New? Chicken? Sure Why Not...

Kind of been crazy couple of weeks training all day at work. Pretty much left me brain dead which a couple co-workers can attest to. That being said kind of got lazy a couple times over the last two weeks and decided to tryout a couple of new items from the fast food establishments. I think the common theme was chicken.

First up was Taco Bell. Honestly don't know when the last time I've eaten there was. If I had to guess I would say 2015 as the most recent. I mean with real Mexican food around, why waste your time? Sorry Taco Bell fans. Anyway saw the buzz and talk on the internet about the Naked Chicken Chalupa. I'm kind of curious who thought up this idea. Given that you see a lot of KFC/Taco Bell combo restaurants most likely mad genius who thought up the KFC Double Down. I mean I suppose its a step up name wise as the Double Down was just stupid to say on top of being overkill. Either way I decided to give the Naked Chalupa a try...no that's not code for anything.

Naked Chicken Chalupa

So what's in it in case you're unaware- Per Taco Bell's website: a Chalupa shell made of crispy, marinated all–white meat chicken and filled it with crisp lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheese and avocado ranch sauce. Not really sure if it was the seasoning on the chicken shell or a part of the sauce, but there was a slight kick to it which was unexpected. Funny enough the chicken wasn't overpowering and everything blended in very well. Surprisingly I actually enjoyed it and dare say would get it again... if I ever go to Taco Bell in the near future... and it's still a menu option. Overall if you asked "how was it?" I would say not too shabby.

Also during this past week Karen got sick with something. Not sure if she got it from Lily, not washing her hands somewhere, or just walking germs from folks who don't cover their face while sneezing/coughing. She wasn't feeling well and me still in zombie mode from work decided we should get some soup from Panera. Karen just went normal chicken noodle soup and Lily did her standard meal so I didn't bother taking pictures of their food. I on the other hand went a new direction and hit up their seasonal menu. I picked the Southwest Chicken Tortilla Bowl.

Panera's Southwest Chicken Tortilla Bowl and bread

Per Panera's website: Smoked pulled chicken, quinoa tomato sofrito blend, brown rice, spinach, napa cabbage blend, fresh lime, pickled red onions, roasted red peppers, adobo corn and chile lime rojo vinaigrette topped with fresh cilantro and masa crisps in hen broth.

Southwest Chicken Tortilla Bowl was kind of disappointing as is. I think the overall flavor was the lime. Otherwise I felt like nothing really combined flavor wise and just felt bland to me. So much so that I ended up adding a bunch of Adobo seasoning and Sriracha to it before I was content with it. I will say quantity  wise it was very filling. 

So finally the last chicken item going back to the KFC reference was actually from KFC. I had been seeing a lot of ads with the golden Colonel Sanders for the Golden Georgia chicken. I think Karen was trying to get me to cook tonight but work continued to zap my brain so vetoed that idea. Lo and behold there were KFC coupons in the mail so it was meant to be. 

KFC's Golden Georgia Chicken tenders and biscuit

The Golden Georgia extra crispy chicken tenders were surprisingly good as well. Actually more surprising because I legit had no idea what they were suppose to taste like. I mean the ads don't really give you a clue as to if its sweet, spicy, or a combination of the two. I didn't bother to look it up either so had no expectations. Karen's reaction to trying it was "Wow not as bad as I thought it would be." She thought it was going to be strong mustard/vinegar taste to it which it wasn't.  Not really sure why the put a pickle slice on each tender- maybe so you can think BBQ? Once again  was presently surprised and enjoyed it. I'm not a fast food fried chicken aficionado so I don't know how it would stack up against Popeye's or Brown's. Definitely would give get it again at some point.

What's the matter Colonel Sandurz? Chicken?

Reef
 P.S.- Bonus points if you got that reference