Manhattan Popeyes Sell Out as Online Fried Chicken Sandwich Mania Hits NYC

Lower Manhattan Popeyes are selling out of chicken sandwiches

Big congrats to Popeyes, which has surely been the biggest winner in all the chicken sandwich social media buzz this week. In New York, locations of the fried chicken chain in high-traffic locations are selling out of the company’s new chicken sandwich, which a variety of online food critics are declaring the best chicken sandwich entry to the fast food market in some time. A Chinatown location of Popeyes was done with the sandwiches by 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and one customer says he’s tried to go three times, only to find that they’re out.

Of course, New York is no stranger to chicken sandwiches. In 2015, it seemed like every restaurant and its mom was trying to perfect the product here. For any connoisseurs trying to get their hands on the Popeyes version, locations in upper Manhattan or outside of Manhattan might be better bets.

Museum and corporate catering company pumps up its chef lineup

Here’s the reason some local museums are bringing in bigger-name chefs: Restaurant Associates, a company that has been managing restaurants based in New York since the ’50s. The Times reports that the firm once had a stellar culinary reputation, but it’s waned, and it’s trying to gain back that cred for destination dining. It’s responsible for bringing chef John Fraser to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a pop-up and now for bringing Tom Colicchio to train staff at the Morgan Library and Museum. The U.S. Open will have food designed by David Burke and José Andrés, and Dominique Ansel will be part of a different project.

Soon, Restaurant Associates will be doing a One World Trade Center club on the 89th floor, a Korean restaurant in the Meatpacking District, a cafe in the Guggenheim, and a restaurant at the American Museum of Natural History.

In other news

— Di Fara is closed for unpaid taxes and the mayor is On It:

— Free food alert: A Cheez Ball food truck will be at Astor place today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., offering free food with Cheez Ball powder like mac-and-cheese and grilled cheese. And also in the East Village, Italian bakery and restaurant Veniero’s is celebrating its 125th (!) anniversary with free mini cannolis on September 23rd. There will also be live music and discounts for the party.

— Restaurants apparently don’t make a profit out of any “restaurant week” deals due to discounts, and some say that most of the customers don’t return later.

— Coffee chain Hungry Ghost is going into the former Smith Canteen space in Carroll Gardens.

— Famed Spanish chefs Ferran Adrià and José Andrés will be in conversation at their Spanish Hudson Yards food hall Mercado Little Spain on September 25th, regarding Adrià’s cookbook The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià. Tickets cost $52 and include a copy of the book and some tapas.

— People are pissed that the iconic landmarked Long Island City Pepsi-Cola sign now has a JetBlue logo underneath it, part of a temporary installation.

— Me:

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that Dominique Ansel is not part of Restaurant Associates’ U.S. Open project.