When I that Popeyes was releasing a version of their chicken sandwich made with their blackend chicken recipe, I knew I had to taste one pronto.

We all remember how crazy the release of the first chicken sandwich was, but I would imagine a nationwide rollout of this version would be a lot more tame. If you've never tasted the blackend chicken strips, go get some today. You'll thank me later. The strips aren't battered, but they are packed with flavor from their blackend spices.

Now, here comes some sad news. I put my sleuth hat on and started making some calls to local Popeyes locations to see if it was available in SWLA. Sadly, it's not, and none of the workers knew when they would start to carry it. Thrillist says they got word from Popeyes that the sandwiches are being tested in select markets, which will come into play later in the article.

With no local restaurants carrying this potentially amazing sandwich, I had to widen my net. I called a few Popeyes in Beaumont and Lafayette. There again, I was met with a whole bunch of negatives. However, a worker at one of the Lafayette locations told me the sandwich is only being sold in California right now. Why in the world would you test a supposedly Cajun sandwich in California?  What do they know about Cajun cuisine, and how can they accurately tell you if it's good or not? Why aren't you testing the sandwich in Louisiana, well southern Louisiana, where we know what good Cajun cooking and spices are?

I then had to widen my net even more, so I called Baton Rouge and Houston Popeyes locations. Sadly, I struck out again, and none of these sold the sandwich. However, at one of the Houston locations, a worker told me the scuttlebutt they're hearing is that a nationwide rollout of the blackend chicken sandwich would happen sometime next year.

When the sandwich - fingers crossed - is released across the nation, it will feature an classic version and a spicy version.

Until then, we can just watch YouTube food reviewers from the west coast flaunt this goodness in our faces.

Here's a review of the classic version:

Here's a review of the spicy version:

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