Perfect picnic

Did you know there’s a right and wrong way to order fried chicken from Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen?

My husband was happy to educate me on this obscure fact over the weekend. We decided to take our dog on a day trip to Lake Michigan, and being spontaneous people who don’t want our pet trying to break into the cooler during a three-hour drive, we waited until we got to Portage to grab lunch for a picnic. We were looking for a Subway, but when we finally found one, it shared space in the gas station with Popeye’s.

Excuse me, but fried chicken and picnics on the beach are a quintessential combo I can’t resist.

So as we strolled into the TravelCenter lobby, my husband said to order him “the usual” and beelined for the bathroom. The problem is, we don’t have a Popeye’s near us, so I’m not familiar with their menu in the least. (OK, yes, they have fried chicken.) I started off asking for a 3-piece dinner for my husband and a 2-piece basket for myself. And then I stood there, congratulating myself on navigating another new situation, until she asked which sides we wanted.

Well, there’s mashed potatoes and Cajun gravy, cole slaw, corn-on-the-cob, red beans and rice, Cajun battered fries, Cajun rice … and then my head exploded. Red beans and rice for me was a given, and after dithering around, I picked the corn cob for my husband, filled our to-go cups to the brim with Coke, and we were rolling.

Only the chicken smelled way too good to wait for the beach, so we pulled over at a picnic bench on the way. My husband opened his box, stared for a moment or three, then protested, “I told you to get mashed potatoes and gravy.”

Lake Michigan stroll

?????

Now fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy screams family reunion, I’ll give you that, but this was merely a “we’re day trippin’ with our dog, making up a schedule and destination as we go along and decided it was time to eat” lunch. I failed to see how mashed potatoes qualifies as “the usual” under those circumstances, especially since it’s summer in Indiana when corn is the staple of life.

It turns out I was also supposed to say dark meat, so he picked off the fried part of his chicken breast and called it a meal.

Sigh. We so need to get a Popeye’s closer to us so I can learn to do this properly. And so my husband can learn that he wouldn’t have liked the Cajun gravy on those mashed potatoes anyhow. Our dog just hopes he gets more chicken like that, period.

Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen

1201 N. Ripley

Lake Station, IN 46405

(219) 962-6552, Ext.7127

Photography: Julie Sturgeon