Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
- Shake Shack's new grilled chicken club sandwich debuts nationally on January 26.
- It's similar to Chick-fil-A's popular Deluxe Grilled Chicken Club - but it's not as good.
- The sandwich is a valiant effort, but the quality of the chicken just doesn't stand a chance against Chick-fil-A's.
Shake Shack - the famed burger and milkshake chain - has a new grilled chicken sandwich.
Available starting on January 26 for a limited time, the Griddled Chick'n Club is a starkly healthy addition to a menu studded with bacon cheese fries, hot dogs, and double cheeseburgers. In fact, it feels a little out of place - grilled chicken at Shake Shack?
Shake Shack's delightfully successful and decidedly unhealthy fried chicken sandwich stole our hearts - and stomachs - when it debuted in early 2016. It was a warning shot across the bow of the most revered chicken chain out there: Chick-fil-A.
The fact that Shake Shack could do fried chicken so well should worry Chick-fil-A. While the Atlanta-based chain's locations vastly outnumber Shake Shack, they're roughly on the same level of national recognition.
But grilled chicken is another beast entirely. While fried chicken can be mediocre and still taste good, grilled chicken is all too easy to mess up. Everything must align perfectly: seasoning, quality, cooking, toppings. Chick-fil-A does this extremely well with nearly every sandwich on the menu, so the onus is on Shake Shack to meet or exceed expectations where it has never stepped foot before: the grilled chicken arena.
Can Shake Shack's iteration compare to Chick-fil-A's version, the Grilled Chicken Club?
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