 01/07/08
I have to craftily weasel my way through the food court during my lunch break in order to obtain my fruit smoothie and occasional veggie sub without being accosted by the sample people. I still don't understand why the one place is called Cajun Grill when it serves "Chinese" food... but I've also stopped wondering at this point. What I wouldn't give for a nice kosher joint to become a chain... I miss being able to eat fast-food. Israel spoiled me rotten.
EtherMaiden at 11:02AM on 01/08/08
The same guy - ok, not really - has his "Yummy, yummy....Bourbon Chicken" in Union Station in Chicago.
At least he did for the 8 years I was a daily commuter.
He's probably still here.
Good stuff. (Good, as in...comfort food.)
DanaMc
DanaMc at 12:19PM on 01/08/08
Yup, seen those "Cajun Grill" people (right near the obligatory Sbarro's) at the Simon's Westlake Center food court in downtown Seattle. Personally, I prefer the vendors with the real Indian food (and employees) and the Greek stand who do a very nice gyros sandwich with Caesar salad combo. At least that food court, if you must eat in a food court, has some decent rather than just generic mall options.
Stushi at 12:35PM on 01/08/08
Hey EtherMaiden, I was also confused by the Cajun-Asian overlap. Technically, it's "bourbon"-style and has nothing to do with Chinese cuisine, but since it's also got that brown, sticky, soy sauce-based coating, it tastes/looks like General Tso's, Orange chicken and other types of fast-foody Asian poultry.
Also, I love picturing a Su twin out there in Chicago, DanaMc.
Erin Zimmer at 2:10PM on 01/08/08
I remember when I first tried the bourbon chicken, maybe 10 years ago, the Cajun Grill offered actual dirty rice as an accompaniment. That was great, wish a side of their green beans or, maybe, cabbage. But now I only see plain white or overly greasy fried rice, so the overall experience isn't so appealing to me any more.
renzata at 9:59PM on 01/08/08
A coworker and I used to go to the Cajun Grill at the Santa Monica mall all the time, especially after we discovered their "two meat one side" meal. I had no idea it was a chain! It's a little mind-blowing to think about.
Messily at 11:13PM on 01/08/08