Nugget or not, here I come.

With all the hype around the McRib and the Whopper, it’s easy to forget a fast food staple that has remained on menus for decades: the chicken nugget. Recently, Burger King decided to revamp its version of the chicken nugget with a new stylish nugget, very reminiscent of the McNugget. So with nuggets in mind and curiosity in belly, The Advocate embarked on a quest to find the best fast food nugget.

The taste test consisted of a southbound drive down Federal Avenue, hitting up the top six fast food restaurants that offered chicken nuggets: Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Chick-Fil-A, Jack in the Box, McDonalds, and Wendy’s.

 Disqualified: Chick-Fil-A

No fast-food joint does chicken better than Chick-Fil-A. When deciding to take on the challenge, it was expected that Chick-Fil-A would not disappoint.  Coming in either an 8 or 12-count, Chick-Fil-A’s nuggets aren’t crunchy like some of its competitors. Sporting a nice soft and breaded exterior – much like you would find on a piece of KFC’s Original Recipe – these bite-sized nuggets looked the most appetizing out of the six. As you sink your teeth into the tiny piece of chicken, you’ll find yourself completely surprised at how tender and juicy the chicken is. Paired with semi-sweet, perfectly seasoned exterior, these “nuggets” are in a class of their own. Yet, these are not chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets are known for being comprised of processed ‘white-meat’ chicken, and Chick-Fil-A’s nuggets – as delicious as they were –are more reminiscent of a chicken tender and, thus, are disqualified.

 5. Jack in the Box

Whether you are in mood for a burger, taco, or even an egg roll, Jack in the Box’s diverse menu has your taste buds covered, but if you are in the mood for a chicken nugget, stay away. Jack’s nuggets look very appetizing with their finely breaded outsides but biting into these tiny chicken morsels will bring confusion to your taste buds. With the first bite, you’ll be taken aback by the amount of sweetness in the nugget. Hoping the chicken would help balance the sweetness out, instead, you’ll find the chicken to be abnormally soft with very little taste. It’s like eating a corn-dog with disgusting chicken in the place of a hot dog; not even drowning the nugget in ketchup, sweet and sour sauce, or bbq sauce helped.

 4.  Wendy’s

Wendy’s was the heavy favorite to win this taste test, but fell short of expectations. Perhaps it was the batch of nuggets received, or Wendy’s move to spice up their menu, but they did not taste like classic Wendy’s nuggets. What used to be a wonderfully breaded, juicy piece of chicken is now a flat oval piece of grease disguised as a nugget.

  3.  Burger King

Just a few weeks after revamping their nugget, the BK lounge takes the bronze medal. Ditching the weird chicken nugget-tender (that was once shaped like a dinosaur), the BK nugget has taken on the form like its most rival competitor, the Chicken McNugget. Packaged in a new box, the BK Nugget has just as much crunch as a McNugget. The meat is a little drier than you might like, but once dropped into a pool of honey mustard, you’ll never be able tell.

 2. Carl’s Jr.

I wasn’t expecting much from Carl’s Jr. – especially when they came out in the shape of stars – but I was pleasantly surprised. The nuggets had a nice exterior texture, which did a great job of holding on to dipping sauces. The nuggets had a nice mild crunch to them and were perfectly complimented by the chicken, which had the right amount greasy French fry taste. The Carl’s Jr. nugget was so good that dipping it into sauce was unnecessary. The only draw back to the Carl’s Jr. nugget was that they only come in a 4-count.

 1. McDonald’s

The winner. The Chicken McNugget is probably the most famous nugget out of all nuggets in the world. Its crunch exterior, more reminiscent of tempura rather than a plain breaded nugget, engulfs a perfectly processed piece of ‘white meat’ chicken. The McNugget has been a staple in the McDonald’s menu since the 80s and is still as delicious now as it was back in its earlier years. Whether you enjoy dipping your nuggets or eating them straight out of the box, McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are hands down the best fast food nugget you can get.