fried chicken sandwich – Michael Eats

Chili Crunch Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on February 24, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4559 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

I was actually kind of shocked to see that chili crunch is now mainstream enough to pop up at a giant fast food chain like KFC — but then I guess it’s been on its way up for a few years now (here’s an article from 2022 about how chili crisp “took over America”).

KFC’s got several items with the stuff, including a sandwich, Loaded Chili Crunch Tenders, a chili crunch Snacker Wrap, and chili crunch fries.

I went with the Chili Crunch Chicken Sandwich: “Meet your new spicy obsession – the Chili Crunch Chicken Sandwich. KFC’s juicy, crunchy, signature tripled-breaded chicken fillet is layered with spicy chili crunch oil, creamy chili crunch mayo, crispy onions, and pickles— all sandwiched between a toasted potato bun.”

I’m a fan of chili crunch, so I sort of figured this would be good, and yeah, it is. For one thing, unlike my last experience at KFC, the sandwich was hot, fresh, and made with some level of care. This seems like it should be the bare minimum, but here we are.

But even aside from that, this is a tasty sandwich — the chili crunch they’re using is a bit tangier than the norm, but it works. Combined with the heat and the garlicky punch, it’s a great topping for a fried chicken sandwich. The mayo also has some of that flavour, which is nice.

The level of spice is pretty decent, too — it’s certainly not the spiciest thing you’ll ever eat, but it’s got a nice kick. It’s a level of heat that would have been unheard of from a fast food chain a few years ago, but fast food places have been upping the spice recently.

I’m not sure if the crispy onions add all that much, and the sandwich is maybe a bit too salty, but otherwise I really enjoyed this.

Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy at McDonald’s

Published on February 5, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

If you put “Frank’s RedHot” in the name of your sandwich, I’m going to expect a lot of Frank’s RedHot. I don’t think that’s unreasonable?

McDonald’s actually has a few new items in their Frank’s RedHot x McDonald’s menu: you can get the distinctive red hot sauce on a McCrispy, a McVeggie, several different McMuffins, or in a hot honey dipping sauce.

I went with the Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy: “We cranked up the flavour on the McCrispy with the added kick of Frank’s RedHot®. We took our McCrispy chicken sandwich, made with tender and juicy 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken, and topped it with shredded lettuce, mayo-style sauce and Frank’s RedHot® Original Thick Sauce. Served on a potato bun.”

It’s… fine? I guess? As I said, I was kinda (not unreasonably?) expecting this to taste strongly of Frank’s RedHot, and it absolutely did not. If you’re going to name this sandwich after one of the condiments, it should be called the Mayo Original McCrispy, because it was absolutely dripping with the stuff.

The Frank’s Red Hot, on the other hand? I got a couple of bites with a decent amount (you can see it on one side of the sandwich in the photo), which were reasonably satisfying. Otherwise, it may as well have not been there. Which left me with a plain old McCrispy with a vaguely dry piece of chicken. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t particularly like it, either.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Aloette Go

Published on November 13, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 East Liberty Street, Toronto
Website: https://aloettego.com/

I’ve had a couple of things from Aloette and thought they were both pretty great. Well I just tried the Spicy Chicken Sandwich (“Crispy buttermilk fried chicken, Aloette hot sauce, Go sauce, & shredded lettuce”), and hey, what do you know? It’s great as well.

It’s a really, really good fried chicken sandwich. The chicken itself is ultra-tender thigh meat, and the crispy exterior? Perfection. It’s got a great level of crunch without being overly substantial, and it’s nicely seasoned.

It’s topped with hot sauce and “Go sauce” — it doesn’t look all that saucy from the photo (sadly, I wasn’t able to cut it in half), so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was saucy and delicious. The hot sauce / Go sauce combo is basically Aloette’s version of Buffalo sauce and ranch, which is a classic combo.

The heat level is somewhere between medium and hot — it’s certainly not the spiciest thing you’ll ever eat, but it’s satisfying.

And the bun was soft and fresh, and held up to the saucy chicken quite well (again, you can’t tell, but I assure you that it was saucy). It’s a stellar fried chicken sandwich.

Triple Pickle McCrispy from McDonald’s

Published on November 12, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

Pickle-heavy fried chicken sandwiches are officially a thing at fast food joints. There was the Pickle Glaze Chicken Sandwich at Popeyes, the Pickle Sandwich at KFC, and now, the Triple Pickle McCrispy at McDonald’s.

I was a bit baffled as to what the hell is going on, so I Googled it, and apparently the pickle mania is a Gen Z thing. Sure, why not? I guess pickles have rizz. Am I using that right? They’re full of rizz? That seems right.

Here’s how the McDonald’s website describes the Triple Pickle McCrispy: “A crispy chicken patty – made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken – and shredded lettuce on a soft potato bun. But that’s only the beginning. Crispy dill pickle-seasoned cucumbers, our classic pickles and a generous spread of our all-new creamy dill pickle sauce. All together in a bold collision of pickle pickle pickle flavour.”

I enjoyed this. It is, indeed, very pickley, with a noticeable punch of pickle flavour. The sauce is slightly sweet and thoroughly zesty, and the fried pickles are basically like the crispy onions that McDonald’s occasionally uses, only… pickley. They’re tasty.

Between those two things and the standard McDonald’s pickle slices, it’s a lot of pickle — but in a satisfying way. This doesn’t just feel like a novelty. I’d get it again.

KATSYE Special KBBQ Chicken Sandwich from Jollibee

Published on September 28, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 800 Boyer Boulevard, Mississauga (inside Seafood City Supermarket)
Website: http://jollibeecanada.com/

I’m going to admit that I’ve never heard of KATSYE, which is apparently a Kpop-influenced “global girl group” that was formed through a reality show (every word of that sentence makes me feel like an old man who is about to crumble into dust).

So I can’t say I particularly care that KATSYE had something to do with this sandwich (or at least agreed to put their name on it), but Korean fried chicken? Yeah, that I can get on board with.

Here’s how Jollibee describes this sandwich: “Our crispy, juicy, hand-breaded chicken breast fillet hand-dipped in a sweet soy glaze with a bold kick of heat, topped with fresh cilantro, red onion, and cucumber slices, served on a toasted brioche bun.”

This was… fine? The sweet, savoury, and slightly spicy Korean-style sauce was certainly tasty enough, and the sandwich has a nice exterior crunch that’s satisfying. I don’t think I’ve ever had cilantro on a fried chicken sandwich (certainly not at a fast food joint); it’s a nice touch, though it’s mostly overwhelmed by the flavourful sauce.

The biggest issues here were that the piece of fried chicken breast wasn’t particularly fresh, with the chicken itself being pretty dry, and more pressingly: that enormous, cold, dry brioche bun. I’m not sure if it was too dense by design or was just stale (or both), but it overwhelmed the chicken and was a bit of a bummer to eat.

I like the fried chicken pieces at Jollibee, but this was my first time trying a sandwich. I’ll stick with the pieces.