A Tale of Three Biscuits: Chic Fil-A and it's challengers

I've always been a fan of McDonald's, especially in recent times as it's outshone its competitors in setting trends and staying ahead of the curves. Its Dollar Menu has brought in consistent business from scores of customers who would never otherwise come through the door. Its 99 cent Double Cheeseburger (now the single slice McDouble) and its McChicken have spawned imitations from the other major chains, but no one has quite been able to offer the same value at it's price point. It's been the most successful in the area of entree salads, with a wide variety of offerings from the safe (Bacon Ranch, Caesar) to the eclectic (Southwest and Asian Salads). The attempts of its competitors lack the same energy and don't seem to have gained the same traction, though I'd have to do some research to substantiate it. But bottom line, McDonald's has thrived in a difficult environment through excellent quality control and creative thinking and I've been privately one of its biggest boosters. That's why it saddened me a bit when they introduced their two Southern-style chicken items because they are, to be frank, transparent ripoffs of the Chic Fil-A chicken sandwich and chicken biscuit.

To be sure, the move was savvy: Chic Fil-A had a unique product by which they've prospered for many years, and while McDonalds has a whole raft of chicken sandwiches, they're too burdened by the competing tastes of their various toppings and by their over-thick "hearty" buns to allow the chicken taste to shine through. Personally I have long wished for them to have a chicken sandwich that focused on the chicken, letting it speak for itself. I only wish that they had done it in their own way rather than blatantly copying another chains signature bread-and butter item. But be that as it may, it's worth investigating how well they pull it off.

This time out, I'm actually going to set aside the evaluation of the chicken sandwich for another day, and consider the chicken biscuit in the context of two competitors: the original chicken biscuit from Chic Fil-A and the recently introduced Burger King chicken biscuit. So let's consider each one individually. Before beginning the reviews, I want to introduce some qualifications. I've only tasted the McDonald's Chicken Biscuit twice, less frequently than I'd like before posting a review. It goes without saying that even at a tight operation like McDonald's, menu item quality can vary significantly from location to location and also with the time of day and other contingent circumstances. That said, I believe I've identified enough salient characteristics of each chicken biscuit to be able to write with some authority. I've retasted the Chic Fil-A biscuit recently, indeed side by side with the McDonald's biscuit, and there was a time many years ago when I consumed the Chic Fil-A biscuit just about every day. But enough beating around the bush, let's compare.

McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Biscuit

For the most part, this is a pretty good imitation of the Chic Fil-A original and evaluated purely on it's own terms, it's a tasty item. Given the far great number of McDonald's locations nationwide, this could very well become my default go-to breakfast item when I'm eating there, displacing the excellent Bacon Egg and Cheese Bagel and the Steak McSkillet Burrito (though again, those are far more creative items.) There is a sort of primal simplicity to a chicken biscuit that gives it an appeal beyond what it ought to have. After all, taken on it's own, it's a rather dry thing. Even if the chicken is juicy, and it has been moderately so on both occassions, that said chicken is enveloped in a dry crunchy crust and then the moisture content is overwhelmed by the inherent relative dryness of the fairly thick biscuit. This, unlike an Egg McMuffin, is an item that must be consumed with a beverage, with a gulp of orange juice or a swig of coffee alternating with each bite. But the intoxicating aroma of fried chicken in the morning, subtly seasoned with just a hint of spice, the blending of browned fat, protein and starch aromas with the roasted goodness of black coffee is so fortifying that it's hard to resist. So, are there any weaknesses. Well, taken on it's own, not so much, but there are minor flaws that stand in high relief when set against the original. These are subtle, but they are still real. Let's proceed then to the Chic Fil-A chicken biscuit and try to make a meaningful comparison.

CHIC FIL-A CHICKEN BISCUIT
Ok, so the original is still the best, edging out McDonald's southern-style chicken biscuit, but why? Is this simply a case of nostalgic preference and loyalty warping objective evaluation? I'd say not, let me try to sort out why. I already mentioned that chicken biscuits are unavoidably dry, but the Chic Fil-A entry manages to be somewhat less so. I propose a few reasons for this.

