Alexandre’s Chicken Sandwich Pokes Fun at a Certain Chain – Eater Dallas
The Chick-full-gay, Alexandre’s in Oak Lawn’s tongue-in-cheek homage to the sandwiches at a certain fast-food chain, debuted just in time for Pride in Dallas, in conjunction with the main party on September 18. The new fried chicken sandwich, with two pickles and a smear of mayo on both buns, is the brainchild of Alexandre’s chef Sharina Hassell. Now it’s set to become a regular special on the menu.
“It was our idea on how to reclaim something for our community,” Hassell says. Alexandre’s sold the Chick-full-gay sandwiches, each packaged in a bag with a rainbow sticker, to Pride parade marchers.
Pride in Dallas, a new organization formed as a counterpoint to Dallas Pride, hosted a Pride week that culminated in a big parade in Oak Lawn on September 18. Organizers hope to make the event even bigger in 2023 and have tapped in to participating local bars to help.
Hassell says the inspiration for the sandwich came from a similar sandwich at a “chain” with a reputation for being unsupportive of the LGBTQ community. While Hassell won’t name names, it’s easy to figure out that she means Chick-fil-A, which she’s boycotted for years. “This year for Pride, we decided to come out with our own so people can get their chicken fix and feel good about it,” Hassell says.
The sandwich is a pickled-brined chicken breast that Hassell breads using a secret recipe that she says contains a lot of pepper and ends with the texture of Panko and a lightly sweet taste. It is topped with two crinkle-cut pickles. And, as the bar cheekily wrote on Instagram, “our pickles touch.”
“I think we might, in the future, be pairing it with a wrinkle fry or a waffle fry. We might also be doing a secret sauce,” Hassell says.
The menu item will be available going forward only on Sundays, the day the Lord and Chik-fil-A rest.