Popeye's Fried Chicken

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (Bonk)

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 02:26:24 GMT

I still enjoy Popeye's from time to time, but I stopped going to our local one for about a year because the service was abyssmal. The time I had to wait 28 minutes because they were out of chicken -- I kid you not -- I took a hiatus.

I give it another try a few months ago and it must be under new management because I got my food a lot quicker. They're still not setting any speed records, though.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (senor boogie woogie)

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:36:58 GMT

Popeyes is a good chain, but like all chains, it is the local operator, manager and owner that makes it either good or not. Really the same with all chains.

Fried chicken is my favorite food. Good fried chicken to me is better than steak and lobster or anything else. If I were condemned to death, my last meal would be one of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and peas. If I were Bill Gates and can have any kind of food I desire, I would eat chicken several times a week. A chicken is not safe around me.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (mayor al)

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:30:55 GMT

We get Popeyes now and then. Our local stand has an 11 piece box for $9.99 a couple of days a week. We prefer the spicy version when we stop by to get a take-home box.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (SeamusD)

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:09:33 GMT

They just opened one up in the mall here, lines hundreds of people deep for the first few days. I've been staying away from fast food, but I'm going to try it out once the novelty wears off and I don't have to wait in line for an hour.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (marzsit)

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 08:46:57 GMT

popeye's is new here in western washington, so the new locations are on their best possible behavior. so far, i haven't had a bad order, the chicken is always fresh and the pieces are large and juicy, not greasy. the spicy is a nice medium, not blazing hot but it does make your mouth tingle for awhile.......

but, like any chain, give it time.... once there is a popeye's every 5 miles i'm sure the quality will shift... right now, the stores are 40+ miles apart.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (kland01s)

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 12:04:33 GMT

mjambro

I'll never understand how anyone can stomach instant mashed potatoes.

They tasted pretty good once when I had some dental work done and my mouth was still numb and I was hungry and a KFC was near the dentist.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (mjambro)

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 10:08:12 GMT

However, after reading this thread, I did find a Popeye's not too far away and I tried it. Actually, not bad. Crust was crisp. Chicken was moist. And the mashed potatoes didn't taste like instant mashed potatoes (like the Colonel's and Boston Market's). I'd give it an edge over the Colonel and much better than those greasy gut bombs at Boston Market (there's a good reason they took "chicken" out of their name - besides Boston is not a town I associate with fried chicken).

I'm not aware that Boston Chicken ever offered fried chicken. Their claim-to-fame has always been rotisserie chicken and roast turkey along with chicken & turkey pie, from what I recall.

As for Popeyes, it's typically been decent, but the pieces have gotten so small over the years that one might wonder (as someone has previously commented) whether they may now be using pigeons.

I'll never understand how anyone can stomach instant mashed potatoes.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (michaelcarraher)

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 07:04:03 GMT

bartl

The chain was named after "Popeye" Doyle, not sailor from Thimble Theater.

Bart

OK, and what does a movie about a narcotics cop in Brooklyn have to do with "New Orleans style" friend chicken? Even less than it has to do with Popeye the Sailor. At least okra and spinach sort of look similar.

However, after reading this thread, I did find a Popeye's not too far away and I tried it. Actually, not bad. Crust was crisp. Chicken was moist. And the mashed potatoes didn't taste like instant mashed potatoes (like the Colonel's and Boston Market's). I'd give it an edge over the Colonel and much better than those greasy gut bombs at Boston Market (there's a good reason they took "chicken" out of their name - besides Boston is not a town I associate with fried chicken).

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (MetroplexJim)

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 09:47:56 GMT

Foodbme

Guess Ya'll have to go to Nashville to get your Spicy Chicken!

Thank you for another excuse for me to share yet again one of the funniest food-related videos ever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72xXxV9qIPg

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (Foodbme)

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:16:33 GMT

Guess Ya'll have to go to Nashville to get your Spicy Chicken!

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (bartl)

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:00:29 GMT

The chain was named after "Popeye" Doyle, not sailor from Thimble Theater.

Bart

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (michaelcarraher)

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:29:01 GMT

What does fried chicken - spicy or otherwise - have to do with chicken?
They don't even have spinach on the menu!
Of course, Popeye has been willing to whore himself out if the price is right. For a while he was shilling for Wheatena.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (SassyGritsAL)

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:24:44 GMT

Love the onion rings from Popeye's - they have the right amount of spice, are always ware and are not a wimpy portion. I usually eat aboout 1/2 of them before I get them home!

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (ces1948)

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:28:30 GMT

We have one in Vero Beach and another location in Fort Pierce, Fl . I have tried them both and written them off my list. Bland, small portions and higher prices than the competition.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (MetroplexJim)

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:01:07 GMT

preeti22,

Welcome to Roadfood!

Enjoy!

