Popeyes to combine chicken and waffles into one tender

Popeye’s

If you’ve ever wondered whether to eat the waffle or the chicken first, waffle no more. The new Popeyes Chicken and Waffle tender offers both flavors in a single bite.

Which comes first? The chicken or the waffle?

Now you don’t have to decide.

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Meet Popeyes’ latest carb-stuffed creation: Chicken and Waffle tenders.

It’s exactly what it sounds like. Boneless white meat chicken dipped in waffle batter, then deep-fried and served with a honey maple dipping sauce.

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Seems like a no-brainer that’s been waiting to happen, but for Popeyes, it’s quite a big departure from the norm. The company has built a nationwide brand by staying true to its Louisiana roots. The sweet and salty combination of chicken and waffles is seen as a West Coast treat, popularized by restaurants like Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.

Popeyes gave the unique combination its stamp of approval after after finding a connection in jazz.

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Chicken and waffles started appearing on the same plate at the Well’s Supper Club in Harlem, N.Y., according to NPR. Well’s was a hot place for jazz musicians of the 1930s to grab a bite after their gigs. By the time these musicians dropped in, it was too late for dinner and too early for breakfast. So Well’s served a combination platter of chicken and waffles, soon becoming popular with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole.

In 1976, Harlem native Herb Hudson brought chicken and waffles to Roscoe’s in Los Angeles, where the jazzy dish shot to fame.

“Jazz is so embedded in the culture of New Orleans that we didn’t have to look too hard to find” a connection, Dick Lynch, Popeyes’ chief global brand officer, told Advertising Age.

Popeyes, America’s third-largest chicken chain, will start advertising their new offering on July 29. It’s a limited-time “flavor proliferation,” so like all good things, this too must come to an end.

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