Does Church’s have better food than Popeyes? Let’s talk about it. Good Mythical Morning. We’re about to see whether Popeyes or Church’s is the ultimate chicken restaurant. But first, this portion of today’s episode is sponsored by AG1, the daily health drink that combines your multivitamin, pre and probiotics, superfoods, and antioxidants into one simple green scoop. Now, when we’re traveling over the holidays, the last thing we want is to get sick before the festivities. Yeah. AG1 contains vitamins and minerals that support my immune system. All right, lemme pull this thing in. You can give AG1 a try now with AG1’s holiday bundle, wow. It’s their best offer ever with $126 in free gifts. It’s quite a bundle. Look at ’em. Now, it’s more important to me than ever to stay healthy, but it can be hard when you’re chowing down on holiday treats. True. But AG1 is clinically shown to fill common nutrient gaps. 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You know, they’re both good, but which one is the best? That’s what we’re gonna find out by pitting two previous food feud winners against each other today. Church’s defeated KFC. Yeah. Do you remember that? I kind of. I think it, what was it the sides? It was, the sides were great. And Popeyes defeated Raising Canes. Yeah I kind of get that. Because of variety. But these two have never faced off with each other, until today. Mm, yes. It’s time for food feuds, Popeyes versus Church’s. Before we get started with our first matchup, I am hungry for some southern fried chicken history. Hmm, if only there was someone who could help. Sometimes success is born out of failure. So it was in 1972 when Al Copeland opened a chicken restaurant called Chicken on the Run in a suburb of New Orleans. He wanted to compete with KFC, but instead his new establishment went bankrupt after only a few months. Undeterred, Copeland reopened the restaurant four days later under the name Popeyes Mighty Good Chicken and this time it proved to be a big success. In fact, Popeyes became so successful that in 1989 they decided to acquire another chicken fast food company, one founded by a retired incubator salesman known as Church’s Chicken. What? Yes, for a time, both of today’s former champions were one company operating under two names. Their chicken powers combined. But that’s not the end of the story. The $330 million it cost to purchase Church’s proved too months for Popeyes parent company, leading it to file for bankruptcy and eventually sell off the Texas chicken chain to a different investment group in 2004. Are you tracking here? Yes. Yes. This was a huge setback. And yet these twin chicken phoenixes rose from the ashes once again and today remain major players in the fast food industry. Church’s has over 1,500 locations worldwide while Popeyes maintains an eye popping 4,000. Whoa. But which of these former corporate family members is the true heir to the chicken throne? Who is king of the wings? Whose breast is best? Whose thighs win the prize? Yeah. Choose wisely because there can only be one winner, winner, chicken dinner. Oh, snap. That’s right. Man. Man, they were, they were stepbrothers and sisters. Can you believe that’s the history? And then they got divorced and they’re not siblings anymore. Do you think he just made it all up? No, of course not. Okay, first up you have boneless wings. On Rhett’s side is Popeyes six signature hot boneless wings for $7.99 and on Link’s side is Church’s eight piece, spicy boneless wings for $5.99. You also have their signature sauces to dip it. Thank you. I’m grabbing a fork. I mean, you don’t have to. That’s a good idea. I just don’t want the sauces to mix. Now this is wet, I like that. That’s some wet chicken in a good way. We had this before. I think we really liked it. We’ve had both of these before, I think. And I think we really liked it. Mm. Oh! That’s good. I wanna dip it in some ranch. Yeah. Because it’s hot. Oh, it’s spicy. It really packs a punch. It’s flavorful. Mm. Ah, boy, that’s gonna be hard to top. What happened over here? These pieces, I can tell that that’s been cut. Look at that. Well, I know we’ve had this conversation before about boneless wings in general and what does that mean? But these two establishments especially like, are these not just pieces of chicken? Like what’s the- It’s just chicken nuggets. Yeah. They’re just pieces of breast. Yeah, it’s not what they say it is. Hmm. This is not bad at all, but it’s not special. It’s a little dry. I’m gonna dip it in the ranch. This is special. I’m gonna have to stop myself from just continuing to eat the whole thing. It’s clearly better. It’s hard to imagine this being a whole lot Let me try this sauce. Better than it is. Yeah, can you give the ranch lovers some ranch to ranch situation? Yeah, good idea. It’s no Wing Stop, I’ll tell you that much. Popeyes signature sauce. The ranch is pretty similar and it’s not great. Is fabulous though. And the Church’s signature sauce, which is they call it a hot sauce, is very honey forward. It’s got a lot of chili powder in it. I really think that the Popeyes sauce is kicking. Let me go ahead and go with the honey mustard just to… That’s good. There is a lot of honey in that hot sauce. The honey mustards are about equal, but Popeyes has taken the cake across the board on the sauces. For me, the special sauce is the real difference here. It’s so special. I’m gonna give these a nine. I just – They really, they have no business