Gettin' hot and sauced: Spicy chicken showdown

I'm ready for something fun and light, so it's time for a Spicy Chicken Showdown. And boy oh boy, do we have a bunch of chicken places in town. I made a loop of Cape and picked up a sandwich from fast food joints that make one (and I'm so sorry if I missed someone! I didn't mean to.).

The impetus for this epic showdown comes from several people who have absolutely raved to me about Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich, which I had never tried. As far as spicy goes, if it hurts and my taste buds stop working, I'm outta there.

I visited Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, Wendy's, KFC and Zaxby's and tried all of their spicy chicken sandwiches back to back. Here they are in order from my least favorite to the winner -- just my opinion, of course.

5. Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich: Sorry, all those who raved! This was my least favorite. It wasn't terrible, but the chicken was drier than others and made of one of those pressed chicken patties. The breading itself was spiced to a good degree and was not too hot to enjoy. I did like the way the cool mayo and tomato balanced the spiciness.

4. Zaxby's Kickin Chicken Sandwich: This was the biggest sandwich of the bunch. Beautifully breaded chicken fingers were on two huge slabs of thick-cut Texas toast, which was almost too much bread. Zaxby's sandwich had a different flavor profile than the others, and I finally figured out that it was like eating Buffalo chicken wings in a sandwich. Slathered with ranch and hot sauce, it was messy, but still very good. With the breading unspiced and all the heat coming from the hot sauce, this was the least spicy of the lot.

3. Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich: I love Chick-fil-A unapologetically. This was the juiciest chicken sandwich, so perfectly cooked and with those little fibers in it that tell you, "Hey, I'm really chicken meat!" This sandwich was the saltiest and the breading on the meat itself was spiced. Like all Chick-fil-A sandwiches, yummy chicken was served simply on excellent bread with salty pickles. It's a good solid entry.

2. KFC Crispy Colonel Sandwich with Nashville Hot Sauce: KFC doesn't really have a straight-up spicy chicken sandwich, so after conferring with the nice voice taking my order, I got a regular chicken sandwich with Nashville Hot Sauce. Whew, they are not kidding! This was the spiciest of the lot, and the thin dark red sauce looked like fire when I took it out of the wrapping. The spicy sauce was full of little bits and flakes and just smelled hot. Now, for true heat lovers, this probably isn't that hot, but it was for me. However, this sauce also had the best flavor. It was so deep, smoky and complex that I wished it were a little less hot so I could've had more bites in a row and fewer drinks in between. It came pretty close to being my top pick.

1. Popeyes Spicy Chicken Sandwich: This one was my favorite. I even said, "Wow!" aloud when I took my first bite. The buttermilk breading was light and crunchy, well seasoned but not hot. The spiciness came from the spicy mayo mixture, and it was rich and buttery and just spicy enough. The bun here is delicious, soft but dense and strong enough to cradle that misshapen chicken filet. And it was misshapen because the filet is indeed a slab of breaded chicken meat, with all of its imperfections and delectable juiciness. But what made this a winner for me were the pickles. Thick-cut, homestyle, barrel-cured pickles really did an excellent job of balancing the heat of the spicy mayo. After trying five different spicy chicken sandwiches, this is the one I kept coming back to. And it was among the least expensive of the sandwiches I tried, so that is a win-win for me.

Popeyes Spicy Chicken rose to the top of the heap today, beating the competition for at least one person's palate. You may have a different opinion. You may even think I'm completely wrong, and that's awesome! None of these places could exist without our patronage, and they need our differing opinions to keep going. Thank you to the chefs and servers who made my sandwiches for this article. You guys rock, and we do sincerely appreciate you.