Entertainment
The Best Fast Food Resturants Near You That Are Better Than Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A nuggets aren't THAT good.
18 February 2019
35612
There aren't any.
Stop trying other places just because and go get the Chick-fil-A you deserve.
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Tayler Klinkbeil
1. An Americano is NOT for the faint-of-heart.
Expectation:
Some guests come into my store with not a clue what they want to order, and if they're too scared to sound clueless, they might be inclined to order an Americano. It's the first thing listed under espresso beverages, and because it's sometimes (mistakenly) advertised as a sweet drink topped with whipped cream, it may seem like a safe choice.
WRONG. An Americano is comprised of espresso shots and water. Starbucks offers it either hot or iced, as they do with all espresso beverages, but it is not for those looking for something sweet with a splash of coffee. I've seen them modified up the yin-yang with Vanilla and Hazelnut and soymilk and 4 Splendas, but without a little TLC, a plain Americano is an acquired taste.
If you want to give it a try, go for it, but even as a lover of black coffee, the Americano is still too far down the bitter road for me.
2. You can't go wrong with a Frappuccino.
Working at Disney, especially in Florida, I've seen thousands of people come in red-faced and bleary-eyed, looking for a shot of caffeine encased in ice. If you're a fan of coffee mixed with sugar, all of the coffee-based Frappuccinos are a good place to start. In the case where you don't like any of the options listed on the menu, ask your barista for a coffee frappuccino and add a syrup. Syrups stocked year-round include Vanilla, Caramel, Toffee Nut, Hazelnut, Peppermint, Cinnamon Dolce, Raspberry, and Classic. See if one of those meets your sweet-tooth needs.
If coffee isn't your thing, I'm a little hurt, but I won't judge. If you'd like to go the coffee-free route, you can ask for any of the Frappuccinos listed as creme-based, or ask for a Syrup Frappuccino (that's where they make the coffee-based ones but without the coffee). I explain to guests that those Frappuccinos are more like milkshakes than anything. A crowd favorite at my store is the Serious Strawberry Frappuccino (seriously, it's like a strawberry milkshake).
Also, if it applies to you, all Frappuccinos are available with nondairy milk as well (Starbucks stocks almond milk, soy milk, and coconut milk), but if you have an allergy it is YOUR responsibility to inform your barista. And please do.
Another trick for ordering Frapps: they ALL come with whipped cream, by standard, EXCEPT for the Espresso Frappuccino, the Coffee Frappuccino, or a nondairy Frappuccino. If you don't want whip on top, please keep that in mind because the barista is going to swirl it on unless you tell them not to.
3. The Blended Strawberry Lemonade is a hidden treasure.
I'm going to sound like an advertisement for a second, but if it's mid-June and your stomach curdles at the thought of milk in the heat, give the Blended Strawberry Lemonade a go. With the new concentrated Lemonade and the Strawberry puree, you'll wish you were on the beach. My go-to drink order at a restaurant is a Strawberry Lemonade, usually made for me at the bar, and when I discovered this drink at Starbucks I melted of happiness.
Give it a go this summer, or if you're a Florida native like me, next week.
4. If you're edging towards coffee lover, the White Mocha is a good balance.
The White Mocha comes either iced, hot, or as a Frappuccino, and depending on your preference, you can choose accordingly. Personally, I'll order a hot White Mocha even if it's sweltering outside because I no longer fancy iced coffee. That being said, one of the most popular espresso beverages that come through our queue on a daily basis is an iced White Mocha.
Obviously, it can be modified with either more or fewer shots of espresso (depending on the size you get), and even if you're not dairy-free, I suggest giving it a try with soymilk. Starbucks' soymilk is flavored with vanilla, and it complements the sweetness of the sauce while counteracting the bitterness of the espresso.
