Taste-Tested: The New Spicy Pimento Cheese Chicken Sandwich at Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A is the Rick Roll of foods. For some, it's avoided because of its ubiquity and previous financial ties to anti-LGBTQ groups (not that Rick Astley had any of the latter). But then the chicken vendor pops up in life quite often, either when its drive-thru lines snake into the road and cause a traffic quagmire, when it's the only food available at an event or when the Waxahachie shop plays bingo with a World War II veteran, which, actually, was cool.

The Atlanta-based chicken purveyor's business model does have a certain allure, though. From a bird's-eye view, lines of cars wrap around literally every store six days a week (save one for the Lord), and the staff consistently pushes people through with a smile and a thank you, never asking you to pull forward to wait in fast food jail.

The company is so efficient that QSR Magazine reports drive-thru locations average more than $8.5 million in sales per unit; a third of stores across the U.S. push $9.5 million annually. That's a cluckin' lot of chicken. During bingo at the Waxahachie location, the general manager told me the store is putting one of his kids through veterinary school. When a second kid signed up for the same degree, Dad got a second store. It's pay-cash-for-vet-school kind of money.

Alas, we're here only to talk about the unique spread and cultural phenomenon that is pimento cheese. Although it has roots in New York, this is definitely a Southern snack. For many it evokes memories of childhood vacations, eventually maturing from a weird, slimy spread to something more substantial. H-E-B's jalapeño pimento cheese, made with white and yellow cheddar and real mayonnaise, is a best seller, as it damn well should be. But not everyone gets cheese and mayo as a dip. Once at a lake with people from Kansas, the query "Do y'all do pimento cheese?" elicited blank stares.

Chefs around Dallas started slathering it atop burgers a few years ago, elevating a cornerstone food. It's a trend we love. 
Chick-fil-A started creating this sandwich in a test kitchen in 2020 and, after almost 30 prototypes, sold it in Asheville, North Carolina, and in upstate South Carolina for a year. Chick-fil-A's test kitchen in Atlanta employs almost 200 people who vet every bite. The entire process for launching a new sandwich, shake or sauce requires a five-part innovation process, which includes an efficiency stress test. You bet your ass it does.

Then this week, with little fanfare, Chick-fil-A rolled onto the scene with a Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich.

The final recipe for this latest menu item calls for a "custom-made by Chick-fil-A" pimento cheese, highly reminiscent of H-E-B's, with sharp cheddar, green chilis and red pimentos. And for the first time Chick-fil-A history, the chain is using jalapeños on an entree; several slices of pickled jalapeños dot the bottom bun.

You can choose a grilled, regular or spicy chicken fillet for this sandwich. Go with the spicy, where piquant spices blend with the jalapeños and chilis in the spread. The amount of pimento cheese is in the Goldilocks belt: just right. Crunch from the breading on the sandwich dances well with creamy cheese, which is accentuated by a nice kick from the jalapeños. But then something strange happens: there's a touch of something sweet. It comes at you later when you're not really expecting it (much like a Rick Roll).

So mesmerizing was this unexpected touch of sweetness, I pulled the bottom bun off and closely inspected it to discern the source: honey. A drizzle of honey over the toasted bottom bun pulls everything together in a way that I didn't know Chick-fil-A sandwiches could be pulled together. There's some honey butter biscuit magic happening here. I hate how much I love this sandwich.

In other news, did you know Chick-fil-A tested a cauliflower sandwich?