They’re not lovin’ it.
The Golden Arches’ chicken offensive may not be as beloved as they hoped. McDonald’s chicken tenders recently ranked as the worst fast food in America, according to a recent study by Restaurant Furniture Plus.
“Their tenders clearly need improvement,” said a spokesperson for the furniture retailer, which set out to analyze why “certain items consistently underperform” in an effort to help fast food chains.
“Our analysis reveals clear patterns in customer satisfaction, highlighting which fast-food items consistently fall short of expectations, and where brands have the greatest opportunity to improve,” a rep for the company said.
Naming the best and worst fast foods might sound subjective. But Restaurant Furniture Plus crowdsourced its rankings by analyzing Google Reviews to identify the lowest-rated menu items among the 16 most popular fast-food chains in the United States.
They specifically examined the 100 most-reviewed locations for each chain, encompassing 1,600 restaurants nationwide. Reviews were filtered using keywords linked to specific food items and weighted average ratings were calculated, with greater emphasis placed on ratings from regular reviewers to ensure more accurate rankings.
The items were then given a score out of 5.
The survey found that “chicken items appear at both extremes of the ratings spectrum, suggesting that quality execution matters more than the specific category of food.”
Wost item: McDonald’s chicken tenders
To wit, the Golden Arches’ butter milk chicken tenders came in first in this culinary Razzie Awards’ ceremony with a score of just 2.03 out of 5. First introduced in 2017, the 100% white meat pieces are battered in butter and then fried.
Nonetheless, reviewers frequently cried fowl on these offerings, claiming they were “burnt to a crisp,” “chewy” and “dry” while some even claimed they contracted food poisoning after eating them.
Coincidentally, McDonald’s core offerings, like burgers and fries, received more moderate ratings, seemingly clashing with the fast-food giant’s campaign to ramp up chicken-based offerings in an effort to reverse flatlining sales amid inflation.
The Post has contacted McDonald’s for comment.
Second-worst item: Chipotle’s rice bowl
Clocking in second with a score of 2.35 was the Tex-Mex chain’s rice bowl. Offered as a lower-carb, piecemeal alternative to the burrito, this dish involves a base of white or brown cilantro-lime rice customized with various proteins, beans, vegetables, and salsas.
Customers slammed the serving sizes, deeming them comically “under-portioned” and claiming that they had to “search for the protein in each bowl.” This echoed prior complaints that the Tex-Mex chain was a perpetrator of “shrinkflation,” in which restaurants dial down their serving sizes in response to inflation-fueled price hikes.
Others also complained about the cooking of the rice, labelling it “crunchy” and “hard.”
Third-worst item: KFC chicken tenders
Keeping with the theme of questionable white meat offerings, the Colonel’s chicken tenders placed third in the countdown, boasting a score of 2.56 out of 5.
Reviewers complained that the strips “weren’t fresh,” “tasted like fish,” and that the sizes were more akin to nuggets than chicken strips.
Fourth-worst item: KFC sandwiches
To add insult to injury, placing fourth with a score of 2.62 were the fried chicken outlet’s sandwiches, breaded and fried chicken fillets topped with pickles and mayo or spicy sauce and bookended by toasted buns.
These much-maligned noshes were lambasted for having “stale” and “burnt” buns while the chicken was labeled either “dry” or “soggy.” One reviewer claimed that the chicken looked like “powder” when they opened the sandwich.
“KFC might want to reconsider their tenders and sandwich recipes, as their traditional chicken scored significantly better,” the Restaurant Furniture Plus rep declared. KFC’s biscuits, meanwhile, placed 10th in the rankings.
Fifth-worst item: Panda Express’ fortune cookies
This greasy wok diner’s fortune cookies rounded out the top five with an average rating of 2.63 out of 5.
A complimentary dessert offered at the end of meals — and featuring a message inside — these misfortune cookies were crumbled online on the basis that customers didn’t receive them.
When fortunate enough to receive this moralistic confection, they were often “stale,” per the reviews.
The top ten worst-rated fast foods in the nation
- McDonald’s chicken tenders (2.03)
- Chipotle rice bowls (2.35)
- KFC chicken tenders (2.56)
- KFC sandwiches (2.62)
- Panda Express fortune cookies (2.63)
- Domino’s wings (2.70)
- Chipotle Quesadillas (2.81)
- Pizza Hut breadsticks (2.81)
- Papa John’s wings (2.87)
- Domino’s Pasta (2.95)
Somewhat paradoxically, Chick-fil-A’s salads were the top-rated item with a score of 4.37, proving that offering greenery at a fast-food outlet isn’t a death sentence.
This was followed by Chick-fil-A sandwiches, Wendy’s salads, Chick-fil-A nuggets and Arby’s sandwiches.
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