With Mrs. CFS working late one night, and the Tater Tot and myself needing sustenance for two, I ventured out to Church’s Chicken for a quick, salty meal. I never would have thought Church’s had CFS (which they call Country Fried Steak) but for a commercial I had seen earlier in the week advertising their new CFS meal. Being a curious and hungry fellow, I decided to give it a chance.
As many are, this Church’s was attached to a Valero gas station. This was a bit of a problem because I had boycotted this Valero for it’s generally gross appearance and skanky clientele (along with the hard core pornography open on display inside, not that I’m a prude or anything). Inside this Church’s was pretty much like most others – reasonably clean and primarily serving as a shortcut to getting into the Valero station snack shop.
CFS: I wasn’t expecting much and I got it. The steak was a chopped, pre-processed patty, although it did have a bit of bite. Generally, though, it was pretty flavorful.
Breading: A thin, “Shake ‘n Bake” layer of breading held it together. It was pretty crispy and held up to the gravy well. It had a nice hint of pepper which made it nice.
Gravy: My order taker gave me a choice between white or jalapeno gravy. Having seen the jalapeno advertised in their commercial (and enjoying a good jalapeno), I couldn’t resist. It actually was pretty good, with a good balance of creaminess, pepper and heat. I might try to recreate this!
Sides: The meal came with two sides (no choices): mashed potato and corn on the cob. The mashed potato wasn’t bad, similar to what you’d find at Popeye’s or KFC. It had a nice salty potato flavor and a thin brown gravy on top. It was formed into a perfect circle, so much so that I hesitated to disturb the perfect orb. The corn on the cob had a wooden stick in it (for easy eating) and came wrapped in a little yellow bag. It was very soggy suggesting it was probably boiled. The tot liked it, though, as he is a corn aficionado.
Price: An astounding $4.99 for the meal ($2.99 without the meal).
Service: Efficient if not a little curt. I cut her some slack since working at Church’s connected to a gas station can’t be that rewarding.
Music: none.
For fast food CFS “on the go,” this wasn’t all bad. It was certainly not as bad as I expected. I’ll probably not seek it out again, but in a pinch or during a late night CFS binge, I’ll no doubt be stopping there again.
As many are, this Church’s was attached to a Valero gas station. This was a bit of a problem because I had boycotted this Valero for it’s generally gross appearance and skanky clientele (along with the hard core pornography open on display inside, not that I’m a prude or anything). Inside this Church’s was pretty much like most others – reasonably clean and primarily serving as a shortcut to getting into the Valero station snack shop.
CFS: I wasn’t expecting much and I got it. The steak was a chopped, pre-processed patty, although it did have a bit of bite. Generally, though, it was pretty flavorful.
Breading: A thin, “Shake ‘n Bake” layer of breading held it together. It was pretty crispy and held up to the gravy well. It had a nice hint of pepper which made it nice.
Gravy: My order taker gave me a choice between white or jalapeno gravy. Having seen the jalapeno advertised in their commercial (and enjoying a good jalapeno), I couldn’t resist. It actually was pretty good, with a good balance of creaminess, pepper and heat. I might try to recreate this!
Sides: The meal came with two sides (no choices): mashed potato and corn on the cob. The mashed potato wasn’t bad, similar to what you’d find at Popeye’s or KFC. It had a nice salty potato flavor and a thin brown gravy on top. It was formed into a perfect circle, so much so that I hesitated to disturb the perfect orb. The corn on the cob had a wooden stick in it (for easy eating) and came wrapped in a little yellow bag. It was very soggy suggesting it was probably boiled. The tot liked it, though, as he is a corn aficionado.
Price: An astounding $4.99 for the meal ($2.99 without the meal).
Service: Efficient if not a little curt. I cut her some slack since working at Church’s connected to a gas station can’t be that rewarding.
Music: none.
For fast food CFS “on the go,” this wasn’t all bad. It was certainly not as bad as I expected. I’ll probably not seek it out again, but in a pinch or during a late night CFS binge, I’ll no doubt be stopping there again.
3 comments:
Thanks for trying our product. I'm an optimist so I'll consider "it wasn't as bad as I expected" to be a compliment - particularly coming from someone who is obviously an expert at CFS. If you have any suggestions on how to improve our product please e-mail me at mbutler@churchs.com.
By the way, we just launched a value menu with 8 items at 99¢. It's a good way to get some great food and stretch your budget. You'll find something for yourself and for tater tot. Hope you try it.
jalapeno cream gravy??...i had not heard of that...i will have to try it, just for the gravy alone...let us know how your endeavors to re-create it turn out!
cg
cg,
I know! Great idea, huh? I read an article a while back about how the "corporate food" lacks innovation and food trends always show up on menus at these places years after other places. Here, it seems, they're ahead of the curve!
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