The Wide World of Dirt

I found myself scrolling on my Apple device after a conversation with my lady about spicy chicken sandwiches, and lo and behold, the AI worked its magic.

A nice advertisement jumped on my Twitter feed for Shake Shack.

The item? Hot Chick’n.

The thoughts of what this sandwich might taste like swirled in my head for far too long. I knew there was a Shake Shack right down the street, so after waiting a little over a day, I went down the street and ordered a Hot Chick’n Sandwich.

Now, let me tell y’all something.

This is a damn good sandwich.

The presentation of it is like most items on the Shake Shack menu: deceptively small. On the surface, it looks like a slider, but when you actually pick it up, it’s about the same size as a Chick-fil-A spicy deluxe. No joke.

The blandest part of the sandwich is the bun, but honestly, I expect that. If I’m noticing how good the bun is upon my first impression, that’s a bad sign for everything else.

The pickles were good, but they were thin. You could hardly tell they were there, and I like thickly-sliced pickle. Just a personal preference.

The cole slaw acts as a cooling agent for the chicken breast, and depending on the flavor you choose (Hot, Very Hot, or Fire), that might come in handy for the weary.

I chose the Very Hot this time because I didn’t wanna get the hottest flavor first and risk not tasting the quality of the bird due to second-degree burns on my tongue.

The quality of the bird here is high, which was very encouraging news. Very Hot compliments the bird extremely well, and the amount of slaw was just right for the size of the sandwich.

I expected to be disappointed here due to previous experiences with Shake Shack, but I gotta tip my cap to them. They got themselves a real contender for best chicken sandwich here.

The biggest drawback is easily the price. For the sandwich alone, I paid $7.39 USD.

That’s absurd.

For the exact same price, right down to the cent, I can get a spicy chicken sandwich from Popeyes, a medium drink, and a regular side.

$7.39 for just a fast-food chicken sandwich is downright criminal. The local chapter of the Better Business Bureau should be receiving a call from me in the coming days.

But, the sandwich is quality, and if they make it more affordable for the common person, this thing could really get into the chicken sandwich conversation and make some noise.

On quality, it’s better than the Chick-fil-A spicy deluxe. I thought it was wild too, but I stand by it. This is the second-best fast-food fried chicken sandwich you can get.

On price, it’s easily the worst. I don’t care if your chickens are free range and are pampered from egg till the killing floor. The pricing is egregious, so let’s drop the cost a smooth two (2) dollars.