Love that chicken!
Yesterday in my little corner of suburbia, a Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits franchise opened.
That subterranean rumble you just felt was your Uncle Swan doing his happy suppertime dance.
The arrival of a new fast food outlet may not seem like a big deal to you, but at our house, the advent of a local Popeyes unleashed a celebratory vibe equalled only by a Giants division championship. Prior to this, the closest Popeyes was located 30 miles away in Vallejo, just down the pike from Six Flags Marine World — a lengthy run for a quick bite of fast food, though we made that run more than once. Now, Barry Bonds could practically hit a fastball from our front door to the home of tasty deep-fried poultry, buttery biscuits, and such faux-Cajun side dishes as red beans and rice.
A bit of Popeyes trivia: Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits wasn't named for the spinach-chomping cartoon sailor of the same name. The founder of the chicken joint named his restaurant after Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, the New York City police detective played by Gene Hackman in The French Connection. (The real-life "Popeye," whose actual name was Eddie Egan — he later parlayed his French Connection fame into a modest career as a Hollywood character actor — wasn't named after the sailor either. Go figure.)
It wasn't until a decade or so later that Popeye the Sailor became the company's advertising icon. That relationship, sad to tell, was severed a few years back, when the restaurant chain decided to go for a slightly more upscale tone in its marketing, focused more on the chain's New Orleans roots and Cajun-style fare.
I don't think they cook the chicken in Olive Oyl, either.
(Hee! I crack me up.)
And yes, for reasons unknown to me, the chain does, in fact, omit the apostrophe from its name. Probably just to bug me.
Or perhaps to exact revenge for the "Olive Oyl" joke.
That subterranean rumble you just felt was your Uncle Swan doing his happy suppertime dance.
The arrival of a new fast food outlet may not seem like a big deal to you, but at our house, the advent of a local Popeyes unleashed a celebratory vibe equalled only by a Giants division championship. Prior to this, the closest Popeyes was located 30 miles away in Vallejo, just down the pike from Six Flags Marine World — a lengthy run for a quick bite of fast food, though we made that run more than once. Now, Barry Bonds could practically hit a fastball from our front door to the home of tasty deep-fried poultry, buttery biscuits, and such faux-Cajun side dishes as red beans and rice.
A bit of Popeyes trivia: Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits wasn't named for the spinach-chomping cartoon sailor of the same name. The founder of the chicken joint named his restaurant after Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, the New York City police detective played by Gene Hackman in The French Connection. (The real-life "Popeye," whose actual name was Eddie Egan — he later parlayed his French Connection fame into a modest career as a Hollywood character actor — wasn't named after the sailor either. Go figure.)
It wasn't until a decade or so later that Popeye the Sailor became the company's advertising icon. That relationship, sad to tell, was severed a few years back, when the restaurant chain decided to go for a slightly more upscale tone in its marketing, focused more on the chain's New Orleans roots and Cajun-style fare.
I don't think they cook the chicken in Olive Oyl, either.
(Hee! I crack me up.)
And yes, for reasons unknown to me, the chain does, in fact, omit the apostrophe from its name. Probably just to bug me.
Or perhaps to exact revenge for the "Olive Oyl" joke.
Labels: Aimless Riffing, Food Glorious Food, My Home Town, Wonderful World of Advertising
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 6:06 PM
4 insisted on sticking two cents in:
I was a huge fan of Popeye's jambalya, but then they went and discontinued it.
Bastards.
Wait a minute...you're my uncle?
I don't know if I've ever been to a Popeye's but the sheer amount of fryage that occurs there leaves me slightly sick to my stomach.
And yes, I just made up the word fryage. Deal with it.:)
Mr. Fab: I suspect that the availability of various side dishes varies somewhat by Popeyes location. Our new outlet does, in fact, serve jambalaya (I didn't order any, but it's on the menu), as did the Vallejo branch the last time I was there. Maybe I could airlift you a pint. (And I'm everyone's uncle, Mr. Fab. The one everyone tries to avoid at family reunions.)
Janet: Fryage is life. You didn't need those arteries anyway.
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