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The Snack Attack: Popeyes Serves Up New Southern Fair Chicken Tenders [TASTE TEST]

Fried food is probably the best thing about county or state fairs. The smell, the taste -- it just can't be beat. And it's with that thought in mind that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen created its Southern Fair Tenders.

Marinated in authentic Louisiana seasonings, the tenders are dipped in a traditional, lightly southern sweet cornmeal breading and fried up fresh. Kinda like if a chicken and a corn dog had a baby. You can get a three-piece or five-piece meal, both served with one side and buttermilk biscuit. The tenders are also paired with a new Wild Honey Mustard dipping sauce.

Popeyes says the tenders capture the essence of the southern fair experience — "If you love eating a corn dog while walking the midway at the fair, you'll love our new Southern Fair Tenders." And honestly, who doesn't love a corn dog?

Review: Popeyes Southern Fair Tenders

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A little crispy. (Credit: CBSDetroit.com)

Appearance: This trip to Popeyes was quite an ordeal. I ordered a five piece meal, but there were only four pieces in the box -- either a simple mistake or someone underestimated how seriously I take my food. On top of that, one piece was just a giant chunk of breading with no trace of chicken. This location also didn't have the new Wild Honey Mustard dipping sauce -- so disappointing! When I asked for salt, I got a handful of pepper with just a single salt packet -- insert eye roll here -- and I had to ask two different workers for ketchup.

The chicken might have been left in the fryer just a touch too long. The breading was darker than in the promo images and was super crunchy, not exactly the texture you would associate with a corn dog. But on the plus side, the corn meal in the breading was very visible so at least I knew I had the right product.

Aroma: Aside from the mouthwatering smell of fried chicken, I couldn't really find any distinctive aroma from the tenders.

Taste: I have to say generally speaking, I think Popeye's chicken tastes a league above KFC's. Unfortunately, I found myself eating my words during this tasting trip. The cornbread coating was so crunchy and overdone, it just tasted like regular breading. I even peeled it away from the chicken in an attempt to taste another flavor, but there wasn't any. On the less-crispy pieces, the texture was noticeably different than traditional breading. You could tell gritty corn meal was used in the coating, even if it didn't taste like it.

The chicken itself was just "ehh." It wasn't necessarily bad -- except for the piece that was just a bunch of breading -- but it wasn't anything spectacular.

Pros: Well, they smelled really good. So there's that.

Cons: I want to say almost everything about this meal was a con. Except the buttery biscuit -- that thing was exceptionally delicious!

Rating: 2 out of 10 -- Maybe it was just the low-quality chicken or the bland breading, but I won't be going back for seconds.

**If you're looking for some sweet-tasting chicken, I would suggest trying Church's limited-time Honey Butter Biscuit Tender Strips. (Click to read my review)

The Snack Attack is a daily feature on CBSDetroit.com that centers around all things food. Know of a new snack we should attack? Send an email and we'll be sure to add it to the list.

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