It's always a great day at Chick-fil-A
March 12, 2015
“It’s a great day at Chick-fil-A, how may I help you?” A question I am asked all too often at the drive thru. I would consider Chick-fil-A my favorite fast food restaurant any day of the week, except Sunday, of course.
Founded in 1946, Chick-fil-A is a classic, southern fast food restaurant chain known for their slogan, “We didn’t invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich.” Their chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside sandwiched between a toasted bun. Simple, yet flavorful, it’s perfectly paired with a collection of waffle fries and a sweet tea to top it off. However, if a chicken sandwich is not your meal of choice, there are plenty of other options.
Unlike their competitor Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A offers more than just chicken. They also offer a sizable breakfast menu with eggs, bacon, sausage, yogurt, biscuits, hash browns and cinnamon rolls as well as a number of healthier options like salads, wraps, chicken salad and soups. Chick-fil-A uses fresh chicken, not frozen, not pre-made, and they have produce delivered daily, such as fruit, vegetables and lemons for their fresh squeezed lemonade. I should also mention their array of milkshakes, sundaes and amazing chocolate chip cookies.
Unlike Cane’s, Chick-fil-A does not charge for more than one sauce. While Cane’s offers a solo option of their “famous” spicy mayo, Chick-fil-A offers seven options.
At Cane’s, the three-finger combo, includes three chicken fingers, fries, Cane’s sauce, Texas Toast and a regular drink for $6.93. As a bonus, at Chick-fil-A Des Peres, students wearing their KHS ID receive a free medium drink with any purchase making their comparable three-piece Chick-n-Strip meal only $5.43.
Located approximately five minutes from KHS, it is a convenient spot for seniors to go out to lunch. As if the neighboring venue was not enough, orders are typically ready before the customer is finished paying.
Chick-fil-A also knows how to give back to the community. Truett Cathy, founder, established a scholarship program in 1973 to encourage employees to further their education. According to their website, “In 2012, $1.39 million in scholarships were awarded. Over the past 40 years, Chick-fil-A has provided more than $30 million in Leadership Scholarships to more than 30,000 restaurant team members who have attended more than 3,100 colleges, universities, and other educational institutions.”
The restaurant is clean and filled with a warm, friendly attitude. The employees are nothing but polite and courteous, always willing to refill your drink or grab another signature Chick-fil-A sauce to accompany your meal.
Overall, Chick-fil-A offers more of everything. It is the superior fast food restaurant. Want to challenge that? “My pleasure.”
Recommended meal: 8-count nugget meal with a sweet tea and an array of sauces. I also love their chocolate chip cookies.
The aroma of freshly cooked chicken fingers, fries and mouth-watering Texas toast along with spirited KHS decor fill the restaurant with comfortable scenery and savory smells.
The familiar setting draws you in and creates an atmosphere similar to a sit-down restaurant, which is not present at Chick-fil-A. Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate and enjoy Chick-fil-A as much as the next high school senior, but there’s something about the crying and screaming of small children combined with huge crowds of people that make my meal less than enjoyable.
At Cane’s, customers feel at home. The employees welcome you right as you enter the door, and the smell of freshly cooked chicken fingers, fries and Texas Toast make your stomach hungry. But more than the chicken fingers, fries and atmosphere makes Cane’s a better option than Chick-fil-A. It’s Cane’s presentation and signature items that truly give them the edge.
There’s nothing like being able to eat your food comfortably on the go, which is the case with Cane’s proportional boxes that keep it all together. All of Cane’s to-go orders are served in a signature three-sectioned box: one section for the tenders, one for the fries and one for your second side. This box is efficient and well designed because it allows customers to eat and keep their meals separated in one convenient package. The box’s design is great, but it’s Cane’s sauce that truly changes the game.
Cane’s sauce. I can’t even say it without salivating and my stomach craving the beautiful condiment that is Cane’s sauce. I know what you are thinking: “It’s just sauce.” But Cane’s sauce isn’t an ordinary fast food restaurant sauce; it’s tangy ketchup-mayo taste makes it much more delectable than the fancy honey mustard sauce served at Chick-fil-A, called “Chick-fil-A sauce.” Its rich flavor of spices mixed with the sweet yet tangy mayo-ketchup taste go along well with the sauce’s unique creamy consistency. It’s a perfect compliment to the chicken fingers and fries, creating an experience that Chick-fil-A can’t match, even with its more diverse menu.
The most crucial part of a meal from Cane’s is their unique and flawlessly cooked Texas Toast. The rich and delicious buttery taste of the toast complements its crunchy and flavorful bite, which starts and closes out every Raising Cane’s meal. I’ll be honest; I can’t remember the last time I haven’t devoured their toast within the first 10 seconds of receiving my box combo. Plus, if you are a smart enough customer you can switch your coleslaw with an additional piece of Texas toast to get twice the deliciousness.
Many people overlook Raising Cane’s because of its small menu and chicken finger focus. But, true chicken connoisseurs can see the greatness and deliciousness that is Raising Cane’s chicken fingers, fries, toast and sauce along with their bang for your buck prices. I always leave Cane’s satisfied with the price I paid and full from my meal which is something I can’t say for Chick-fil-A. Because of the experience you get from eating either inside the restaurant or on the go, Cane’s is a better choice for chicken and a meal than Chick-fil-A. Become a caniac.
Recommended meal: Box combo w/o coleslaw with either an additional sauce or toast with a Lemonade or Hi-C.
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