Reddit Is Divided Over The Topping On This Chick-Fil-A Sandwich
Known for their delicious peanut oil fried chicken and friendly customer service, Chick-fil-A is one of fast food's most popular franchises. In fact, the chain just topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index restaurant study for the eighth year in a row, scoring an 87. And despite only being open six days out of the week, Chick-fil-A continues to see increased profits. In 2021, the company's revenue reached $5.8 billion — a 33.3% increase from 2020 (per Franchise Times).
Despite its sweeping popularity, Chick-fil-A is not exempt from criticism. Vox reports that the chain has a long history of donating to charities with anti-LGBTQ stances and many customers find it frustrating that they're closed on Sundays due to the owner's religious beliefs. While most of the restaurant's negative feedback is rooted in social justice issues, one Reddit thread is concerned with a certain store's tomato chopping skills.
Posted on Reddit, one customer shared a photo of his chicken sandwich topped with tomatoes that weren't exactly sliced to perfection. Instead of neatly chopped slices, the sandwich was garnished with only the top and butt of the tomato. While the confused customer captioned the photo with a simple "Ummm...," many were unbothered by the strange looking topping.
There's a reason so many people hate tomatoes
Although a Reddit thread showing a Chick-fil-A sandwich that got the butt end of a tomato prompted some lighthearted debate, there's actually a scientific reason for why so many people hate tomatoes. According to Yahoo News, some people are genetically predisposed to sensitivity to certain compounds in the veggie. In Harold McGee's book "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen," he notes that some people associate the fruit's large amount of savory glutamic acid with meat and blood.
So while the original poster may have been unsettled by the sandwich for good reason, plenty of Reddit users came to its defense. One person commented, "At least they didn't waste food, I would eat it." Another person capitalized on the subject of food waste by saying, "People are so spoiled with food, the end of bread, butts of fruits and animals with bone in them are considered inedible. It's absolutely absurd."
But there's good news for Chick-fil-A customers who have a distaste for tomatoes — you can always customize your order and their hard-working employees will call it a pleasure to remove them from your chicken sandwich.