Thursday, April 16, 2009

Eat Less Chikin

Out of all the news to come out of the "tea parties" staged across the country Wednesday, this was truly the most depressing bit of info:

Today, Chick-fil-A is lending its support to the tea party protesters by providing a “free medium iced tea with any purchase.”

... The founders of Chick-fil-A, the Cathy family, “have been outspoken in their support of Republican social conservatives. Chick-fil-A has won praise from religious conservative for keeping its doors shut on Sundays.” John McCain spoke at the company’s suburban Atlanta headquarters during the presidential campaign. Next Monday, Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A, will be addressing the Rocky Mountain Family Council, a conservative group dedicated to promoting “God’s design for the family to strengthen marriages and families in Colorado.”

I've had something of a love affair with Chick-fil-A since I was a kid, when my parents would take me to the mall and I'd get - at the least - one of the nugget-on-a-stick samples they would hand out in the food court.

I'm really not one for boycotting a business because of its politics or, for that matter, regular business practices. Let's be honest: I made it through my 20s by shopping at Wal-Mart, I can't make a road trip without stopping at Cracker Barrel, and the only sneakers I wear have swooshes on them. You won't ever catch me eating "Freedom Fries."

But I can live without Chick-fil-A for the immediate future. As long as there's a Popeye's around.

h/t Think Progress

8 comments:

Jack T. said...

Church's, man. Church's.

Esquire said...

No! Not them too.

Guess I'll be in the popeye's line with you

Bougie Applebum said...

Popeye's here I come. Or Frenchy's hopefully you remember that one Blackink.

I can't believe Chick-Fil-A is letting me down like this. I was okay with the place being closed on Sundays...but this is ridiculous! lol

blackink said...

I could never, ever, ever forget Frenchy's. As long as I'm alive, Frenchy's will always be No. 1.

But since I'm not in Houston, Popeye's is my spot.

Jack, I gave up Church's a few years ago. Had a bad experience. Yeah, that's not rational. But I don't need to eat that much fried chicken anyway.

shani-o said...

I never really understood the love affair with Chik-Fil-A...when finally we got one at HU, folks nearly started speaking in tongues.

Every time I've had it, it's been a mediocre, soggy chicken sandwich. What am I missing.

blackink said...

Shani, I think you need to try the nuggets. Or have you already done this?

I don't know how to explain it, really. But there's really not another nugget in the game that's fooling with Chick-fil-A. The breakfast is pretty nice too.

But in all fairness, I've rarely had the sandwiches.

I just remember the mid-to-late '90s, when Chick-fil-A finally started branching out and building stand-alone restaurants. It was a turning point for me. There's no real way to know this for sure, but I've gotta think my visits to the mall have diminshed greatly since then.

Bougie Applebum said...

Yeah Shani,
I only get the nuggets. I once stood in your shoes, scratching my head at the chicken sandwich wondering "WTF"? But then I got a hold of a Chik-Fil-A nugget and Lawd Ha'Mercy...I've never been the same. lol

@BlackInk - I must be missing something with the breakfast. Still not down for that cause just yet. Oh, and after this post - I had to go pick up a 5 Wing from Frenchys last night, it was my civic duty to curtail the Tea Party madness.

blackink said...

Their breakfast is pretty decent to me, mostly because it's one of the few places that doesn't rely solely on pork. Remember: I gave up the pig a loooong time ago. So breakfast is a lot less fun for me now than it was when I was a teenager.

But chicken in the morning is pretty good, I must say.