Last year Winnipeg saw the arrival of two new chicken chains. Mary Browns Chicken’s & Taters, out of Virginia, via Newfoundland*, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, out of Arabi, Louisiana. Being in the fast casual chicken business I figured that it might be interesting to review them in a compare and contrast style review.
*I’ve since been informed that there has been a Mary Browns in the Transcona area of Winnipeg for a few years.
I must admit that Popeyes had stayed under my radar, until just around Christmas when two Twitter users I follow, Adrian E. Miller, The Soul Food Scholar, and Soul Phoodie, posted about the chains hilarious Support Chicken announcement. On top of that, since I first read Michael W. Twitty’s, The Cooking Gene, my interest in Southern Cuisine has grown.
So, with the post-Christmas time at church allowing me a bit of spare time, I thought I would hop on the bus and visit the two places. The bus route is one of the advantages that Mary Browns has, as the south transitway, got me to the restaurant in about 45 minutes. Popeyes is located out by the Outlet Collection(further proof that Winnipeg hates pedestrians) and was a full 75 minute, 3 bus trip, even stepping right onto the first bus the moment I stepped out of the church.
If the idea in a fast food restaurant is to make the diner eat and leave as quick as possible, Mary Browns has certainly accomplished that. The Pembina location has a limited number of tables, and the decor does nothing to add to the appeal.
On the other hand, Popeyes is bright and colourful, there is a good selection of booths, and there is even a two sided bar, which includes USB ports and outlets for plugging in your device. For a guy who dines alone, that’s a nice little touch.
Then there is the music. At Popeyes, they were streaming a channel that featured Delta Blues, and R & B, music to fit the food. To be fair I did get a bit of Canadiana at Mary Browns, on my second visit. Yes, a loud, speaker splitting dose of…wait for it, Nickelback. Music is definitely a win for Popeyes.
Mary Browns, Popeyes Dining
My first trip to Mary Browns, I decided to order the three piece chicken with the taters. Taters is the term that Mary Browns uses to describe their potato wedges. The wedges were quite good. They were well seasoned, and they were uniform in size so that you didn’t end up with some that were well-cooked with some being almost raw, as you sometimes get at places like Chester Fried.
As for the chicken. I found it well-breaded, and the skin, nice and crispy. This is one place where I would give Mary Browns a slight edge over Popeyes. My meal came with a breast, thigh, and leg. I really enjoyed the breast, the white meat was moist and tender. On the other hand, I found that the dark meat, tasted like it had been parboiled prior to being deep-fried. The combo came with a salad choice, and I went with coleslaw, which wasn’t bad.
On my second visit I decided I would give the chicken tenders a try. This time I went with the fries with my chicken. One thing I liked about Mary Browns is that they are very generous with their portions of potatoes, whether wedges or fries. They also gave me two containers of Sriracha sauce which meant I had plenty for my chicken as well as my fries(given my dislike of ketchup, this is alway a good thing).
Last night, after my lengthy bus journey, I finally made it to Popeyes. Despite not getting there until after 7 pm, the line up was about half a dozen deep, and stayed that way for the best part of the next 45 minutes. Fortunately the place was well staffed and the line continually moved quickly.
The menu at Popeyes is considerably larger than at Mary Browns, but I figured the best thing to do was to order the chicken for a better comparison. Although it’s such a hard place to get to I do intend to get back to try some of the seafood options. The other thing that confronted me is that Popeyes offers a greater variety of sides. I ordered a 3 piece platter which come with two sides, but wanted to try them all.
In the end I decided on the Mac and Cheese and the Mashed Potatoes, with Cajun Gravy. The platter also comes with a biscuit, and a large beverage. On the whole, when it comes to the amount of food, I’d call it a saw-off with Mary Browns, but Popeyes has better variety.
When I ordered the chicken the manager asked if I wanted spicy or regular. I had forgotten that there are some odd people in this world that actually choose regular over spicy. My order came quite quickly, and I sat down at the bar to enjoy it.
I found the chicken to be sneaky spicy. It didn’t seem overly spicy, but the heat built up as I went along, and left a nice buzz. The chicken itself was really good. It was all moist and tender and cooked through. The Mac and Cheese was good and creamy, while the Cajun Gravy gave a good little zip to the mashed potatoes. The biscuit was also nice, light, and fluffy. The biscuits are also available at 6/$3.99, but I was able to resist the temptation to take some home with me. A heart attack while riding the buses in Winnipeg, is not a prospect that I want to face(because the biscuits would never make it home).
Given that the restaurant is out in the retail hinterlands of the city, I decided that since I had tried the tenders at Mary Browns, I would try the tenders at Popeyes as well. I ordered a three piece, and found that the spicy breading stuck better to these than to the on the bone pieces of chicken adding a little extra spice.
As a final touch to my meal, I decided to add a little dessert. I chose the Mississippi Mud Pie. This has the consistency of the a rich, chocolate cupcake, with a sweet chocolate icing to it.
