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Fast food and video games come together every so often, in a myriad of ways. Most of the time, we’re talking about new toys or Pokemon Cards in a kid’s meal, but Popeyes has decided to celebrate the upcoming release of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in theaters with a new meal offering.
The meal, called the Freddy Fazbear Deluxe Box, packs two new menu items, along with a new way to taste a long-standing classic, for $13. We put the meal to the test thanks to a sample meal sent by Popeyes, and truth be told, we may go back for seconds.
The Freddy Fazbear Deluxe Box contains the following:
- Three* chicken fingers with a special garlic parmesan rub
- An order of Cheesy Bites, hand-breaded fried cheese curds which are also garlic-crusted, and a cup of marinara sauce to dip
- A Cupcake Cup, a strawberry-flavored cake with pink icing
- A soft drink of your choice
*The meal is advertised as having three chicken fingers, but the box that arrived today only came with two. I’m not sure what happened there, but one lost finger did not ruin the entire meal.
There’s also a Freddy Fazbear Box at $8 that includes the chicken fingers and the Cheesy Bites, but does not include the Cupcake Cup. The Cheesy Bites (with marinara cup) and the Cupcake Cup can both also be purchased separately for $4 each.
The Cheesy Bites, Cupcake Cup, and the garlic parmesan rub for the chicken fingers are all unique to the Freddy Fazbear box, and honestly, it’s a creative way to get the “pizza parlor” feeling into a fried chicken box. Kudos to whoever came up with it.
It’s easiest to break down this meal by each corresponding item, so that’s what we’re going to do. One note right off the bat: The drink sent with the meal was a Sweet Tea, which was a bummer, as I do not actually like iced tea of any kind. I do realize, however, that I am an anomaly in that regard.
Cheesy Bites
I’m going in chronological order of what I ate during my meal, so let’s begin with the Cheesy Bites. Fried cheese curds are hard to screw up, and thankfully, Popeyes did not find a way to do so.
The cheese was hot and melty, and the garlic parmesan bread crumbs used to fry them made them taste like mini mozzarella sticks. The marinara dipping cup was a nice touch as well, though I didn’t dip as much as I thought I would.
Chicken fingers
This is not my first time tasting Popeyes chicken, but like with the Cheesy Bites, the garlic parmesan flavoring on the outside added a different and nice touch of flavor. The chicken fingers were a good size too, which was satisfying.
I will say, though it’s not the intended use, dipping the chicken fingers in the marinara sauce is absolutely encouraged. “Chicken fingers parmesan” sounds like a great idea for a future collab; save a little of the sauce for the chicken and see what I mean.
Cupcake Cup
The Cupcake Cup’s bright pink icing adds a splash of color to the whole meal, and the strawberry icing smells and tastes terrific. The cake inside was thick and buttery, creating a very good way to cap off the meal.
One bit of warning, however: This is one dense dessert, the kind of cake that sinks right to the bottom of your stomach and sits like a slab of concrete. I’d suggest holding off until dinner before ordering this meal, or else your productivity is going to wane simply because you won’t be able to move.
All in all, it’s a decent deal for the money. Everything here tastes good, the pizzeria theme comes through in the special garlic parmesan rub and bright pink cake, and those Cheesy Bites feel like something that could have a permanent home on the Popeyes menu. Nothing scary about this one; the Freddy Fazbear Deluxe Box is a good meal and a good deal.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 releases in theaters December 5. The Freddy Fazbear Box and Deluxe Box are available now at participating Popeyes restaurants.
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