Background:
On August 28th, Chick-fil-A released a new shake and sandwich duo for the fall season. It includes the widely anticipated Carmel Crumble Shake, along with the Honey Pepper Pimento Sandwich. However, our senior staff and section editors got the chance to try this duo during the Wednesday school day, thanks to Dr. Degen! Since Chick-fil-A is a treasure for the Jesuit community on Inwood Road, whether that be before, after school, games, or after practices for Jesuit students, it’s only right to cover an important change in arguably the most popular fast food chain in Texas behind Whataburger.
For a little information, according to the Chick-fil-A website, the sandwich “is a twist on the original Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich.” It features pickled jalapenos, pimento cheese, and drizzled with honey on top. Lastly, the Caramel Crumble Shake, a weird choice for a fall theme drink, “it’s a creamy butterscotch caramel flavored shake,” according to Chick-Fil-A, they incorporate the Icedream dessert, along with blondie crumbles inside the shake. Also don’t forget, these two depend on select Chick-fil-A locations throughout each city.
“I was disappointed in Chick-Fil-A.” –Sports Editor Peyton Bristow
Overall Review:
I got the opportunity to interview a few fellow Roundup members about their opinions of the new sandwich and shake duo.
I’ve never been a huge fan of pimento cheese, maybe because of the texture, since I was little. I’ve never had a sandwich with jalapenos and chunks of pimento cheese, and was quite suprised thinking it was spread on the chicken. I was a little disappointed with the shake, particularly with the blondie crumbles, it almost tasted like bits of sweet butterscotch. I don’t normally have shakes or dessert, but I would rate it a score of a 4/10. Overall, I thought it wasn’t bad. However, if it is something up your alley, go for it!
I thought that the Chick-fil-A sandwich had some good features. I appreciated the cheese and jalapeños, but the sandwich were below my expectations. Sandwich – 3/5 The shake was good but I didn’t like the blondie crumbles. Shake – 3/5 –Anthony Nguyen
The sandwich just didn’t pair together, and it definitely wasn’t better than the classic sandwich. I generally like caramel stuff but the shake tasted like straight butterscotch which I am not a fan of. I was disappointed with a five for the sandy and a 3 for the shake – the remainder of Sports Editor Peyton Bristow’s thought
Overall, I liked the taste and texture of the milkshake but found it to be too sweet because of the caramel. I also thought the chunks of whatever plan they harvested were off-putting to my palate. These “vanilla flakes” tasted more like condensed dissolved oxygen tablets that had been left in the chemistry cabinet for far too long. Overall, the milkshake falls flat giant its more distinguished Peach and strawberry cousins, and gets a 2/5 for this reporter.
On the sandwich, I thought the pimento cheese was disappointing, being too strong of flavor for me to stomach. The chunks of cheese approach were odd and I thought they should have just melted the pimento instead of having the little scatterings of flakes, akin to fresh fallen snow that has been trampled by the voracious march of human industrialization. The addition of the jalapenos was a bold choice by Chick-fil-A; however, the pepper’s taste did not complement the rest of the sandwich at all. To be fair, I don’t like jalapeno peppers in the first place so I have bias in my reporting. Lastly, the honey spread was pretty good and would be welcome addiction to any other Chick-fil-A sandwich, but it’s essentially a band-aide on the ashes of an individual atomized by the terror of a Degen-timed write. Overall, the cheese and jalapenos don’t coordinate a strong or fiery enough culinary approach to placate my cold and frozen heart, so I’m going to pan the sandwich and give it a 2/5 –Peter Loh News Editor
As you can see above, a lot of disappointment and animosity is present. However, this is an opinion and recommendation solely for anyone interested in Chick-Fil-A’s seasonal selection.
Stay tuned to the Roundup for more food reviews!
