Chick-fil-A with Betsy Sodaro

"Chick-fil-A with Betsy Sodaro" is Episode 12 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Chick-fil-A with Betsy Sodaro" was released on July 29, 2015.

## Synopsis

The ‘boys assess hot button chicken sandwich chain Chik-fil-A with their guest, actress and comedian Betsy Sodaro.

## Nick's intro

In 1845, the American Baptist church banned slave owners from serving as missionaries, leading its Southern membership to secede. From this ignoble schism came the Southern Baptist Convention, which, 170 years later, is now the largest Protestant sect in the US.

One prominent Baptist was S. Truett Cathy who claims to have invented the fried-chicken sandwich at his Dwarf Grill restaurant in 1946. A decade and a half later, Cathy developed a more efficient pressure-cooking method that allowed him to expand his chain wildly under a new name, first to mall food courts, and later as standalone eateries. By 2010, this icon of the South was leading the entire fast-food industry in sales per location.

Yet the conservative politics of its deeply religious founder are ingrained in its corporate identity: in addition to staying closed on Sundays, in 2012, S. Truett's heir and current CEO, Dan T. Cathy publicly declared his opposition to same-sex marriage. This led to fierce protests from gay-rights activists and defiant chicken-sandwich binges from the Christian right.

Today, it's both a battlefield in the culture wars and the fast-food wars.

It's time to 'eat mor chikin', because this week on *Doughboys*, we're talking Chik-fil-A.

## Fork rating

* Chick-fil-A Deluxe Sandwich
* Waffle Potato Fries
* Polynesian Sauce
* Chick-fil-A Sauce
* Peach Milkshake
* Spicy Deluxe Sandwich [Natalie's order]
 Mike Mitchell
* Spicy Deluxe Sandwich
* Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich
* Waffle Potato Fries
* Chick-fil-A Sauce
* Polynesian Sauce
 Betsy Sodaro
* Spicy Chicken Sandwich
* Waffle Potato Fries
* Polynesian Sauce

Despite these scores, Chick-fil-A was denied entry to the Golden Plate Club due to the chain's owners' open views against homosexuality. This decision will be reversed in the very next episode, however.

## Side of Guys

In Side of Guys, the Doughboys sample two side items from one restaurant, and pick a winner.

In this episode, they sample two desserts from Taco Bell's menu: Cinnamon Twists and the Cap'n Crunch Delights.

Mitch mentions that the Cap'n Crunch Delights reminds him of a toaster strudel. All of them agree that they are too sweet. Nick thinks the Cinnamon Twists are more like a chip that tastes like a churro.

 Mike Mitchell
 Betsy Sodaro

## The Feedbag

To give you a question that's not regional, of the big three (BK, McD's, Wendys'), which chicken nugget is your favorite and why? I've always thought of the McD nugget as disgusting but still edible in some weird way and I think the BK and Wendy's are really similar to each other / much better than McD. I'm going to give it to BK because they infiltrated my school with a kids club initiative and made it so eating at BK was "educational", something to do with reading if I remember correctly.

## Restaurants

 Chick-fil-A

 Chick-fil-A
 Johnny Rockets | Los Angeles, CA

## Related Episodes

* 92. Chicken Fight: Sandwich Region
* DD1. Chicken Fight: Fat Chance Kitchen
* DD3. Chicken Fight: Fat Chance Kitchen Round 2
* 131. Chick-fil-A 2
* 174. Octdoughberblessed: Chick-fil-A vs. In-N-Out
* 6. TGI Fridays (Feedbag)
* 12. **Chick-fil-A** (Side of Guys segment)
* 65. Doughlympics: Chipotle v. Del Taco v. Taco Bell
* 86. Taco Bell 2
* 87. Taco Bell 3
* DD11. Mama Mitchell (Naked Chicken Chips)
* DD37. Naked Egg Odyssey (Naked Egg Taco)
* DD. My Dinner with Wiger (Nacho Fries)
* 149. The Pie Hole (score revision)
* 156. Taco Bell 4
* 194. Mouth of the Border: Semifinals 1
* 196. Mouth of the Border: Finals
* DD. Snack Attack with Mac
* DD. Double Stacked Dano
* DD. Buff Fries and and Tiny Tacos (Buffalo Chicken Nacho Fries)
* DD. Mount Slushmore (Pineapple Freezes)
* 302. Taco Bell 5
* 305. Taco Bell 7
* 309. Taco Bell 6
* 407. Taco Bell VIII
* DD13. Summer's Poppin'
* DD35. Mount Frightmore
* 177. Cracker Barrel
* 187. The Hat
* 245. Crown Burgers
* 246. Good Times Burgers
* DD. Wige Hard
* 325. 800 Degrees
* DD. The Mitchy Clause
* DD. Golden Girls
* 339. Hero's Journey: Sub-Optimal: Eponymous Region
* 372. Long John Silver's 2
* DD. Gorko's Planet Clergmas Spectacular
* DD. Kills Draft