5. The Medicine Ball Tea is not a thing anymore, I'm sorry. Try the Citrus Defender!
The Medicine Ball Tea went viral a couple years ago when celebrities all over were calling it a cold buster. Dubbed by Starbucks as the Honey Citrus Mint tea, it featured the Peach TranquiliTEA (whoops, excuse my pun). Unfortunately, Starbucks doesn't carry that tea bag any longer (at least not to my knowledge) and therefore we can't make the Medicine Ball.
But don't fret! In its place, we have the Citrus Defender Tea. It comes with the Defense tea bags (which are a combination of herbal and white teas), honey packets, and steamed lemonade. I've heard great things about this tea, and if you're looking for a good drink for a cold or rainy day, this is the non-coffee way to go.
6. Give the seasonal drinks a whirl.
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Starbucks gets a lot of flack for hyping up their seasonal or promotional beverages, but let's be honest: they're beautiful. Personally, I'd rather spend money on something I'm going to enjoy looking at and ingesting, so Starbucks is the perfect intersection for me.
The most recent promo is the Cinnamon Shortbread, available iced, hot, or Frappuccino. That being said, you better believe I'm waiting anxiously for the next release.
In the meantime, I try weird concoctions with seasonal items. For example, the Cinnamon Shortbread features the Brown Butter sauce (which is thick as all get out). That means I'm getting it hot, so it's nice and melted, but I'll probably mix it with some White Mocha and Blonde Espresso. It's about getting crafty, that's how you'll find the perfect drink for you.
With that, don't go falling in love with promotional items, they're only here for so long. Get your fill, and start your search for the next creative fix.
Now I know that Starbucks can seem mainstream, or basic, or overcommercialized, but I think I know a way to get around what you see on social media. Talk to your barista. Tell them what you're looking for, and what are your likes and dislikes. The other night I came home with a smile on my face because I'd bonded with a guest over our love for the bizarre combination of White Mocha sauce and Raspberry syrup.
The people behind the counter almost always have a favorite item on the menu, and chances are they're happy to share it with you. So if you're a coffee addict, a new player on the field, a staunch abstainer, or even a barista yourself, I encourage you to explore your options next time you step into a Starbucks. You may just find the right brew for you.
@johnbcrist on Instagram
I've put together this list (with the help of John Crist gifs, of course) of some easy, helpful and yummy menu customizations.
Please, when ordering special requests (at Chick-fil-A or any restaurant), be respectful to the employees as they try to work with you. In Chick-fil-A's case, each store is run by a different operator, and they might have different, unique policies. This means just because one Chick-fil-A will make a special menu modification it doesn't mean every store will.
1. Extra honey butter.
Yes, you can order extra honey butter on the Chick-N-Minis! These bite-size breakfast beauties are my favorite, and I always order them this way.
2. Egg and cheese Chick-N-Minis.
Some people like egg or cheese or egg and cheese on their Chick-N-Minis. I don't get it. But it's possible. Sometimes the manager or kitchen leaders will say to give the guest the egg and cheese in a separate bowl, or sometimes they'll make it in the kitchen. Either way, it's an interesting take on a classic.
3. Hazelnut iced coffee.
Another usual order for me. Technically, only original (plain sugar) and vanilla flavored iced coffee is advertised, but we have hazelnut syrup too! The. Best.
Sometimes I'll also ask for two pumps of hazelnut and one pump of vanilla syrup. The small iced coffee is made with three pumps of whichever syrup and the large is made with four pumps, so you can ask the Team Member to switch this up to what you prefer. Just remember, this is Chick-fil-A and Starbucks is probably across the street.
4. Honey butter Chicken Biscuit.
An amazing take on the classic. Just ask for honey butter instead of regular butter!
5. Spicy Chicken Biscuit.
(Guests when I explained we no longer have the breakfast Spicy Chicken Biscuit.)
Technically, you can still get a Spicy Chicken Biscuit. Just know you will have to wait. Let me say that again: you will have to wait and you will need to be patient.
While Chick-fil-A doesn't have the spicy breakfast filet anymore, they still have the lunch version. During breakfast, all lunch items are dropped fresh and made to order if the guest requests. However, this can take ten minutes at a minimum for the kitchen to drop the item(s) since they are also keeping up with the regular breakfast business and have limited fryers.
Just ask for a spicy filet on a biscuit. This is pretty common, so the team member should know what you mean, but if not, just clarify that you're asking for the lunch filet and that you're willing to wait. (But then you actually have to be willing to wait.)
6. Veggie breakfast burrito or wrap.
Hey vegetarians and vegans! This one's for you.
You can get a veggie burrito or veggie wrap! Some Chick-fil-As will know what goes in these if you ask, but if they've never had this request before, you'll need to clarify.
A veggie burrito can be a burrito with black beans, corn, peppers, and tomatoes. You can also add egg and cheese if you'd like, as well as hash browns.
A veggie wrap can be a wrap with lettuce, tomato, black beans, corn, peppers, and optional cheese.
Also, the salads are super customizable! Just tell the Team Member you're veggie or vegan and they'll help you order something great for you!
7. Bacon on everything.
Non-vegans, this one is for you.
You can add bacon to anything.
Any sandwich.
Any salad.
Heck, even fries (ask you'll see later).
You're welcome.
8. Buffalo and ranch tossed Chicken Nuggets.
This is one of those things you'll have to make yourself. Order however many Chicken Nuggets you'd like. Then, ask for ranch and buffalo sauce and a 12-ounce bowl with a lid. You'll be given a large soup bowl. Dump the nuggets and sauce in there, attach the lid and shake it up.
9. Chick-N-Strip sandwich.
If there's one thing we all know about John Crist, it's that he's partial to the Chick-N-Strips over the Chicken Nuggets (which is wrong but don't @ me either). Hey John, have you ever tried the Chick-N-Strip sandwich?
This is one the kitchen may or may not make for you and you might have to prepare yourself. Order a two-strip entree, a bun, lettuce, tomato and cheese of your choice (pepper jack, colby jack, or American). Ask the Team Member if they can make it into a sandwich or construct the sandwich yourself. Choose a sauce and pour it all over.
10. Cheesey Waffle Fries.
Fair warning: the Team Members might be a little annoyed at you for ordering this. They might try to talk you out of it. But like, it's possible. You can also make it yourself if they can't make it for you for whatever reason.
If the Team Members are willing to make it for you but haven't heard of it before, tell them it's a large fry in a salad bowl with cheese blend (the shredded cheese from the salads) and bacon (optional) melted in the chutes for a few minutes.
If they can't make it for you, order a large fry, a side of cheese and a side of bacon and ask for a salad bowl. It will take a little longer to melt but if you mix it all when the fries are still hot, you'll be all set.
11. Cheese-y Chicken Tortilla Soup.
Seasonal!
Ask for cheese blend on the soup. It's delicious. Also, ask for extra tortilla strips.
12. Grilled Chick-N-Strips.
Gluten-free peeps, this one's for you!
Grilled Nuggets are fine. The Grilled Sandwich with gluten free bun is also fine. But sometimes, at least according to some of my gluten-free friends, you just want something different, right?
The strips can be grilled too! It will take a minimum of ten minutes since they'll have to drop these fresh for you. But it's delicious.
13. Un-marinated grilled chicken.
If you're a true Chick-fil-A Raving Fan, then you'll remember the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich. While that bun and plastic box are long gone, the chicken didn't go anywhere. They just added a marinade. If you want a blast from the past, just ask for the Grilled Sandwich with un-marinaded chicken. Again, this will take a minimum of ten minutes, but that's a small price to pay for an old classic.
14. Flavored sodas.
Remember those flavored syrups from the iced coffee? Ask to add the vanilla syrup to Coke or Root Beer! It's great.
You might get charged extra for this.
15. Mix-n-matched Hand-Spun Milkshakes.
Each shake starts as a vanilla base and the flavor is added. You've got chocolate syrup, strawberry jam and Oreo crumbles to work with. Seasonally, you have peach jam during the summer and peppermint syrup and candy cane pieces during Christmas.
