The Mashed Bros Ate 21 Chicken Sandwiches And This Chain Came Out On Top
Who needs a Michelin star when you can get a "Mashelin" award instead? The latter term was invented by brothers Scott and Brian Wilson (aka The Mashed Bros) in honor of their quest to determine which American chain restaurant makes the best chicken sandwich.
"I wanna figure out which ones are on the bottom, so I can eat the ones that are on the top," Scott Wilson succinctly noted of the methodology for the sampling competition, per YouTube. Chicken sandwiches from 21 chain restaurants were eligible for the made-up award, with grading done according to a tiered system. A through F, typical school grades, were assigned. But the winner was given an S (for a Mashelin star, of course), while the worst entrant received the "Burger Time Award." Why? According to the two brothers, only burgers, and not chicken sandwiches, should be consumed at this chain. This wasn't their first rodeo, either. They've also force-fed themselves 30 Indiana State Fair foods in a single day.
Food Network, when it blind-tested the fast-food chicken sandwich standard, settled on five criteria for the perfect bite: toasted bun, crispy texture, good sauce, balanced flavors, and spiciness. The Wilson brothers, by contrast, really had only two criteria. Did the chicken sandwich have the fiber, or "threads," that they associated with real chicken? Also, did the sandwich have good fixings? Crispy texture was a bonus, not a requirement, and Raising Cane's ultimately came out on top.
The Wilson brothers are tough graders of chicken sandwiches
"What are the symptoms of a heart attack?" Brian Wilson asked at one point during the YouTube video, concerned about the health effects of eating twenty-one consecutive chicken sandwiches. The brothers did take blood pressure tests more than halfway through the chicken-intensive competition, and neither seemed thrilled with the results.
Despite the tongue-in-cheek comments about the arduous nature of their self-appointed task, the brothers managed to sample chicken sandwiches from all 21 of their scheduled fast food stops. The grades were often surprising, but only because of the high-profile reputation of some of the participants. McDonald's, for example, was judged to have one of the worst chicken sandwiches. "That can't be the way it's supposed to be," was Scott's assessment of the McDonald's McCrispy, which received an F grade. Dairy Queen's chicken sandwich, meanwhile, fared only slightly better in earning a D.
Less heralded chains frequently achieved better results, at least in the brothers' opinion. Zaxby's, a regional chain popular in parts of the South, garnered a respectable C for its chicken sandwich. Jack in the Box did even better, overcoming the fact that a store employee called the police to report the brothers for allegedly filming customers. It received a B, as did chicken giant KFC. The latter's chicken sandwich more than lived up to its lofty reputation. It's "legit," Brian announced.
The best chicken sandwich in America
Three of 21 restaurant chains received the coveted S grade necessary to qualify for a Mashelin star, but only one star was ultimately given. Raising Cane's, a chicken specialist that grew from one restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to over 700 locations around the U.S., was the clear winner, according to the Wison brothers. "Raising Cane's was like an Ivan Drago," Scott noted on YouTube. "Man, that thing hit hard."
Two other chains were in contention for the award: Church's Texas Chicken, and CityBird. "This is a brick, dude," Brian said of the latter's chicken sandwich, which included cole slaw, pickles, and signature City Sauce. "That was such a home run," Scott agreed. Church's Texas Chicken also got rave reviews from the Mashed Bros. "It just kills, and they don't have to hype it up."
McDonald's took home the not-so-coveted "Burger Time Award," the honorific bestowed on the fast food franchise that should probably stick to burgers. "The Big Mac is good every single time," Scott noted as a consolation prize for the iconic restaurant chain.
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