Obviously not a revelation, more of an “about time” moment, R & D at McDonald's has gotten around to offering yet another version of their chicken-y protein. Granted, they did scoop their Kentucky competition of the coveted nugget niche (who eats a box of 50, anyway?!) back in the day. Waiting for our morning take-out, we couldn't help but think, “So what?”
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Snacking while driving or at the office, I could see this being less obtrusive than showing everyone you ingest seriously processed larger chunks of meat. But is that enough of a selling point? Maybe. There is a better market out there; you just have to think like the food: Smaller.
My best friend has three monsters boys ages six and under who love nuggets like I adore Osteria Mozza sweetbreads. I texted her about them, and find out this was launched a few weeks ago. With sizing names like snack, regular, and shareable, they're encouraging a sort of faux tapas. No, it's not a large. You pass it amongst friends! Uh, sure. As if we can all exhibit that kind of self-control. They might as well cram them half full of pomme frites and coin the term mobile hors d'oeuvres. Her little men take mini bites, so our thinking is that it's friendlier happy meal fodder.
She also pointed out that KFC's are more skin than meat. It makes sense, especially when you picture the fallen bits of crunch being scooped up from underneath the racks of extra crispy cluckers. Nutritionally, their smallest size contains 310 calories, 490 milligrams sodium (that's 20% Recommended Daily Value), and 19 grams of fat (29% RDV). Fried food is fried food, so we'll leave the comparison to you.
Am I going to try one? Sure. Will it be tastier than popcorn chicken? Does it really matter?
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A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.