You’ve got a hankerin’ for some chicken. It’s late and the only option is fast chicken. So you hop into the car and drive. “Hey, there’s a McDonalds. I think they have chicken…” Seriously? No, keep going. “Oh! A Chick-Fil-A! They’re entire business is built on cows begging us to kill the other barnyard creatures.” Dang, they’re closed.
Then you see it! It’s a KFC with an added bonus: a Long John Silver’s attached at the hip. (Insert standard angelic choir “Ahhh” sound and/or “The Hallelujah Chorus” here.)
As you enter the establishment, you’re immediately greeted by the wonderful aroma of vats upon vats of hot grease cooking various battered and breaded barnyard fowl parts. Your hankerin’ is about to be satisfied in the worst way possible. You stride over to the counter ready to order up a KFC extra-crispy chicken breast when you realize — Hey! — Long John Silver’s has chicken too.
You think, “Why on earth would they sell chicken when there’s a fully functional chicken factory right here?” Well, there are two good practical reasons right off the bat:
- They are, after all, two different restaurants — not all of them have been surgically attached.
- Not everyone who finds him or herself at a Long John Silvers likes fish. (Let’s face it, just about every seafood place has a “Land Lubber’s” menu for a reason.)
But there’s another vastly more important reason: people going to Long John Silver’s for chicken are not there for the chicken. They’re there for the batter. When it gets down to this level, there’s absolutely no contest between the two.
So what are you, the dieter, going to do faced with these chicken choices? Well, if you’re really just there to satisfy a hankerin’, you might want to just grab a single chicken plank then run back to your car as fast as possible. Here’s how it stacks up against the extra crispy chicken breast:
| LJS | KFC | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 140 | 460 |
| Fat | 8 | 28 |
| Carbs | 9 | 16 |
| Protein | 8 | 35 |
Now keep in mind, this is a much smaller serving: one chicken plank is about a third of the size of the KFC offering. Triple these numbers and they’ll be fairly even: except that the chicken plank has far more carbs and the large chicken breast a lot more protein. But if you’re looking for pre-defined portion control, go for the smaller portion.
My choice? Hands down the chicken plank. Why? Oh, don’t worry, there will be an entire post on that sometime in the near future.
on September 5, 2008 at 8:21 am
I am so glad there isn’t a Long John Silver’s around me, otherwise I’d be there every day!
You have to get a hush puppy too! (and then eat all the deep fried little batter balls that end up in the bottom of the container!)
Now I want LJS. . .
on September 12, 2008 at 7:32 pm
“people going to Long John Silver’s for chicken are not there for the chicken. They’re there for the batter.” you are in my head i just know it! and for the record i’m at kfc for the batter too, if i just wanted good juicy chicken i’d go to my local supermarket deli but i’m not. kfc is the only reason i still eat chicken skin.