The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Spoon University.
I’m not sure about you, but pickles have taken over my life – I eat them for a snack at my sorority house salad bar, ask for extra whenever I get a cheeseburger, and have saved countless pickle-themed recipes on TikTok. So, when I saw ads for the new Popeyes pickle menu as a certified pickle-obsessed person, I had to go try it out. The menu, which launched on April 1–and is only available for a limited time–consists of a pickle-glazed fried chicken sandwich, pickle-glazed chicken wings (boneless or bone in), fried pickles and pickle lemonade (regular or frozen).
I truly think that Popeyes has cracked the code with their fried chicken sandwiches, especially the spicy one. So of course, I had high standards and even higher hopes when it came to their pickle-glazed sandwich. Like any Popeyes chicken sandwich, the breading was shatteringly crisp without a hint of grease, the chicken was tender, hot and juicy, and the bun was deliciously soft and sweet with a slight toastiness. The pickle “glaze” was more of a seasoning that was sprinkled on top of the fried chicken. On its own, it had strong notes of dill balanced with a subtle sweetness and spice, but it was sadly lacking acidity. This lack of acid made it taste more like a dill flavored seasoning than a pickle-specific one.While the seasoning definitely didn’t detract, it certainly didn’t add anything to an already almost-perfect sandwich.
Next, I tried the pickle-glazed bone-in wings. These wings were similarly crisp and juicy, doused in plenty of sauce. The sauce seemed to be a liquid version of the pickle glaze from the sandwich–only it had a delightful spicy kick that wasn’t present in the sandwich. The 6-piece wings were served with a side of ranch that helped cut the spice and added a wonderful creaminess. While these wings were definitely tasty, they were pretty dill-forward and still lacked that classic pickle acidity that I craved.
As a pickle fiend, fried pickles were the most important part of this limited menu, and therefore, I had extremely high expectations. Having had some pretty amazing fried pickles in my lifetime, these, sadly, didn’t measure up. They had a lot going for them: they were hot, crispy, greaseless and had a spicy kick, but the actual pickle inside was too thin compared to the thickness of the breading, and like the other menu items, didn’t lend enough acidity to the dish.
To wash it all down, I tried the chilled pickle lemonade and the frozen pickle lemonade. I was pretty skeptical about these drinks. Luckily, they tasted more like lemonade with dill in them rather than pickle-flavored lemonade (which was a good thing in this case). Both were tart but not too sour, and were a good foil to the richness of the rest of the meal.
This pickle menu had some strong points and bold flavors, but overall, I found the dishes to be lacking the true essence of a pickle. Even if this limited menu sticks around for a while longer, I probably wouldn’t order it again and would rather stay true to my usual order.