NYC has gone bonkers with the opening of its first official Chick-Fil-A restaurant (not counting the small, kiosk shop in an NYU cafeteria downtown, of course).

Amid equal parts protest and jubilation, the joint seems to be off and running to a great start. If you’re living under a rock and don’t know, Chick-Fil-A is all about the “traditional marriage” (knee slap) of fried chicken and sandwich bread to form the holy and spiritual union of said ingredients into one righteous chicken sandwich.

Needless to say, lines have been out the door since said doors have been open.

I ran down at noon on a Saturday and, to my surprise, the line ended AT the door. I was literally in the vestibule at the end of the line, and was told that the experience would only take about 10 mins. That was an accurate estimate, if not a “conservative” (kneeslap) one. I was probably back out the door, food in hand, within 8 minutes.

But my timing was impeccable. One could even say my timing was, oh, I don’t know… divinely inspired? Perhaps providential? As I left, I turned and noticed that the line had grown to go OUT the door and around the block:

Anyway, I ordered about $18 worth of food, which consisted of the traditional sandwich with cheese, lettuce and tomato:

The spicy sandwich with a spicy breading, pepper jack cheese, lettuce and tomato:

An 8-piece nuggets, with all the sauces:

And a medium order of waffle fries:

As far as fast food goes, this comes in on the upper 75th percentile, I’d say. I’ve had better, but I’ve definitely had worse. The chicken is tender and juicy, but when competing in NYC with the likes of places like Fuku+ for a chicken sandwich, there’s really no choice. Anyway take a look at the inside:

In conclusion I’ll say this: sort of like the entire Chick-Fil-A controversy itself, there’s just more hype and loud voices than actual substance when it comes to the taste of Chick-Fil-A. If you’re like me and you absolutely MUST try something that looks interesting, for fear of missing out, then go for it! But since this place is somewhat out of my hood, I will probably be sticking to Fuku+ from now on, which is literally just a few streets away and SO much better.

One last thing I’ll say is that the service truly was incredible, which is something that Chick-Fil-A is known for. Everyone was super friendly and accommodating, and the whole process was really fast. If I may say so, it was probably one of the best fast food buying experiences of my life. So there you have it.

CHICK FIL-A
1000 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10018