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We have a CHik-fil-A and a McDonald's right near us and I saw the Southern Style chicken sandwich and got it one day. I noticed it was trying to be like Chik-fil-A. I found it to be bland, hardly any seasoning, th epickle was overpowering, and no butter flavor. The chicken was a bit dry and greasy.

The next day I had to get a Chik-fil-A sandwich and it was so much better. The seasonings are more even. The thinner chicken makes for quicker cooking thus keeping it moist and the crust was quite nice. Subtle pickle flavor and much better butter flavoring and not at all greasy.

Not that I feed my children fast food, but my 16th mth old did not like the McDonald's, but loved the Chik-fil-A. Their chicken is much more tender and easier for him to chew.

I like their atmosphere much better. They always have people cleaning up and their play areas are much much cleaner then any McDonald's we've been in. I really like that they offer fruit cups with real fruit and not those strange mandarin orange segments that McD has.

And lastly, I prefer their "toys" over McD toys. McD toys usually end up broken and adding to the dump, Chik-fil-A toys are usually educational such as books which we still have and read! They had a Beatrix Potter series a little while back and we did get the entire series. My little one still loves them, they are small enough to fit in the purse and are great on outings.

I don't even eat half of them, but I was able to get 18 out of 20!

I sadly have to admit to buying some of these fake butters. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. My little one is allergic to all dairy which includes butter. She would not be outdone by her parents slathering butter on everything that held still, she wanted her own butter and as a good mommy trying not to punish her for something she has no control over, I seeked out fake butter.

Serious eats should do a taste test on the fake butters. Even in the fake butter world, they are not equal and some do contain butter or some of it's elements. I have found the Parkey squeezeable is the only one that is pure oil with no butter or dairy ingredients.

I want Alton Brown to cook me dinner...I would learn something, have wonderful conversations, and have great food!

Of the original series, Chen Kenichi was my favorite. He always made my favorite dish MaPo Tofu.

Of the American version, Mario Batali. I love his attitude and his creativity.

Just thought of something else.... I bet CFA's Sandwichs are less fats then mcdonalds, im not sure on that one, i forgot how many calories and fat is in a CFA but know that its really not to bad considering its fried and its fast food.

I just noticed all my spelling errors on those comments, i spelled sandwich wrong like 100 times. sorry

I would just like to comment to the person who said that the secret to the CFA sandwhich is that they marinate the chicken in pickle juice. I have worked at a CFA for 6 years now i have been a manager for 3. We do not marinate are CFA Sandwhichs in pickles juice. Our Grills and our old strips are marinated in pickle juice but the regular CFA is not. The secret to our Sandwhich and what makes it 100 times better then Mcdonalds is that its FRESH! not frozen, we bread ALL of our chicken (except the Chargrills of course). When i think of Country fried Chicken Sandwhich, i think of fresh chicken, not a frozen patty that gets reheated. We also have a timed holding system, if the chicken has been sitting for to long we can't serve it. I dunno that all Chick-Fil-A's follow this holding system but i know that they are supposed to and the CFA that i work at in Kentucky does follow the rules.Also, our bun is evenly buttered, the mcdonalds sandwhich above looks as if they used a squirt bottle to spray the butter on. Something i did notice about the CFA sandwhich above is the pickles, they are supposed to be evenly placed on the bun, not over-lapping. Something else that makes the CFA sandwhich is the foil steam bag that we put are sadwhich in, it keeps the sandwhich hot and very moist. I do find it alittle bit weird that the Mcdonalds sandwhich costs more then our CFA sandwhich though considering that its a frozen patty and also its MCDONALDS arn't they supposed to be really cheap? Well with the quality of there food the whole menu should be 99 cents. I have worked at CFA for 6 years now and yes i am tired of eating there 5 days a week, (i eat chargrills everyday almost) i would still, hands down, chose CFA over mcdonalds.
We do have a new limited time coffee carmel milk shake that is out of this world and you should try it. Also we have new chicken strips (no longer marinated in pickle juice) that are amazing as well. Oh and our new Chicken Salad recipe! yummy!

Side note- KFC is the only other place that i know that breads their chicken but i know that not all of their chicken is breaded, i know that the popcorn chicken is frozen, not sure about the rest.

I moved to an area without any Chick-fil-a and I count the days between trips back home where I can feast on their delicious food. Needless to say I was shocked and curious when I saw the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich (S.S.C.S) appear on the menu at my local McDonalds, it being such an obvious knock off. I decided I had to try one and was pleasantly surprised that the taste was a some what accurate reproduction. However upon closer examination I noticed several differences that make all the difference in the world.

1. The breading.....when I took off the bun of the McDonalds version the breading was unnaturally ridged and gave the appearance that it was added for effect. The Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich has a golden brown coating, thin in some spots thick and crunchy in others, delicious all over.

2. The pickles....the whole reason I took the bun off was to remove the pickles, I just don't like pickles, but I didn't like the appearance of the McDonalds pickles even more. They were perfectly round (no crinkle cut
) with little or no seeds which again gave it an unnatural appearance. While I don't like the pickles I always did like the slight pickle juice that soaked into the bun of the Chick-fil-a sandwich. By placing the pickles on top the same thing does not happen with the S.S.C.S. so to me the pickles become useless as well as an eyesore. A Chick-fil-a employee once told me I could get it without the pickles, but that just wouldn't be the same.

Overall the pickes and breading on the McDonalds sandwich contributed to the feeling that this was another mass produced fast food item and didn't add a thing.

3. The butter.....while removing the pickles from my S.S.C.S. I noticed a yellow substance covering a small portion of the bun and mostly coating the pickles which I tasted and recognized to be butter. This was the first time I realized there was supposed to be butter on this type of sandwich. The point of this is that the Chick-fil-a sandwich is so expertly crafted that I never even noticed the butter after eating it for the last 30 years. And don't forget I ALWAYS take off the pickles so I have been looking closely at the inside of the bun for many, many years.

4. The packaging....the Chick-fil-a sandwich comes in the foil lined sleeve that seems to keep the tender moistness locked in with every bite. I often pick up a Chick-fil-a sandwich right before heading out on the turnpike to head home and I will eat it protruding out of the wrapping as I drive. I got the S.S.C.S. on a trip and ate it on the road and by the time I finished it was no longer all that moist or warm.

Finally, the verdict. While McDonalds sandwich will hold me over, I will never buy it when a Chick-fil-a is within a half hour driving distance. (My boyfriend made me type this, he is freakishly obessed with Chick-fil-a and from reading the comments above I can see that he is not alone. Isn't that the true testament to the greatness of Chick-fil-a?)

Hey everyone -- FREE CHICKEN SANDWICHES at McDonald's.

The event will take place on May 15th at 14,000 U.S. locations. From 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. customers will receive a Free Chicken Biscuit, and from 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. a Free Chicken Sandwich.

Woohoo! I will see you in line. :)

"You know the taste secret to the Chick fil A chicken, right? They marinate it in pickle juice. This is not an urban legend -- one of my students is the manager of the local CFA. " Posted by GingerCM

ONLY THE STRIPS AND CHARGRILLED FILETS ARE MARINATED IN PICKLE JUICE - THE BREADED FILETS AND NUGGETS ARE NOT.