It's been a long time since A & W Canada put something new on its permanent menu. It's actually been five years, which was when the North Vancouver-based fast food brand debuted its Beyond Meat burger, with much fanfare (and great success).
Almost as soon as that product moved from the test kitchen to A & W's restaurants coast-to-coast, the culinary team got to work on something else: An additional fried chicken sandwich.
In fact, the new A & W Chicken Crunchers line of three fried chicken sandwiches reflects a three-year journey from idea to its addition to the menu as of October 2.
The "Crunchers" are described as a premium offering, a sort of next-level option beyond the restaurant's beloved existing "Chubby Chicken" offering. Given the popularity of fried chicken sandwiches - at all price points and restaurant categories - and in particular the consumer demand for a spicy fried chicken sandwich, it probably doesn't come as a great shock that perfecting a "hot" chicken sandwich offering was of utmost importance to the A & W Canada crew.
How does A & W Canada get a new item ready for the permanent menu?
What you might be surprised to know is just how much work goes into the development of a menu item at A & W Canada. During a recent visit to the brand's HQ test kitchen and offices, I learned firsthand how this new product reflects meticulous testing, the strength of the chain's relationship with suppliers, A & W's post-pandemic resolution to bolster itself against supply shortages, and the melding of culinary skill and taste with good old food science.
There are a lot of moving parts when a big multi-unit franchised restaurant like A & W has its locations take on a new menu item. Really, it begins with logistics. There are only so many slots on a prep table, so with a new item on the menu, what needs shuffling or consolidating? There's nowhere to put an extra sauce bottle or tray of ingredients!
Then, with a piece of fried chicken, there's a need to ensure it stays crunchy once it moves from the fryer to the sandwich to the paper sleeve to the bag or tray, and into the meal experience. And if you're trying to make a piece of fried chicken spicy, well, there are a few ways to go about achieving this, but you have to take into consideration how that works with the goal of staying crunchy.
Director of Menu Development Chef Karan Suri and Manager of Menu Development David Ioi, are the duo that are tasked with taking all those factors into consideration, and, working with restaurant and customer feedback through multiple channels during the testing stages, make any needed tweaks to get the item just right.
What makes the Chicken Crunchers different from A & W's regular menu?
The Chicken Crunchers feature a bigger chicken piece, clocking in at five ounces, designed to offer guests a next-level chicken sandwich option. It also is where guests who like to turn up the heat may want to go on the A & W Canada menu, thanks to the Nashville-inspired hot option. The Crunchers come in three versions, in fact: the classic "Chubby" (with Chubby Mayo and lettuce), the BLT (with fresh-cooked bacon, lettuce, and tomato), and the Nashville Hot (with a spicy "glaze," Chubby mayo, and bread and butter pickles). All of the new sandwiches come on a soft brioche bun, and take note, that mayo is hand-spread, not globbed out from a machine.
The glaze on the chicken was designed to feature a medium spice level (i.e. a heat that works for the average Canadian palate from shore to shore) but isn't just a sauce or a spice powder. Taking into consideration the warmth of a restaurant kitchen and the viscosity of the glaze itself, Suri, Ioi, and all the experts and suppliers they work with came up with a liquid coating that gently sinks into the crust's crevices without making the exterior soggy. If you peek at your just-glazed sandwich once it's passed to you at the counter or the drive-thru window and then look at it a few minutes later, you can actually see the glaze settling into the exterior.
How hot is 'hot'?
Obviously, this isn't the same method you might find at a local mom-and-pop hot fried chicken joint or even another fast food chain deploying, so it does veer from the traditional Nashville preparation to some extent, but it does follow the basic principle of applying a spicy paste or glaze to the fried piece of chicken.
So how does it taste? I tried the Nashville Hot one at the A & W HQ, and it featured a pleasing spice sensation that warmed the palate steadily - it wasn't a full-on spice assault. (To be fair, while it was spicy, I am someone who really likes spice, so I could have handled it cranked up just a bit more, but I get how this was a good level for a less adventurous palate.)
The A & W Canada test kitchen is constantly working on new recipes, at all stages of the exploration process. They are watching trends and thinking about what Canadian consumers will demand next, what will sell as well in Vancouver as in any other market, and what will work for their franchise partners. Though a permanent menu addition happens less frequently, they are often introducing limited-time offers for food and drink that give A & W fans a chance to try something new during a visit.
While value is top of mind, for Suri and his colleagues at the North Vancouver head office, that word doesn't exclusively mean "inexpensive," but rather quality at a given price point; they'll tell you they nailed it, but let's be clear: it's always going to come down to you, your budget, and your taste buds.
Video: Taste-testing A & W Canada's new Nashville Hot Fried Chicken Sandwich
@forkingawesomevia New fast food menu item in Canada. How does it compare against other fried chicken sandwiches?!? #forkingawesome #vancouverbc #chickensandwich @A&W Canada ♬ Water - Tyla
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