The Trials and Tribulations of the not-so-New Bear Icon

Sometimes mornings like this one are hurried, and while forgetting to buy more milk, I sometimes decide to grab some breakfast on the way to work. most often this means Chic-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A, which in my mind should still be pronounced "Chick-phill-uh", has the most awesome chicken biscuits around. I like mine with cheese. Recently both Whataburger and McDonalds have put out their own chicken biscuit, but these pale in comparison with the mighty Chick-fil-a. Mainly, the McDonalds chicken incredibly bland (a couple of years ago they test marketed one with a spicy chicken patty that was much better), and the whataburger one uses a chicken strip instead of a chicken breast, leaving a whole lot of biscuit. Chick-fil-a seems to do it right with a soft biscuit and lots of chicken.

Now I eat breakfast biscuits a lot. I often have Jimmy Dean sausage biscuits in the freezer, and heat them up in the morning. Many years ago Owens Sausage sold some frozen chicken biscuits, but i guess they didn't sell well. Occasionally I'll by Owen sausage Kolaches. Not as good as the ones made by real Czechs (or at least their Texas descendants).

I do have a couple of problems with Chick-fil-a. the first one is that everything else they do, sucks. I know people who swear by their chicken sandwiches, but the bun isn't any good, and it's usually served soggy with a pickle underneath the chicken, so it's soaked into the bun. It's gross, and they've been under the heat lamp way too long. I never go to Chick-fil-a after 10:30 am.

The other part is the religious connections the fast-food chain has. sure, there's always the problem of having the desire for a chicken biscuit on sunday morning when they are closed, but it's also knowing that you're helping to fund the founder's various programs, all tied into themes of the Southern Baptist Church. Sure, they make a big deal about their work to give scholarships to their employees, and that's good, but they also run children's day camps and marriage counseling centers.

It's known that the company supports Focus on the Family, and has helped out such productions as Veggie Tales. They also support Campus Crusade for Christ. I'm not so sure I really want to help them with this. Can I please designate where the money goes from my chicken biscuit purchase?

It's interesting that the company spotlights it's founder more than most, but then again, he's why they have such a Christian focus. The founder may not be out on the familiar cow commercials, but his picture is in every store...sometimes several times. Sure, there's a plaque to Ray Krock in every McDonalds (thought he didn't actually found McDoanlds, he just bought them and started franchising them), and Dave Thomas with Wendy's was in their ads from the beginning, but C. Truett Cathy seems to have an odd presents in each store. His foundations are the core of a lot of in-store advertising.

Side note, Burger King seems to have been created by the King himself, and Jack-in-the-Box has run commercials for years with "Mr. Box."

Can I live with myself for enjoying the biscuits but not liking the company? I suppose. Hopefully with more competition selling chicken biscuits, one of the other chains will get it right and I'll have an alternative. Luckily Chick-fil-a has the worst chicken nuggets of any of the fast food chains, so after breakfast, they're awfully easy to pass by.