Call it a reverse knee-jerk response, but when I saw this story about L.A.'s City Council's ban on new fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles to combat obesity and the highest incidence of diabetes in the county, it made this blogger realize that he hasn't sunk his teeth into some Popeyes Chicken in a while.
And when one has such an epiphany, there's no better day of the week to have it than Tuesday. Tuesdays, as most people know, is when you can get the leg and thigh special for $1.29 at participating Popeyes.
Some folks may recall a time when gas prices were low and the Tuesday two-piece deal was $0.99. Those days are over.
Still, it's exactly this kind of discounting that has L.A.'s City Council worried. $0.99 Whoppers, Extra Value Meals, Taco Tuesdays; it's pricing that L.A.'s citizenry allegedly cannot resist, resulting in unhealthy eating behaviors.
Truthfully, if my own gluttony on that Tuesday night was any indication, then they are right to be concerned.
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I ate two thighs and two drumsticks, reveling in the fat-laden, greasy-goodness, crispy-spicy-bubbled-battered-skin of it all. I poured packet upon packet of Lousiana hot sauce over each bite of chicken, despite the throbbing pain of my oil-slicked lips and the sweat downpour on my brow. I ate spoonful, after sopping spoonful of the beans and rice — an unattractive mess of a side dish consisting of both starches mixed together, looking of vomit, but tasting of heaven.
I washed it all down with a tall, Super Big Gulp-sized serving of Coke. And in the early hours of the morning after my feeding frenzy, I would pay for my sins in ways I will not describe in a food blog.
Though, when it comes time again for me to contribute to my own obesity, (say, in about a month), there's no better place than the Santa Ana Popeyes to do so. This Popeyes is arguably one of the best managed fast-food joints in the county and one that we dubbed as “The Best Really, Really Clean Fast Food Restaurant“.
Of course, obesity and diabetes is no joke. And while L.A.'s City Council has good intentions, one wonders when free will and moderation also became victims of cheap fast-food? Or was Tommy Lee Jones' character in Men In Black right when he said;
“A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.”
Discuss.
Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits
(714) 834-9709
1244 E. 17th St.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.