The Fast Food Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich Showdown

It sure has been a while since I posted! I've been regularly posting on Instagram but have neglected my blog. But I recently did a fun taste test and got inspired for a blog post - a showdown between six different fast food spicy chicken sandwiches! As a disclaimer, this taste test was sponsored by Boston Market, who just launched their new hot chicken sandwich and asked me to pit it against all the other ones.

With the help of Wandering Chopsticks, we picked up spicy chicken sandwiches from Boston Market, Jack In the Box, Chick-Fil-A, Wendy's, McDonald's, and Popeye's. 

 

 Boston Market

The Boston Market's sandwich is the closest to a Nashville hot chicken than the rest. The sauce to me was a cross between a Nashville hot sauce and a smoky BBQ sauce. The chicken breast was pretty thick. Perhaps because Boston Market is known for the rotisserie chicken, one thing was that we wished the breading was crispier. 

I did drive around town with the sandwiches, so it could've gotten soggy, but some of the other ones maintained the crunch better. Since the product is brand new, I hope they'll improve the breading! The spicy chicken sandwiches from the other chains, aren't Nashville hot chicken sandwiches.

Jack in the Box

When I bit into this sandwich, I barely tasted any heat. The chicken was fairly dry as well - though the lettuce and mayo helped (but they cost extra). I had ordered it with the additional toppings to temper the spiciness, but apparently I needn't have worried about that. 

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Thanksgiving Takeouts for One (Los Angeles)

Thanksgiving holiday is upon us! If you're celebrating with your family, my LAist roundup has all the non-traditional Thanksgiving options around town this year, but being single I know how hard it is to find a feast for one, especially when it's a holiday like Thanksgiving when a lot of eating is involved. Still, us singles deserve to eat well - and I know many of you want to keep friends and families safe and not go to a gathering! So. Here are the places I've found so far that offer Thanksgiving feasts/ tasting menus for one:

Photo courtesy of Gwen

Gwen

This one's a splurge for one. $125 feast including turkey breast, confit dark meat, stuffing, turkey gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, pumpkin pot de creme and other sides. Order here. 

LQ Fooding

$60 tasting menu "BOXX" with porchetta-style turkey roulade, sweet potato and squash mousse, sage and prune stuffing. Order here. 

Caravan Swim Club at Hotel June

Prix fixed menu including roasted turkey with amarillo mole, beet salad, cilantro rice, pumpkin flan. $40 per person, available for patio dining or takeout.  

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Noodelist: The Plant-based Instant Noodles

Plant-based instant noodles? Yep. And it actually tastes good. Noodelist makes plant-based instant noodles that is also nutritious. Their noodles are made with moroheiya (also known as mulukhiya, mallow leaf and other names). This plant comes from Egypt and has a high nutritional value. According to their website, it is high in fiber, carotene, calcium, iron, vitamin B, C, and antioxidants (the noodles also contain wheat, though, so it's not gluten free). 

   

Noodelist offers a couple of flavors right now. The company is started by a Vietnamese-born Finn, so the flavors certainly skew towards the Asian palate, including the lemongrass "chicken'ish". It has a vegan "chicken" and lemongrass soup with the moroheiya noodles. It's easy to make, just put the noodles and the seasoning base in boiling / hot water for 5 minutes and cover.

   

This vegan lemongrass is surprisingly flavorful and the noodles has a nice bounce to it. Perhaps because of the moroheiya but you don't have to worry about it getting overcooked or soggy as much as regular instant noodles.

   

 The "bold & juicy shiitake" has small chunks of dried shiitake and a little bit of a kick to the broth.

   

 I'm used to the $0.50 instant noodles so Noodelist is of course more expensive, but it's definitely more nutritious and healthier. It's easy to make and is quite tasty, so I can definitely see having these handy in the pantry during lockdown1 You never know when you need a quick meal.