being this good. I’m gonna give it a nine too. I want a whole pack of chicken with this exact sauce on it. It’s different than what they put on their other stuff. It is. Church’s, it’s good, but it’s a- It’s a six. I like it. I agree it’s a six. It’s a strong six. If I didn’t know that this was around, I would eat that very aggressively. Next up we have sides. On Rhett’s side are Popeyes mashed potatoes with Cajun gravy for $4 and 9 cents. Popeyes Homestyle mac and cheese for $4.59, and Popeyes coleslaw for $4.09. On Link’s side we have Church’s mashed potato and gravy for #3.99. A little cheaper. Their baked mac and cheese for $4.39 and they’re coleslaw for $3.99. All right, let’s do taters to taters. One to one, yep. There’s some chunks on this gravy. What is that? Hmm. This looks really good and it’s not bad. Let’s taste this one. This, this looks more like, this looks kind of like more simple, you know. And it tastes like KFC. It tastes like KFC. It has more pepper. But it’s better. Isn’t it? Yeah, I’m not loving those as much as these. They look better. You want to like ’em more, but then they don’t. Yeah, but these taste better. And this mac and cheese looks a little bit better. I think that the mac and cheese looks significantly better on the Popeyes side. Mm, that’s good. But… That’s good, that’s creamy. Huh, that tastes like somebody’s grandma did it and put it in an oven, you know what I’m saying? Like the real deal. Not like I’m gonna just put it in a pot kind of thing. But there’s an aftertaste. Maybe. This one’s cheesier. I got a really cheesy bite on this one. But this is the cheesiest, dude. I’m seeing a lot of whiteness hidden in here. But it’s stringy. I don’t think that the cheese is the difference my friend. There’s a lot of cheese in this. I think it’s the taste. These kind of tie, to me they tie. Or I like the taste of this a little bit better. It’s crazy how the form of these looks better. The taste of these tastes better. But then we get to this and look at how dry the Church’s coleslaw is. Well it’s a different philosophy. You got a mayonnaise base, like a super- What, it’s just shredded cabbage. Yeah. So I’m gonna try this shredded cabbage first. Try this first. Now you’re switching me up. Yes. It’s just shredded cabbage. Ain’t nothing else in here. Where’s the juice? So it’s not like Bojangles, which is vinegar based, which I really like. It’s just shredded cabbage. It’s like they forgot to add the base. So that there’s no way that this won’t beat it. It’s definitely better. I mean, slaw can only be so good, but I’ll tell you one thing. When you do that vinegar base, that’s really, really vinegary it tastes, that’s the best way to do slaw. Okay. I’m not as wowed as I was. We were in like a sides loving day. You know, you can’t, every day can’t be a sides loving day. Especially ’cause the slaw is so bad. I like both of them. I wanted to like these more than I did. But I’m, it’s a six for me. It’s a six for me. And over here, even though the slaw is so bad, I’m gonna edge it out with a seven for Church’s, because I’ll join you on a seven there. Of the other two sides. And I’ll join you, seven. Next up we’re going straight fried chicken. A selection of legs, thighs, and breasts. On Rhett’s side is Popeyes three piece, classic signature chicken for $9.99. And on Link’s side is Church’s two piece chicken with an original breast add-on for $9.28. This is a big round. I got an extra breast on that side. Well it was a two piece. This is important. And we needed to add a breast. Oh, okay. All right, so I’m gonna be biting thighs. I’m biting breast, ’cause if you can do a breast, you can do the rest. Signature. Signature taste. You like? And they can do it. See they keep that breast moist. Lots of crispies. Lots of crispy, Crispy. Crispity crunchies. This particular batch is not quite as Cajun seasoned as some I’ve had before. I don’t know. You think it- It’s not as Cajuny as you remember? I don’t think it’s overly Cajuned as well. Now looks wise from the closeups, they both look really delicious. But IRL is that the case? Yes, they look, they both look great. This breast got a little bit soggy, How bout it’s taste? Because it was, it was on its end side. Hmm. Hmm. There’s not as much flavor. It tastes more homemade, I think. They’re just not adding as much to it. It’s pristine fried chicken, which is great. I would say it’s cooked better. Again, I think that’s why I eat the breast, because a thigh can hide all kinds of mistakes with fried chicken. But the breading is so much… But this is a much more moist piece of meat. Multidimensional. You oddly looked happier eating the Church’s, but I don’t know if- Yeah, that’s what I was saying. I’m saying that I like the Cajun flavor, but they nailed the moisture factor on that breast, which is not easy to do. You’re just going to, you’re gonna start giving out scores for moisture alone? There’s so much more flavor over here in Popeye town. It’s no Bojangles, I’ll tell you that much right now. Neither one of them. No. I still think it’s fabulous. Eight. Seven. I see you in your stingy ways. I’m six. Eight! It’s just what I said. Hey, it’s your last chance to take advantage of the biggest sale of the year. You can get 30% off all merch at mythical.com. What, 30%? 30% off! And 30% off all memberships at mythicalsociety.com. What? Right. Take advantage of it. 30% off every single thing we offer on both of those places? Yeah. Do it today. Okay, it is biscuit time. On Rhett’s side is Popeyes biscuit for a dollar and 9 cents. And on Link’s side is Church’s honey butter biscuit for a dollar and 19 cents. Watch out now. These are small. Boring looking. They’re like hockey pucks. Who wants to play hockey with a biscuit? You ever tried it? I’ve never tried hockey. I’ve only ice skated like four times. Right, imagine having a stick in your hand. Instead of one of those like old lady rollators that you were using. I’d like to drive a Zamboni. This is a dense bread packet, biscuited. It’s just something to break up all the grease. I’m not- Flavor is pretty good, but texture leaves a lot to be desired. This is a little bit rubbery on the bottom. There’s nothing for him to say about it. And a little bit dry. This on the other hand. It’s very cookie cutter. We know we love these. It’s glistening with a honey drizzle. Are they as good as we remember? It looks like it’s hand dolloped. It’s got a crunchy, I can hear the crunch happening. Crunchy on the outside. Super soft and flaky, or really cakey on the inside. It’s like a pillow on the inside. I love honey on a biscuit. Like they really did something with this. I don’t know what we said last time, but all I’ll tell you right now. We said we loved it. They really did something with this. Like somebody outdid themselves when they came up with this idea. Is this the best biscuit you can get at any chicken place? I think so, but I’m not gonna give it a score first, ’cause we’ll give this one a score first. I’ll give it a three. Yeah, yeah dude. Okay. That’s probably gonna seal it for Church’s. I’m not thinking about the ramifications of my choices Rhett, I’m just being honest. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’re well aware of that. I’m gonna give it a five. Like I would eat these if they were the only thing around, but those are better. Okay, yeah. I’m giving these a 10. Did we not give them a 10 before? Because we need to apologize. 10. I think you gave ’em a nine, nine, yeah. Well we’ve grown as people since then. And finally we have dessert. On Rhett’s side is Popeyes cinnamon apple pie for $1.69 and on Link’s side is Church’s apple pie for a $1.99. My pie is stuck. And for the dessert round you’ll be rating from one to five. All right. Yeah. We don’t want the It’s not as important. Dessert’s to be too influential. Cinnamon apple. It certainly looks good, I’ll tell you that much. I like the crust, so I’m gonna bite a corner. Hot, it’s hot. That’s really sugary on the outside. That is really good. Really cinnamon too. The dough, crust, is more doughy than flaky crispy. Which I kinda like. It’s just, you gotta know what you’re getting, you know? I think flaky might be preferred for me. Hmm. But I do like it. But again, I think Church’s does this thing where they try to make everything seem a little bit more handmade. Doesn’t look like a machine made this. I’m sure it did. I’m sure it did. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There’s a lot of hollow in there though. It puffs up and it gets big, kinda like when we put our signature on something. Remember that? Oh yeah. Come up big. I… I love the way that feels in my mouth, but I like the way this tastes in my mouth. I definitely like this one better. I would always be happy to eat it. I’m gonna give it a four. The apple filling in this, the flavor on this is a lot better than that. Yes. I’m gonna give it a four as well. I’m gonna drop this one all the way down. I just didn’t like it. I actually wouldn’t order it again. On a scale of one to five, I’m gonna give it a one. I’m gonna give it a three. Yeah. So where does that put us overall? With a final score of 64 to 61, Church’s, congratulations, you are officially the cock of the wall. What, hold on. What have we done? We’ve said that Church’s is better than Popeyes. Yeah, yeah. And how did that happen? I would, I know I was just here for it, but- I mean it may have been the biscuits. I think it was the biscuits. I think it really came down to the biscuits. Because we both agree that the chicken, no, you didn’t think the chicken was better. You messed that up. I didn’t mess it up. But the chicken was better. The thing that we agree on is that the boneless The wings the boneless wings Popeyes, from Popeyes were great. that’s the thing to get. So you know what Popeyes, you can still get a sponsorship on GMM . Well what about Church’s? You don’t think Church’s is up for a sponsorship? I just don’t think Church’s is up for it. Yeah, but they’ve won two of our contests. Come on, Church’s, we love y’all. Come on, yeah. Even though we didn’t know we did, now we do. Yes. And you’ve won a chance to sponsor a future GMM episode. Yes you have. Maybe it’ll be a dual sponsor. Thanks for, no they won’t. Well maybe they get back together. Yeah. Thanks for commenting and sharing this video. You know what time it is. I’m Nathan. I’m Samantha. We’re third degree mythical society members in Rome, Italy where we just got married. Got married! And it’s time to spin the wheel of mythicality. You sure that’s not Scott McCreary? That is a beautiful couple, whoever they are. Yeah. I think they’re Nathan and Samantha. Oh, okay. Hey, this is not a soundbite. Whatever you do, do not isolate what we were about to say and take it outta context. Right. To this day, my sister’s kisses are the best I’ve ever had. Click the top link to watch us practice kissing, But there’s no context. And good mythical more.