Bennett: Battle of the Restaurants — PDQ and Chick-fil-A

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Features intern Kariyah Bennett puts two restaurants with "good chicken" to the test in this week's "Battle of the Restaurants." This week's competitors include "PDQ" in Sicklerville, NJ, and "Chick-fil-A" in Sewell, NJ. - Photo via chick-fil-a.com

This week, Battle of the Restaurants continues, venturing into chain restaurants with a cock fight between PDQ in Sicklerville and Chick-fil-A in Sewell. 

One of the restaurants is a fan favorite for me. Whenever I’m craving chicken nuggets, strips or a sandwich, I always gear toward Chick-Fil-A. 

However, I’m not counting out their competitor just yet. People Dedicated to Quality, or PDQ, is an up-and-coming restaurant that I’ve been hearing an increasing amount of chatter about.  In the last few years, PDQ has increased the number of chain restaurants they are opening, drumming in more customers to their business. 

PDQ

When I first entered the restaurant, one of the things that caught my eye was the fact that they had a beautiful sanitation station right there for you to wash your hands, instead of waiting in those annoying lines in the bathroom just to do so. It emphasized how much they value keeping their establishment clean and keeping their customers safe from pesky germs. 

I also noticed the colors they chose for their establishment were different shades of greens and tan. Both colors are neutral and calming, adding to the beautiful succulents placed throughout the establishment. In my opinion, the overall ambiance was that they wanted you to feel relaxed and content while enjoying your food. 

Finally, when I ordered my food, the cashier that was taking my order was so polite and had an amazing smile, again reinforcing that warm environment. He showed me the different options they offered on the menu. Dare I say it, their customer service might have been better than Chick-fil-A.

I settled on a classic, spicy chicken sandwich with fries and a drink. The spicy chicken sandwich was oozing with spicy and tangy sauce, topped with a brioche bun, and complimented with crispy lettuce and delicious pickles. However, the showstopper was the crispy waffle fries. It was seasoned to perfection with the salt and spices they used to cover fries. 

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A has been my tried and true for years foodwise. As a child, I always chose the chicken nuggets for their honey mustard sauce that complimented it beautifully. As I grew older, I started venturing out of my comfort zone and trying different things from the menu. Eventually, I gravitated toward the spicy chicken sandwich. The one positive thing I love about the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich is that even though it is spicy, the sandwich isn’t overbearing. It’s a beautiful combination of heat and flavor so you won’t choke on the spices taking a bite of the sandwich. 

For those that are extremely sensitive to spice, you can tone it down even more by adding the honey mustard to compliment the chicken sandwich. Even though everyone loves the Chick-fil-A fries, to me they become dry after a while, so I only eat them with the Polynesian sauce or the honey mustard. The waffle fries are not as crispy as other fries I’ve eaten in the past.

After eating at both establishments, I have to say the winner of the two restaurants is Chick-Fil-A mainly because the meal came together the best as far as blending the spices together. 

The spicy chicken sandwich at PDQ was a little too spicy for my taste, but it was still extremely good. Both restaurants provided amazing customer service, which I’m not surprised about. If you haven’t checked out PDQ I would highly recommend the establishment.

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