1. The biscuit is just ever so slightly thinner. I might not have been able to make this claim had I not found a Chic Fil-A nearby to a McDonald's enabling me to eat the two simultaneiously comparing and contrasting the two visually and sensorially with each bite. For the record, the Chic Fil-A biscuit was purchased first, about ten minutes earlier and so was slightly less warm and less fresh. It therefore started from a disadvantage. Nonetheless the impression was of a juicier piece of chicken. This may have been a result of the thinner bicsuit, it may have been because of juicier chicken or some combination of both. To my embarrassment, I didn't remove and isolate the chicken fillet pieces themselves to taste them without the biscuit. If I repeat this test I'll be sure to do so.

2. Slightly superior seasoning and other crust attributes. One thing I noticed when I first taste the McDonald's item was that the crust was a bit lighter, tending towards golden whereas the Chic Fil-A crust tends toward something in between golden and outright brown. As a general matter, more browning reactions means more caramelized, brown bit type flavor. I don't want to overstate this, it's not like Chic Fil-A browns the things to a toasty crisp. There's just a bit more fried flavor and if you like that sort of thing, as I do, it gives Chic Fil-A another slight leg up. I suppose a firmer crunchier crust also allows for a bit less evaporation of moisture. I mention evaporation specifically because of course the idea of a crust "sealing in the juices" is a bit of a canard. If you overcook something it'll be tough and dry even if you seal it hermetically. If you were to seal a piece of chicken in plastic wrap in nuke it to death you'd get a dry leathery piece of chicken swimming in chicken juices. However, the reality being that these items to sit for a while after they've cooked, a piece of chicken with more air circulating around it will be drier so the Chick Fil-A steaming bag (my name for it not theirs) in which it's presented to the customer, plus the crunchier crust probably does prevent less moisture evaporation.

3. Possible x-factor -- Ok, for this one, I'm just wondering out loud because again to my shame I didn't investigate this directly and will have to do so later. Is it possible that there's a bit of buttering of the biscuit at Chic Fil-A and not at McDonald's? If so, it's very lightly done or I would have noticed it. But it's possible that they ever so slightly do.

So in sum, more browned flavor, slightly more distinctive seasoning, and a thinner biscuit make this the winner and still champion. Ok, what about the newcomer, the Burger King Chicken Biscuit? We'll quickly review it.

BURGER KING CHICKEN BISCUIT
Burger King has a rather diffuse and scattershot breakfast menu. Never having really competed for breakfast primacy it's perpetually throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks. Witness their Enormous Omelet Sandwich, a revolting pile of meat egg and cheese on an incongruous sub roll. As so often with Burger King it hopes to win the quantity competition, creating the most filling item imaginable and leaving such niceties as taste aesthetic by the wayside. Watch this space later for a belated review of the Cheesy Bacon Wrapper where a similar theme will be explored. But back to the biscuit. Surprisingly BK doesn't disgrace itself here. The biscuit is competent, the chicken is decently thick, decently juicy. The problem is really one of a lack of personality and even more blatant me-tooism. Though if it emerges that the BK Chicken Biscuit actually preceded the McDonald's one I'll have to retract that. Until this blog becomes a full-time job (HA!) I'll be unable to really keep the kind of detailed tabs on the industry that I'd prefer to keep. But returning to the actual taste, there's one other disqualifying attribute that keeps this from approaching the winner's circle. A strange chemically and obtrusive seasoning note. I suspect it was added to make sure the item and a strong distinctive flavor. Well, that it does, and perhaps some people will like the flavor. You might wish to taste for yourself and see if it appeals to you. It's certainly strong enough and might make some people actually prefer it. But it was anything but natural and just too odd. But perhaps more re-tasting is in order. I need hardly say that my tasting companion and I (who also noticed the odd flavor) had to hop on the bike and pedal extra vigorously to work off this morning of chicken and biscuit indulgence. Well that's all. When next I return, it shall probably be to discuss the fascinating and repugnant BK Cheesy Bacon Wrap.