Have a little fun with this! My favorite was mixing the strawberry and cookies 'n' cream. Some people also ordered chocolate cookies 'n' cream. And seasonally, I love adding the peppermint syrup to the chocolate shake.
You can also get a Frosted Lemonade with any drink besides lemonade! My favorites were Frosted Root Beer and Frosted Hi-C Fruit Punch. I've also made Frosted Powerade, Frosted Dr. Pepper, and Frosted Coke.
16. Cookie Sundae (DO NOT try to order this, make it yourself).
I cannot stress this enough. The Team Members will not and cannot make this for you. They are not allowed to take the cookie out of the package. But, you can make this yourself!
Order a small Icedream cup with chocolate syrup topping, whipped cream, and a cherry. Also, order a cookie and ask for an empty parfait cup if you'd like to imitate the old Cookie Sundae that was removed from the menu a few years ago.
If you're making this the traditional way, what you'll need to do is: 1) break the cookie in half, 2) crumble one half of the cookie on the bottom of the parfait cup, 3) scoop the Icedream (with the syrup and toppings) into the cup and 4) crumble the other half of the cookie on top.
If you're a little more relaxed, just crumble all the cookie on top of the sundae so you won't need to ask for an extra parfait cup.
17. Extra large Superfood Salad.
One complaint that I always got from every suburban mom in the drive-thru was that the large Superfood Salad (kale, broccolini, dried, cherries, and maple vinaigrette) wasn't large enough. I'd 12-ounce explain that this wasn't designed to be a full-size salad but rather a side to go with one of the entrees.
Well good news, Karen, if you want a full-size Superfood Salad without paying the expensive price of three larges and asking for a big salad bowl, here's what you can do. Order a side salad with balsamic dressing and a large Superfood Salad. You can also order some Grilled Nuggets to add if you'd like. Add the Superfood to the side salad, add the balsamic dressing, close the lid again and shake to mix!
18. Mixed sauces.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Some favorites are Chick-fil-A and ranch, buffalo and ranch, honey mustard and ranch, barbecue and ranch...pretty much anything with ranch.
19. Mixed dressings.
Again, can't go wrong mixing anything with ranch. My favorite was Chili Lime Vinaigrette with ranch!
20. Every sandwich is customizable.
Yes, it's true. You can add or take away any item on the sandwich. Here's what you have to work with:
Cheese (pepper jack, colby jack, and American)
Lettuce
Tomato
Bacon
Pickles
Regular bun
Multigrain bun
I hope this helps next time you go to Chick-fil-A and want to impress all your friends with a super extra order!
John Crist, thanks for the gifs and for loving Chick-fil-A.
Remember, be kind and respectful to the Team Members. They'll do their best to help, but each store handles special requests differently! And stop asking about the "Secret Menu."
Personal Image
1. The milkshakes.
Personal Image
2. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=PuGLbK0dKtgzSM:
3. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=lL2uKVEyIoVIIM:
4. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=mi7Ca6hJUQygAM:
5. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=MF5J0ZtaCerqPM:
6. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=2fSxry0T7L6o9M:
7. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=4E8a00xhkIwncM:
8. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=RJ5DOPlxOeTGMM:
9. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=osYvjKKtkBO-9M:
10. The milkshakes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=farm+show+milkshakes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpID_-aDfAhVp04MKHe4DBh0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=610&dpr=1.5#imgrc=Z08cM_eI4qNvVM:
Let's be real, the Farm Show is AMAZING but in reality the best part, hands down, will always be the milkshakes.
3. When your halfway through eating the dining hall casserole and you realize there's cheese in it
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5. Watching someone eat their cheeseburger, knowing your plain hamburger doesn't taste nearly as good
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8. When everyone starts raving about the new grilled cheese at the dining hall and you simply cannot contribute to the conversation
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