I tried Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Sandwich for the first time

On a bright and sunny Friday, I sat in Cox Dining Hall with my friend. As we chatted away, the topic turned to food that we had both yet to experience. She, as an Atlanta resident had never really tried some of the deli food common to New Jersey whilst I had never personally tried several Southern foods before coming down to Atlanta. I had never, for example, tried to eat grits before. My friend shrugged this off before telling me that I wasn’t missing much. But when I mentioned that I had never actually tried Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwiches before, her entire expression changed to one of absolute shock and then one of hardened resolve.

“What?!” She cried as I hurriedly explained that while I had enjoyed the little Chicken Nugget meals that they had both handed out on campus, I’d never actually ordered the chicken sandwich when I went to the Southern restaurant. She stood up, crumpled up her lunch bag, grabbed me by the shoulder and began dragging me to the door. “You, my friend, are missing something very important.”

“Wait,” I replied, trying to juggle all the belongings I had yet to stow in my bag, “where are we going?”

My friend’s eyes glinted. “I’m going back to work, and YOU are going to Chick-fil-A and ordering the number one sandwich.”

I squinted, “Wait, like right now?”

“Yes! Seriously it’s soooo good.”

“Oh, come on,” I jested, “It can’t be that great.”

My friend shook her head, “Oh my God, you’re going to love the Number One. We’re just gonna keep it simple. The basic sandwich, some fries and the milkshake. It’s amaaaaazing.”

I shook my head in surrender, “All right, boss, if you say so.”

And that was how I found myself sweating in front of a walk-up Chick-fil-A stand in front of North Dekalb, waiting for my first chicken sandwich, grumbling about the heat and how the food had better be worth both the wait and the trip. After a pleasant exchange with the waitress, I immediately received a bag with my main meal before being told to wait a bit more for my sides. Five blessed minutes later, I was finally handed another bag with fries and a tall milkshake that had never looked quite as promising as it did in that heat-stroke inducing weather.

With that, I ran for the bus stop, eager to get home and to feast on this food.

As I returned, I eagerly tore open the paper/tinfoil packaging to get to my chicken sandwich. I took that first bite and let the utter deliciousness course through me-

Eh. It wasn’t bad. The chicken, as always, was outstanding. The breaded exterior had that unique Chick-fil-A flair that Popeye’s could never replicate. It almost seemed like an art that had to be mastered. But there really wasn’t much else to it besides the chicken. There were pickles, which I personally felt didn’t add anything to the chicken, but really nothing else.

I definitely didn’t think the 20-minute trip was in vain, but I wondered about how all the hype around Chick-fil-A had built up in the first place.

Because, to my eyes, for all the screaming and craving I had witnessed, it was all about just one piece of chicken.

…Right?