Chick-fil-A makes a mean chicken sandwich. In fact, it was that very original chicken sandwich that launched the restaurant's fame in its home state of Georgia. It was the sandwich that decided the fate of the restaurant's all-chicken menu. However, like any fast food chain looking to excite its customers, the menu has expanded over the years to include some delicious treats, including new breakfast sandwiches that feature bacon and sausage. So it begs the question, which Chick-fil-A items have never made it to the menu?
Videos by Wide Open Country
Every menu item from this chicken chain didn't start out as a national push. The spicy deluxe sandwich and spicy chicken sandwich started out in the test markets before it joined the menu alongside the waffle fries, iced tea, and peach milkshake. It's not only Chick-fil-A that tests items before releasing them nationwide. Wendy's, McDonald's, Popeyes, Burger King, and Taco Bell all test out products in select cities to see the public's opinion.
In Atlanta, which was the city that ordered the most original chicken sandwiches in 2016, where the test kitchen is located, The Chicken Wire spoke to two Chick-fil-A Chefs, Christy Cook and Shona Johnson, about the menu items that never made the final cut. Here are the five Chick-fil-A recipes that could have been your new favorite. We'll never know for certain.
1. Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
As the Chicken Wire tells, these mystical cinnamon rolls were made of biscuit dough with cinnamon, sugar, and butter. Topped with icing and served warm, these biscuit cinnamon rolls were a hit. So why didn't they make the cut?
As Chef Christy Cook told The Chicken Wire, "Customers loved how it tasted, but because we couldn't prepare it fresh in our restaurant kitchens each morning and get it right every time, we cut it."
2. Chicken Quesadilla
The Chicken Quesadilla was comprised of the Chick-fil-A nuggets, cheese, and the tortilla from the Breakfast Burrito. However, this dish took too long to cook in the restaurants, so Chick-fil-A cut it to stick to items they could serve quickly.
3. Rosemary Garlic Flatbread Wrap
If you live in Memphis, Orlando, or Myrtle Beach, you might have seen this cool wrap on the menu when cool wraps first hit the scene.
However, this particular version wasn't universally loved and later inspired the Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap using a multigrain wrap instead of the flatbread wrap.
4. Cranberry Orange Bagel
While this square bagel sounds like our own Baked Savory Cranberry Orange Donuts, the Chick-fil-A crowd just wasn't feeling experimental when the item launched in 2006. The square bagel held a breakfast chicken fillet and cream cheese on the side.
As Chef Christy Cook said, "It was just so far out there, ahead of its time. Often that's what happens. The market isn't ready for it."
Despite not making it to the menu, it inspired the Chicken, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Bagel that would soon come to fruition in the kitchen.
5. Salted Caramel and Triple Chocolate Frappe
If you lived in Austin, Charleston, and Cincinnati in 2014, you might have seen this decadent drink on the menu. It never made it nationwide, however, as it proved to be ahead of its time, much like the bagel above. The Tripe Chocolate Frappe had notes of rich coffee with white and dark chocolate, topped with a milk chocolate sauce. Talk about delicious, right?
Which of these menu items would you like to try? Our money is on the Cranberry Orange Bagel, which reminds us of a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich.
This article was originally published on October 13, 2017.
