I'm a Canadian who tried Chick-fil-A for the first time, and I don't get why Americans love it so much

Chick-fil-A has been operating in the US since 1967, and it was just named "America's favorite restaurant" for the eighth year in a row, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

But the first location didn't open in Canada until 2019. When I learned the popular fast-food chain was coming to my city of Toronto, I was curious.

But I was finally motivated to go when a second location opened just a few minutes from my house.

Having never tried the chain before in my home country or the US, I was curious to learn — and taste — what the hype was all about.

I visited Toronto's Queen Street West Chick-fil-A.

The location was spacious, clean, and brightly lit, with simple off-white walls and flooring, exposed brick, and a large red Chick-fil-A sign on the wall.

Inside, there was a mixture of high tops, booths, and window seats that overlooked Queen Street, a popular shopping and dining thoroughfare in Toronto.

I thought it was nice that there were some decorations throughout that were specially made for this location, to honor the local Toronto neighborhood.

This included the floor mat by the front door, the community plaque that told me more about the franchiser, and some decorative signage.

We arrived between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and the line seemed pretty long.

To expedite the process, employees were standing in the line with tablets to take our orders before we got to the registers.

This may be a great service for return diners, but for me, it was all a bit overwhelming. I didn't have enough time to peruse and had to quickly scan the menu cards to decide what I wanted.

Fortunately, I did a bit of "studying" (online menu perusing) beforehand, so I knew most of the must-try and seasonal items I wanted.

Once my order was completed at the register, I waited nearly 10 minutes before I could pick up my food.

It seemed a little long for a fast-food place.

The manager apologized for the delay and gave me a voucher for a free treat to make up for it.

I thought this was an observant and thoughtful gesture.

I paid $7 CAD ($5.50 USD) plus tax for the basic Chick-fil-A sandwich alone.

In Toronto, you can get an incredible local roti meal, fresh sushi, or a slew of dumplings for that price.

Even when compared to fast-food prices, I was a bit surprised – a McDonald's cheeseburger is closer to $2 CAD and a Big Mac is less than $6 CAD.

I wanted to make sure to get the most popular Chick-fil-A items as well as the chain's dipping sauces — including the signature Chick-fil-A sauce and the popular Polynesian sauce.

I ended up ordering the original chicken sandwich, spicy deluxe sandwich, Cobb salad with chicken nuggets, spicy chicken strips, waffle fries, seasonal peach milkshake, and all of the available sauces.

I knew I had to kick things off with the one that started it all: the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich.

Appearance-wise, it honestly wasn't that impressive — squat and brown — but I was hopeful as looks can sometimes be deceiving.

Unfortunately, I thought the taste was a bit forgettable and bland. The meat was tender enough, but the coating lacked crispiness and instead was soft and chewy.

The spicy deluxe sandwich was a towering, colorful beast, with lettuce, tomato, and cheese peeking out of the sweet squishy buns.

When I took a bite, my first thought was "Wow."

The chicken was thick and juicy. The batter was crispy and left a spicy buzz on my tongue — but I kept going back for another bite because the refreshing toppings acted like a palate cleanser.

Compared to the original sandwich, I thought the spicy version was 100 times better.

When I reached for the Cobb salad, the first thing I noticed was that my avocado-lime ranch was missing.

Since I was visiting the restaurant with my baby, I didn't have time to go and wait in line again to ask for the missing item. I just added the included package of crispy bell peppers, tossed everything, and gave it a try.

Luckily, there were so many ingredients in the salad — bacon, corn tidbits, Monterey Jack and cheddar, hard-boiled egg — it was already quite flavorful without the dressing.

This was a bit of a sleeper hit for me.

I'd heard the spicy chicken strips were a new staple menu item (and Canada was the first international market to get them). They were another one of my must-order items.

Although the strips definitely delivered in texture with their requisite crunchy-crispy bite, the meat was unfortunately dry and somewhat jerky-like.

After one bite, I was ready to try something else.

The fries were advertised as being crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. But the fries I got were borderline soggy with a mealy texture.

After one bite, I didn't reach for them again.

I was surprised because, according to the Chick-fil-A website, waffle fries are the chain's most-ordered menu item. They must be for a reason, right? Maybe I just got a bad batch.

My shake was so rich and thick that it was actually impossible to slurp it up using a straw. Instead, I used the straw like a shovel and drizzled it into my mouth.

It was then I noticed real chunks of peach in the creamy (and not-too-sweet) mixture.

I wasn't expecting to like this milkshake, but it really was the perfect refreshing treat for summer.

I asked for one of each sauce and was pleasantly surprised to discover they were all free. Some fast-food chains charge extra for sauces.

Out of all of them, my favorite by a landslide was the original Chick-fil-A sauce. It had mustard notes and was tempered by the creaminess of the egg yolks. It almost reminded me of hollandaise.

The Polynesian sauce reminded me of sweet-and-sour pork dishes at Chinese fast-food restaurants.

The zesty buffalo sauce would be great on wings, and the barbecue sauce reminded me of the one from McDonald's.

I appreciated the uniqueness of the sweet-and-spicy sriracha and loved the hit of hot chili on the tongue.

The garden-herb ranch was a cool and creamy contrast to the spicy chicken strips.

The only sauce I didn't enjoy was the honey mustard — something about the ingredient ratio seemed off and it tasted a little too artificial to me.

Overall, I was hoping to love Chick-fil-A, but it fell short on several menu items — especially considering the not-so-cheap cost.

Although I loved the spicy deluxe, there are many other places in the city that make fantastic fried-chicken sandwiches. The peach milkshake was also a winner, but it's only available seasonally.

Even the delicious Cobb salad and Chick-fil-A sauce aren't really enough to keep me coming back.

If I had to rate my overall experience, it'd probably be a six out of 10.

Representatives for Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.