TulaneLSU's review of Popeyes beignets

Dear Friends,

There are few things more quintessentially New Orleans than beignets and Popeyes. While I do love Popeyes and everything that they serve, I am lukewarm on beignets. Sure, I will eat them, especially when we have visitors from other parts joining us. I actually enjoy the atmosphere of the beignet more than the beignets themselves. Sitting in the Quarter or along the River, or now, in City Park, or previously, at the Metairie Morning Call, reading the paper while sipping on N.O. Sewage & Water Board tap water was about the most New Orleans thing one could do. Now that The Times Picayune is nothing but a vassal to The Advocate, a historical puzzle, it is not the same. As it is, I might eat beignets four or five times a year.

When Popeyes recently announced that beignets were coming to its menu, I was, like most of you, excited. Popeyes is the best fast food chain in the world. Its fried chicken is better than anywhere. Not haute cuisine nor small country kitchens have surpassed Popeyes peerless crunchy crisp with just the right amount of spice and grease. On paper, Popeyes and beignets are a match made in New Orleans.

Popeye’s, as most of you know, started as Chicken On The Run. I have heard it was started in Arabi in June of 1972, but Uncle argues that it was actually December of 1971. “It was not very good either -- it tasted like bland grocery store fried chicken,” Uncle told me yesterday when I asked him about it. Apparently, Al decided that in order to stand out, he needed to add some spice to it. I have heard many rumors about those early years -- that the seed money was from the Mob or even from drugs or that the recipe was borrowed from some lady in the lower 9th Ward. I do not know the veracity of those rumors, but I do know that from my childhood I have loved eating at Popeyes.

Mother never let me eat Popeyes. Ms. Mae thought this was an injustice. Occasionally, on Sunday evenings, she would sneak Popeyes kids meal to me. This was back in the late 80s and early 90s when Popeyes still did kids meals. It came with one piece of chicken (I always requested a breast), a biscuit, back when Popeyes made good biscuits that had the crusty edges and were freshly made at the store, and a toy. Because Mother did not allow Popeye’s in the house, I was unable to keep the toy (my favorite was a plastic bendy Popeye figure), as it would be evidence. As a child, I did what was now unthinkable -- I removed all the skin and crust from the chicken before eating it. I was conscious of my figure back then, but the real reason that I tossed the skin was I did not like how slimy it was.

This morning, I walked to our neighborhood Popeyes to make it for opening at 10:00. I know from experience that waiting until the lunch hour can lead to a very long wait. My goal today was just to try the chocolate stuffed beignets. The article I read only indicated that three would cost $1.99, six would be $3.99, and twelve would be $7.99. That pricing did not seem reasonable -- why would buying two orders of three cost less than one order of six? Fast food has not gone to the Walmart practice of price trickery. But when I arrived, I realized that article was wrong, as three were $2.79.



I was a little disappointed at the higher price, but I remembered that beignets at CDM were $3.40 for an order last month. Beignet prices have exponentially increased in the last ten years. It seems like just yesterday when an order cost $1.25. Impulsively, I decided also to get a spicy chicken sandwich, which is superior in every way to the others, including Chick-Fil-A. My friend, Julie, who works at our Popeyes and is ever so cheerful, told me that the beignets are freshly made to order. “They’ll take about five minutes,” she told me.

I smiled and asked, “Would you mind if I came to the kitchen to watch how they are made.” Julie smiled back, but explained that would be illegal and against company policy. I waited outside for a few minutes in the chilly but refreshing mid-December air. Julie brought out the cutest little bag and wished me well. I tipped her. It is one thing I have never understood that it is not considered normal to tip fast food workers, as they are some of the hardest working and least paid



I unfurled my Christmas picnic blanket and had a little picnic in the parking lot. My first impression upon opening the cute self-labeled bag, which reminded me of the ever direct Bloomingdale's Brown Bag, was that these beignets were small, very small. In fact, I have never seen beignets so small. My second impression was, like CDM beignets, they were under powdered. CDM is notorious for going cheap on the powdered sugar, which is one reason I always preferred Morning Call, where they left on the table those dull silver tin cans filled with powdered sugar. You could put as little or as much sugar as your heart desired.



My fingers pinched the dough top to bottom like chopsticks, unlike a typical beignet or a Panchos sopapilla, of which you grab the lateral edges. It was still piping hot, fresh from the fryers. Do not worry -- the makers clearly use a different device from the fryer used to make the chicken. There was not even a hint of chicken in my beignet. I had never had a beignet that was filled with anything except air, so this was a new experience. The chocolate was creamy and a bit too hot. It was clearly Hershey’s brand.



The dough was less yeasty and more like a phyllo like. Or perhaps a better comparison would be to the dough of a Racine Danish Kringle fresh from the oven. What was certain was it did not feel, look, or taste like a New Orleans beignet. Was it bad? No. Was it good? I would lean closer to okay. It just was very unbeignet-like. Would I rather a Popeyes beignet or a CDM beignet? I would actually choose CDM.