There’s no better way to start off the new year at Badin High School than with chicken. Badin students and staff anxiously awaited the latest addition to the menu, the “Chick-Fil-A” style sandwich, to be served.

First impressions are key when it comes to food. When sophomore Carter Cook sampled this chicken sandwich for the first time, he described his expectations of the chicken versus what it actually tasted like.

“I thought it’d be good, but it was kinda dry,” Cook said.

Another popular opinion on the sandwich is that it has a pickle flavoring. This perspective was one of many shared by senior Paige Parrish who has tried the sandwich herself.

“The pickle flavor is just too strong. Chick-Fil-A tastes like pickles, but it’s good,” Parrish said.

In comparison to an actual Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich, apparently Badin’s style is on another level, and not a higher one.

“They just need to be crispier,” Parrish remarked.

As much as this sandwich was disliked among the Badin community, a few people had no problem with it, such as Cook, who said he couldn’t detect much difference from the old one. However, this trial sandwich is truly a limited time edition.

“They didn't go over very well. Sometimes the changes work (like the new chocolate chip cookies) and sometimes they don't (like the new chicken),” cafeteria manager Diane Kugler said.

According to Kugler, when the 12 case supply she ordered for the regular chicken patties ran out, Badin’s vendor recommended they try the new style. This resulted in the “Chick-Fil-A” type sandwich that recently appeared on the menu.

On the downside, because of the sandwich’s lack of appeal to the majority of the Badin community, it will not be ordered again in the future.

“So we are back to our original chicken sandwiches for now,” Kugler said.

Even though this new chicken sandwich was more of a miss rather than a hit, that doesn’t guarantee the menu will stay the same forever. Some suggestions made by students on how to improve the food being served include adding a “Chipotle” style bar.

While there are many factors that determine what will be seen on the lunch menu, for now, Badin still has the old chicken sandwich to enjoy.