Review: Hardee’s Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich

Hardee’s Promo Picture

First, a little background: I’ve had a special place in my heart (stomach?) for Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s since my days of living in California. There was a time in my early 20’s when dinner consisted of visiting my local CJ at least 5 nights a week, mostly because dinner was after midnight and the choice was them or Jack in the Crack. So, even though I was sick and tired of them for a while, I still have fond memories of their food and romanticize it more than it probably deserves.

That being said, I don’t normally eat at Hardee’s. I don’t know if it’s because I consider them a cheap knock-off of Carl’s Jr. (kind of like Blue Ribbon mayonnaise out West) or because of some other prejudice I might have, but the fact still remains: Hardee’s is never in the top 5 fast food restaurants I think about when I’m hungry. That’s about to change!

I had seen the commercials for this sandwich quite a few times, and having tried their hand-breaded chicken tenders before, I had contemplated giving this a try, too. WOW! My first impression of the sandwich was it’s size; at 313g, it’s huge compared to other fast food chicken sandwiches (Chick-fil-a Original Chicken Sandwich weighs 170g and Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich clocks in at 233g). The chicken was very crispy and had a wonderful crunch to the crust that you just don’t find in other sandwiches out there. It was also very juicy and not overly salty. As you would expect, it’s served on a sesame seed bun with mayo, iceberg lettuce, and tomato, and they actually complement the sandwich quite well. However, I do think that they could use a bit less mayo as it ended up making a mess when I ate it (kind of reminds me of the old Carl’s Jr. tag line: “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face!”).

All in all, one of the best chicken sandwiches out there and an extremely close second to Chick-fil-a’s original chicken sandwich ($2.79), which remains atop my list mostly due to value and the butteriness of their bun. Expect to pay around $3.99 for this sandwich or $6.49 for the combo (though there is a $1 off coupon on the website right now), which is a bit on the high side, but not unreasonable.

Grade:

Taste: 9.5/10
Value: 8.5/10
Would I eat it again? Oh, absolutely!!!

Hardee’s
Various locations
Hardees.com

Nutrition: