We tried grilled chicken sandwiches from all the major fast-food chains - and the winner is obvious

This is a chicken sandwich in the midst of an existential crisis. Is it meant to be an enjoyable, flavorful item, or merely a bland vehicle for protein delivery? The chicken itself is dry, stringy, and tough. The lettuce and tomato are pallid, and the mayonnaise oversteps its boundaries in every bite. This sandwich leaves one in tangy despair.

This sandwich is part of the "artisan" chicken revamp McDonald's released in 2015 along with the crispy fried version. The grilled white meat breast fillet is topped with lettuce, tomato, and a vinaigrette dressing, all within McDonald's "artisan" bun.

The chicken, in a word, is rubbery. It's not all that flavorful, even with the mystery vinaigrette that quickly becomes a messy, drippy hassle. The slightly sweet "artisan" bun is a mismatch with grilled chicken — it works better with the saltier fried chicken, and best with a savory beef patty. It's a middle-of-the-road, disenchanting sandwich with little imagination at best.

By comparison, Wendy's grilled chicken is an adventurous departure. The recently recalibrated recipe involves honey mustard and tart spring greens beneath a nutty bun. I'm not normally a fan of multigrain buns, but this one is fairly unobtrusive.

The chicken is dense and marinated well with a clean, herbal flavor that is complemented well by the sharp spring greens — chard, arugula, spinach, and romaine. The honey mustard is sweet, but only just; it actually has a rather strong bite.

Obviously, something with bacon is bound to be better than something without bacon. It’s just logic. Chick-fil-A’s grilled chicken club sandwich is, simply put, pretty darn good.

The pillowy multigrain bun is, much like Wendy’s, restrained in its hale and hearty seediness. It doesn't distract or overrun the chicken.

The cheese is ultimately for decor rather than flavor - one can’t really detect it. Bacon, of course, is hard to do wrong, and Chick-fil-A certainly hasn’t here.

But one wonders if all this fancy extra frills hides a perfectly delicious chicken breast, as the aftertaste is more bacon than chicken. Is there truth to the "too much of a good thing" adage? This sandwich is quite good, but another eclipses it.

In this sandwich, the grilled chicken breast is the undeniable star.

Burger King and McDonald's try to hide their mediocre chicken behind masks of mayonnaise and sweet buns, but here Chick-fil-A’s wonderfully juicy and grill-charred breast showcases delicious seasonings with minimal distractions.

Just a rosy red tomato slice and some lettuce within the inoffensive multigrain bun is all that's needed to make this simple sandwich hugely enjoyable. Plus, it has the lowest calorie count of the whole list, clocking in at 310 calories.

The chain is mostly popular for its fried chicken — sandwiches, nuggets, strips — but even its grilled chicken is delicious. With recent chicken overhauls from McDonald's and Wendy's, it's clear that the fast-food giants are trying to make inroads in Chick-fil-A's market, but they have a long way to go.