REVIEW | POPEYES (NORTH) | EDMONTON

Before we dive in too deep, I should probably provide a disclaimer of some sort. Yes, I know Popeyes is a chain. Yes, it's fast food. Akin to KFC, McDonalds, that sort of thing. But you know what, no one's too good for fast food. It has a time, a place, and a purpose. So you can roll your eyes back now. Let's get started.

If you've ever made a trip down south of the border, you might have heard of, or even tried, Popeyes. Famous for their Southern-style fried chicken, Popeyes has about 2,600 locations worldwide. Edmonton is now home to two of them (and counting!).   

Popeyes' first location in the city, and the first in Western Canada, opened up late last year in the southwest neighbourhood of Tamarack. It was so popular that hour-long line-ups were the norm. Not sure how busy it is now, but being a northside girl, ain't nobody got time (to drive and wait) for that.

Their second location is thankfully much closer for me, situated a little west of Northgate in Griesbach Village. During their opening weekend, my parents were in the area (AKA at T&T) and decided to pick up some Popeyes to try it out. According to them, it was only about a 20 minute line-up, and a 10 minute wait for the food. Then again, they went around 2:00 on a Sunday.

They picked up an 8-piece bonafide meal ($25.99) which comes with eight pieces of fried chicken, one large side, and four biscuits. The chicken comes in your choice of spicy, mild, or both. They decided to get the chicken mild, and for the side, coleslaw.

The chicken is aggressively battered so it's ridiculously crunchy. Probably the crispiest fried chicken out of all their fast food competitors (I'm looking at you KFC). Since the demand is also so great, the quick turnover in the kitchen also guarantees that the chicken is fresh and hot when you receive your order, not just sitting there for who knows how long.

As for the side, I'm not a fan of coleslaw from fast food joints. Usually the recipe calls for 50% slaw, 50% dressing. But the fam did mention the coleslaw had bits of pickle in it, so it's something different. 

Now the biscuits. Many people rave about them, but I didn't find them particularly special. If I were honest, they were a bit chalky tasting.

My dad also wanted to try the butterfly shrimp tackle box ($5.99) since it was pretty inexpensive. The box comes with fried shrimp (tail-on), a side of your choice (he got onion rings) and another biscuit. Do you sense a theme with the colors here? According to the receipt, the shrimp was also supposed to come with Cajun cocktail sauce but we didn't receive any in the bag. 

I say skip the shrimp and stick to the chicken.

More shades of beige -- dessert was a strawberry and cream cheese pie ($1.29). It's what you would expect. Artificial strawberry and cream cheese in a deep fried pastry shell.



All in all, Popeyes' chicken is good, I'll give them that. But to wait in line upwards to an hour? Ehhhh. I'd rather wait for the hype to die down.

Popeyes (North)

popeyeschicken.ca 

9934 137 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB
(780) 250-1133

- CT