It’s interesting to note that Popeyes started out in hopes of competing with KFC, and on their home page Mary Browns has a taste test video comparing their chicken to KFC. In summing up the two restaurants, I would say Mary Browns gives you an improved KFC experience, while Popeyes introduces you to a whole new world of chicken.
I really enjoyed Jollibee Chicken when I tried it, but when it comes to chicken chains, Popeyes is definitely Cock of the Walk. Now, if only Popeyes would open a more transit friendly outlet in Winnipeg.
If your Popeyes offers onion rings I would encourage you to try them. Here in Florida where I live they no longer carry them,but they were some of the best fast-food onion rings I’ve ever eaten. And I’m glad you picked Popeyes over the other brands. Love your post
Thanks a lot. I think I’ll have to make it up just for those. I’ve often complained that it’s hard to find good onion rings anymore.
This is delightful. As a Mississippian, I find it hilarious that anyone would spend this much effort– in the cold, no less– to get to a Popeye’s. But your review was worth it. For fast food, it’s pretty good. And do try the shrimp. Question. Does Canadian Popeye’s offer sweet tea? Because no Popeye’s meal is complete without sweet tea.
I was intrigued by the concept. The cold doesn’t bother me. It help’s that we were around 32-36 degrees Farenheit yesterday. Positively balmy by January standards in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, the sweet tea is not available yet in Canada, or that’s what would have ordered.
It’s fun to read your reviews of food served up in commercial establishments, but I am horrified at the amount of effort it is for you to partake and report.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Thanks for stopping by. The travel requirement is why I only made one visit. My mom lives out in the area, so I may go again sometime after visiting her.
Loved your comment about Mary Browns excelling at “eat and leave”. 🙂 No Mary Browns anywhere near me. Apparently (who knew) there ARE Popeyes near me, and closer than your 75 minute commute, but too far to make it worth the while to try. We do have a KFC fairly close and I discovered that there is still a Chicken Holiday even closer than the KFC. Sometimes there is nothing that will satisfy but fried chicken. 🙂 And thanks for the link to the “Restaurant-ing through History” post – that was very interesting! Happy munching!!!
Thanks for the comment. I’ve never heard of Chicken Holiday. Took a look online. Sounds like a tasty place.
Is there a Chicken Holiday in Winnipeg?
Not at the moment.
I’m a Mary Brown’s fan! Now you’ve got me thinking about a Friday night snack!!
Snacks are always a good thing to be thinking about.
We had a chance to try Mary Browns a couple of times, before we moved. I’ve never been to a Popeye’s – don’t even know if the city we left has one – so KFC was all we had to compare to.
We found it pretty mediocre and couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t better than anywhere else. People from the east, however, were adamant that Mary Browns back east are MUCH better; they flat our refused to eat at the local franchises because they were so bad in comparison. Which has me curious about what is so different about the ones in the east.
If you get down South, you will have to try BoJangles. The corporate owned stores are much better than the private owned ones. They have the best biscuits and country ham, chicken and dirty rice. Much perfer them over our Popeyes.
A Southern food trip is something I would love to make. Thanks for the recommendation.
Sriracha sauce and chicken….so good!
Thanks. I enjoy Sriracha with many things.
Donald, don’t have Mary Brown. If I did, I’d definitely try it. Popeye’s is one of my favorites. So glad you did this. It was great!😄
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This is great! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I love the Popeye chicken nuggets here in Singapore. I love their biscuits too😋
Didn’t get to try the nuggets. Glad that it’s available in Singapore as well as up here in Canada.
I am from Newfoundland originally and I love Mary Browns and boy do I miss it!! Great post!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
<3 This:
"When I ordered the chicken the manager asked if I wanted spicy or regular. I had forgotten that there are some odd people in this world that actually choose regular over spicy."
Popeye's is so good! And for a famous foodie endorsement, I believe Anthony Bourdain once praised it too 🙂
Try the "Sweet Heat" sauce with your spicy Popeye's chicken. It's the best sauce!
Thanks for the comment. I don’t know when I’ll get out there again, but I’ll keep your idea in mind.
I am still stuck on the three bus trip, but hey we have all been known to travel for a good meal 🙂
The three buses comes from living in a city that is divided by two rivers, and a north and south geographical divide with a long and bitter history. Plus, the city worships automobiles.
Your thorough review was an enjoyable read. I would give one correction, however. Mary Brown’s did not appear in Winnipeg last year. In fact, the first location opened a few years ago on Lagimodiere near Reenders. I’ve been going there ever since they opened. I prefer Mary Brown’s as it has consistently been “good” I’ll have to give Popeye’s another try as the first time I tried it here in Winnipeg, it wasn’t as good as I’ve experienced south of the border.
PS. As a person who takes the bus daily, transit is terrible in Winnipeg, especially in the winter…
Thanks for your comment. I’ll correct the time frame. I have a feeling from some of my American commenters, that there is definitely a difference between American and Canadians Popeyes.
Good one!