But Why Is Chick-fil-A So Good?

An incredible thing has happened. I am on my blog, writing about Chick-fil-A, and asking why Chick-fil-A is so good, I am not being funny. Let me tell you how we came to be where we are right now.

Let’s rewind to before I started asking why Chick-fil-A is so good. My earliest memories of Chick-fil-A was when Uju and I were in college, and neither of us knew what Chick-fil-A was or what their food tasted like. In fact, I remember we mispronounced the name as Chick-ah-fil, which in retrospect was questionable because the name clearly ended with ‘A,’ not ‘Fil.’

I also remember vividly the day she and I stood in line for some Chick-fil-A at the White Marsh mall and quickly exited the line when we realized how “expensive” it was. We were broke college students, so if it cost more than the one-dollar McChicken sandwich at McDonald’s, then it was expensive. By the way, who else filled up on the McChicken sandwich because it tasted like akara and bread? Funmie literally reattached the price tag on her $9.99 sunglasses and returned it to the store – Dots, I think? – so she could get her $10 back for us to buy McChicken sandwiches.

But back to Chick-fil-A. I don’t remember the first time I actually tasted a Chick-fil-A sandwich, but I do remember that I did not think too much of it. Honestly, it was forgettable, so I just never really bothered again. I could have probably counted the times I tasted anything at Chick-fil-A on one hand, until that fateful day that Toby happened.

You see, my cousin, Toby (Aunt Chinelo’s son) is a Chick-fil-A fanatic. He is to Chick-fil-A what Esau was to that damn bowl of soup. Luckily for Toby, he has no brother to be tricked by. At least once a week, Toby would have his mom buy him some Chick-fil-A, and it was only once a week because Aunt Chinelo refused to oblige him every time he asked for it. Left to Toby, he’d probably eat it every day, several times a day.

He would always offer me some of his Chick-fil-A, and I would always say no. How can you not love Chick-fil-A? He would always ask. Then one day, he begged me to try it again, and to do so with the sauce this time – the Chick-fil-A sauce. I reluctantly and begrudgingly tasted it. And when I did, my eyes popped open, my nostriils flared, the hairs on my neck stood up, and sweat dripped down my entire body.

What. Just. Happened?

And that, my people, is the story of how I, too, became a Chick-fil-A addict and how I became a believer, and how I found myself on Google in the middle of the night, asking the question, but why is Chick-fil-A so good? 

Oh. And don’t get me started on the speed of their service or the politeness of their staff. They ask for my name AND call me by my name. They say please and thank you, and so far, they have never gotten my order wrong, nor do they make me wait 30 minutes for a simple order. 

I was sixteen when I got my first job ever, and it was at McDonald’s, and I had a wonderful manager. His name was Jamie. For this reason alone, I will forever have a soft spot for McDonald’s, but seriously, McDonald’s, you guys need to work on the time it takes to get the food to the customer AND the number of errors you make in the order.

In my head, Chick-fil-A has a military-like camp, probably at their headquarters in Atlanta where they train their staff and possibly equip them with supernatural powers: time-bending powers, people-person powers to be kind and friendly and courteous to all customers, and resilience powers to work tremendously and efficiently well, no matter the level of pressure on them. It’s just not natural.

So why is Chick-fil-A so good? 

1.  The peanut oil: Apparently, the secret ingredient in their sandwich is peanut oil. Of course, this is very vague and does not tell us the exact way te oil is used and what amount. But as a Nigerian girl, my thought is, ordinary gra-nut oil? That is what is causing all this fight?

2.  The waffle fries are their bestsellers. You’d have thought something with chicken in it would be the bestseller at Chick-fil-A, right? Nope. It’s their waffle fries. But I cannot say I’m surprised. They’re tasty and not salty.

3.  The Chick-fil-A sauces: I can bet my second liver that they must have some addictive ingredient in them. That is the only thing that explains why people hoard their sauces and even drive to their restaurants to buy their sauces. Who are these people??? I am these people. These people are me. My favorite sauce – although I have not tasted all of them yet – is the Chick-fil-A sauce.

This Chick-fil-A sauce goes with EVERYTHING: the sandwich, fries, random fried chicken, salad, hot dogs, everything! Speaking of the Chick-fil-A sauce, did you know that is is a “simple” blend of honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and ranch?  There’s nothing simple about that. There are levels to all these sauces!

4.  Their grilled chicken nuggets: Wait, their chicken nuggets are grilled? [Making a mental note to eat these, too]. It took them 7 years and $50 million to perfect the recipe for their grilled chicken nuggets. Amazing.

5.  I’m still sleeping on Chick-fil-A: In addition to their chicken sandwich and fries, people also love their lemonade — and their ice? I have never had their lemonade, and I rarely ever order lemonade with anything, but Chick-fil-A is the largest buyer of Sunkist lemons in the world, so yes, I have to check out this lemonade. Also, people love their ice cubes. I have to figure that one out too.

In case you’re wondering, I always order the spicy deluxe chicken sandwich. I have tried a couple other ones, but the spiciness of this one does my Nigerian taste buds good.

On a scale of 1 to 10 – 10 being the highest – how much do you like Chick-fil-A?