McDonald’s is the gold standard (golden arches and all) of drive-through restaurants. Wendy’s and Burger King are good, but they pale in comparison to the fast food fare offered at Ronald’s house and must be content with the silver and bronze of the burger joints. I was always amused to see other restaurants take pot shots at McDonald’s (never mentioning it by name of course, but they would always throw in a reference to a clown just so you knew who they were talking about). McDonald’s always rose above the criticism, though, and never stooped to such tactics.
There is one restaurant though, that defeats McDonald’s in the chicken category: Chick-Fil-A. No one makes better chicken sandwiches. No one makes better chicken nuggets. Even their fries rock! Not to mention their delicious sweet tea. Chick-Fil-A could seriously give McDonald’s a run for their (or should I say our) money.
And McDonald’s has noticed. They are slowly transforming a piece of themselves into Chick-Fil-A. Consider the following:
1) Sweet Tea
Now, McDonald’s is offering sweet tea at the majority of their restaurants. It tastes great (on par with Chick-Fil-A) and is very affordable (only $1). This is a very smart decision, but what prompted it, I wonder?
2) “Southern Style” chicken
McDonald’s is now touting their new southern style chicken sandwiches and biscuits. Their chicken sandwich consists of chicken on a bun with two pickles. How familiar? Check out the pictures, they even look like twins!
Chick-Fil-A
McDonald’s
3) The Sign
This sign confirmed my suspicions. It was spotted on a McDonald’s in Beckley, WV (about an hour from my hometown of Baileysville). This sign lets us know in no uncertain terms who McDonald’s is targeting:
Pretty blatant, huh? “Including Sundays”. Gee, that couldn’t be a shot at Chick-Fil-A, who observes Sunday as a day of rest and does not open their restaurant could it? What else could it be? I am a little shocked to see McDonald’s lowering themselves to this level.
Will McDonald’s be able to wrest the chicken market away from Chick-Fil-A? From some, sure. From me, never. I have tried the chicken sandwich offered by McDonald’s and though it is close in taste to Chick-Fil-A, it is not close enough. Also, the nuggets at Chick-Fil-A are second to none, while McDonald’s is saddled with their much improved but still inferior McNuggets.
What are your feelings on this newly developing chicken rivalry? Drop a comment and let me know.
