KFC’s Beyond Fried Chicken — it’s an idea so good that you know it’s bound to be a hit. Like Popeyes making a chicken sandwich, or Taco Bell selling a plant-based taco. So why isn’t it a thing yet? Because KFC is playing it safe and gauging demand. Back in August, KFC launched its Beyond Fried Chicken in Atlanta and it sold out. Now they’re bringing their plant-based bird to nearly 100 stores in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nashville and other surrounding areas from February 3rd to the 23rd to see just how interested the chicken-loving public is in a plant-based offering from the Colonel.
We haven’t tried the Beyond Fried Chicken yet, but thanks to a review on Fast Company, we pretty much know what to expect.
It tastes like a doggone piece of chicken—and not just any piece of chicken, but a KFC piece of chicken with hints of those 11 herbs and spices. I fork and knife my way through the honey BBQ (perfectly too sweet, and the coating still crunchy), the buffalo (a touch vinegary for my taste but offering the uncanny aftertaste of chicken), and the Nashville (the deep pepper flavor has respectable heat that hits me a delightful 10 seconds later).
In short, it’s a plant-based chicken nugget breaded in KFC’s 11 herbs and spices and dipped in either KFC’s Honey BBQ , Buffalo, or Nashville Hot sauce, as well as a “naked” option. If you like KFC tenders from KFC, it’s not hard to assume you’re going to dig on these. It’s still fried, it’s still not particularly healthy, but it’s not meat. So there’s that.
KFC has promised to take Beyond Meat nationwide at an undisclosed date if customers show enough interest. So do all of us on the coasts a solid and show the love.