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (preeti22)

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:26:13 GMT

I am also not happy with the size of chicken and the taste.Everything has changed there first i used to go once in a week and i always print their coupons but i have stopped everything from printing coupons to going there :(

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (bartl)

Sun, 06 May 2012 15:38:13 GMT

I've mentioned elsewhere that Popeye's can vary from one to the other. There are several Popeye's in my area, ranging from clean, bright, with the food fresh and well-prepared, to a place where one might think that they made the chicken several days previously, stored it on the floor, and warmed it up in the microwave immediately before serving.

And what's even worse is that they are all owned by the same person.

Bart

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (Sundancer7)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:12:02 GMT

I have noticed that portion control is now in the hands of greenshades. In trying to improve the margins, they tend to destroy the product and it never is the same after that. Just look at the degrading of many fast food restaurants that started with a good product and then crashed and burnt.

Popeye's in no way resembles their original product in my opinion.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (starfire62)

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:29:29 GMT

i refer to them as pigeon parts rather than chicken parts as they have shrunk over the years.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (mjambro)

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:51:16 GMT

MetroplexJim

Popeye's 2012 chicken pieces are so tiny that, were they fish the game warden would make you throw them back.

Fully agree - I'm not aware they could harvest chickens that small. Maybe they are not really chicken?

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (MetroplexJim)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:54:45 GMT

Why they don't return to Al Copeland's original recipes is beyond me. As mentioned above, the red beans used to have andouille and heat; the O-Rings had heat; the spicy chicken was SPICY. For me, Popeye's was a destination in the 1980's.

A little off-topic --- One of the few Copeland's Restaurants left is still operating in the Hilton in Southlake (Dallas suburb). It is still very good and serves an excellent Thanksgiving deep-fried turkey.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (rebeltruce)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:37:49 GMT

I used to love Popeye"s as well.....but I have noticed the pieces have gotten smaller, and the spicy is not as spicy as it used to be.

My local Popeye's still makes onion rings.....and they are still very good.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (mar52)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:43:56 GMT

I used to love it way back when.

Then I witnessed an employee squeezing the red beans and rice out of a plastic bag in to their serving pot and it destroyed any enjoyment I ever had eating it.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (RKB)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:26:11 GMT

I used to really enjoy Popeye's, but since the passing of its founder, Al Copeland, it has went through a bunch of changes - and none of them were for the better. The chicken pieces are indeed much smaller, the 'spicy' tastes a lot like the 'mild' used to taste, and the red beans/rice that used to be soooo good is now mostly rice, and has lost that great smoked andouille flavor. I no longer eat there, or recommend it.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (NYPIzzaNut)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:24:12 GMT

MetroplexJim

Thank you for revealing the technique for making Popeye's palatable: stow it in box & bag in an unheated oven for 90 minutes.

Here's my technique: First, I set my time machine to 1985 ...

Popeye's 2012 chicken pieces are so tiny that, were they fish the game warden would make you throw them back.

"Spicy" is bland, the red beans & rice are tasteless, and they don't do O-Rings anymore. Yech.

Amen!

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (MetroplexJim)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:02:32 GMT

Thank you for revealing the technique for making Popeye's palatable: stow it in box & bag in an unheated oven for 90 minutes.

Here's my technique: First, I set my time machine to 1985 ...

Popeye's 2012 chicken pieces are so tiny that, were they fish the game warden would make you throw them back.

"Spicy" is bland, the red beans & rice are tasteless, and they don't do O-Rings anymore. Yech.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (DawnT)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:05:47 GMT

I'm baffled as why it would still be crisp after all that time. I've never eaten Popeye's, but I'm going to assume it's not pressure fried, but immersion fried which would give the cripiest possible breading. Moisture works against you inside of a package or box over a length of time after frying and causes condensation. Some chains use a hyperabsorbant liner on the bottom or container that wicks away moisture. Specially engineered food starches such as Midsol are added to the flour. They have multifold purposes. First, like any starch added to a breader, it makes for a crispier texture then a lower protien flour alone. The other property that the starch is engineered for is moisture containment to give it a longer holding life in a holding cabinet or under hot lights. That's about the only other thing that can be done to a flour based breader to extend it's serving window. These starches are not generally available to the public or through institutional supply channels, so a restaurant or chef wouldn't be able to create their own breader with them. This is a component that would be added my a mill or company that makes the breader for Popeye's.

Only explanation I can think of.

Re:Popeye's Fried Chicken (mayor al)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:45:58 GMT

I don't know the technique, but of all the FF Chicken around Louisville, I like Popeyes Spicy more than all the others.

I am moving this thread to a more appropriate location in the FF forum.
AL

Popeye's Fried Chicken (3 Olives)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:29:54 GMT

I bought some Popeye's Fried Chicken 400 + miles from home, put it in an unheated oven to stay warm, and went back 90 min. later and the bag and box were very moist. However, the chicken was still very crisp and fantastic. Does anyone know how they make the chicken so crispand good?