050707 Burger Chains Get Chicken

Motley Fool (Rick Aristotle Munarriz) - The Chicken Fries are coming. Yes, I said Chicken Fries. Tomorrow, Burger King officially rolls out its latest fast-food creation. The chain is hoping that its latest clever menu entry -- chicken breast meat rolled into the shape of a french fry, then breaded and fried -- will win over new fans in the brutally competitive fast-food wars.

Poultry is the ammo of choice these days. If you want a chicken sandwich, you won't have any problem finding one at McDonald's, Wendy's, or Burger King. You just have to decide whether you want the chicken fried, grilled, or broiled, spicy or mild. You can even ditch the sandwich altogether and have your chicken chopped up and tossed into a salad.

So can the three leading chains really call themselves burger joints now that chicken is starting to dominate the order board? You do know that Burger King is the company behind the oddly interactive SubservientChicken.com site, right?

I've already given Chicken Fries a shot. I live in Miami, where the company is based (and new products tested). Over the weekend, I gave a nine-piece portion a try; it didn't taste all that different from the many other chicken products out there. A word of warning, though. The ads pitch the fries' flipped-back container lid as a great place to store the spicy buffalo dipping sauce. If you go that route, just remember the theories of weight distribution. Consume more chicken than sauce and, well, I hope it'll come off in the wash.

Yes, the burger joints are serious about their chicken. I count at least 10 different chicken items on the Sonic menu. Checkers has been selling chicken on the cheap for quite some time. CKE Restaurants finds a way to make news every time it promotes its latest burger concoctions, but it's a chick magnet too.

If you're a poultry fan, go ahead and give Burger King's Chicken Fries a chance. Remember what I told you about those dangerous containers, though. If you'd rather pass, that's fine -- just keep driving. There's another chicken chain disguised as a burger joint just down the street.

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