Say you have an old friend who’s been living overseas, in France no less, a nation with a distinct sense of style. Will it show? Will they have changed?
That’s part of what I was thinking as I walked up to a Popeyes in, of all places, Lyon.
Ordering Popeyes in French at a location in Lyon, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
I was also thinking: What is the matter with me? I am visiting the city known as the French capital of gastronomy, a global destination for cuisine, and I’m about to get down on some Popeyes?
By this point I had visited traditional Lyonnaise restaurants, eaten grandly around a food hall that will live in my envious dreams forevermore and had a Michelin-star lunch. I’d also had meals of convenience, because that’s how it goes on work travel sometimes. And now I had an assignment to check out Popeyes a la Francais.
Marketing messages in English join French branding at a Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Sports columnist Scott Rabalais worked in a Popeyes stop last summer in Paris while covering the Olympics, so expat Popeyes is a bit of a thing with us.
The results: a few critical menu omissions, a disappointing chicken box but one surprise hit.
This Popeyes in Lyon just opened last fall, part of the worldwide expansion of the fried chicken concept the late, great Al Copeland started in Arabi in 1971. Today, the brand is part of the same giant company that owns Burger King. But Popeyes still trades heavily on its Louisiana roots, and it is beloved back in its hometown.
Inside a Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
So there I was, maneuvering through a bustling five-story shopping mall to the food court for a taste of La Louisiane in Lyon. The same food court has a KFC, a Burger King, a Starbucks and a Frank’s Hot Dogs; it’s not as if the Lyonaisse keep themselves pure with regionally relevant food. But I don’t think they’re getting the same Popeyes experience we know from home.
Swing and a miss
I ordered a box of chicken and of course got the spicy. It arrived in the familiar branded packaging, with “love that chicken” and all that jazz.
The box and branding are similar at a Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The spice level was correct, though the coating was different from the Popeyes we know from home — very crunchy but thin and not entirely coating the chicken, and certainly not flaky. It was like crunchy ridges stuck to the bird.
The biggest offense was dry chicken within. There was not a whiff of juiciness. Was it overcooked, or did it start with very lean birds?
The fried chicken comes out a bit different a Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
My hunch is this chicken is sourced to a different standard, in the European way. The arrival of Popeyes, “the famous chicken restaurant,” was covered in the local media in Lyon, and in an interview a company operations director claimed the chicken comes from Brittany (a region known for its traditional chicken dishes) and the flour is sourced from the Grands Moulins de Paris, a brand that also makes fine French pastry flour.
They’re doing it differently here, for sure. But this is chicken that would get sent back in Louisiana.
As Rabalais discovered in Paris, I can confirm there are no biscuits on the menu, and no red beans nor dirty rice. Sides are essential to the Popeyes. In France, your sides could include a “petite salade.” I picked the mac and cheese, a cup of shells in sauce. It tasted far too similar to the bamboo fork provided to eat it.
One big hit
But here was the biggest surprise – the fried chicken sandwich was by far the best fast food chicken sandwich I’ve ever had, approaching even the standard of non-chain restaurants.
The fried chicken sandwich supreme with bacon at a Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The chicken cutlet was flaky and this time juicy, with a lighter batter. The brioche bun was good. I ordered the “supreme,” topped with bacon, which was soft and light colored, more like slices of charcuterie heated through. The lettuce actually had a fluffy ripple of freshness. Perhaps it wouldn’t occur to the French to skimp in those areas. It looked the way fast food sandwiches do in ads, but almost never in real life.
Around the restaurant was the familiar branding, mostly in English, and some no-so-familiar branding (one mural read “Don’t Worry, Be Poppy,” possibly an allusion to Popeyes?).
Marketing messages in English join French branding at a Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Recycling is much more prevalent in France, and recyclable dishware is mandatory for fast food restaurants, I learned. So there were specific bins for different items, with an encouraging message roughly translated as “do a big Cajun to the planet, think about sorting.”
Recycling efforts are part of the operation for Popeyes in Lyon, France, where the fast food giant is expanding. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Bottom line though, next time I’m in France, if a convenience meal is in order I am getting one of those always-gratifying grab-and-go Euro train station sandwiches that are everywhere, and save my Popeyes indulgences for home.