Chain-o-rama: Popeye's Chicken

Travelling can lead to some great food discoveries, or it can leave you in a rut of chain restaurants and food choices driven by convenience more than food. Such was my short little trip to Raleigh this week. On my way home, all I had was a chance to grab some lunch in the airport. It was an A&W, a bagel place, a generically themed varsity grill, or.... Popeye's Chicken.

I'll be real direct - when Colonel Sanders figured out the pressure-frying process - that was a landmark food innovation. I really enjoy KFC's original recipe (and, I could write a whole entry on the cole slaw). So, while I like Popeye's, I find their chicken not as tender as KFC's. But, I was rushed, and while Indy has several locations, I felt it was the best use of my time.

The chicken - fairly tasty. I had some of the fiery strips, and they weren't very spicy. It is tasty enough, but chickens strips are so prevalent, it is awfully hard to really find anything noteworthy about them. But, the thing I really wanted to mention that was kind of a revelation to me is - the red beans and rice side item. This is a tasty item. They seem to be more like smoky pinto beans, but when they drop in a scoop of the cajun rice with it, it is a really great side. I'd have likely been more satisfied if I would have just gotten a large order of that instead of having the chicken, too.

The verdict: 2 belly rubs (out of 5) - average chicken, but the beans and rice were a pleasant surprise.

Question: why don't they offer spinach at Popeye's? I realize there is no direct tie to the sailor man, but.... shouldn't creamed spinach or something like that be a signatue side anyhow?