Hardee’s is amazing. Yes, their items are definitely a bit pricey, but you really do get a higher quality meal when you choose them rather than McDonald’s or Burger King. They have large, steakhouse-style fries that taste purely like potato, but have an extra kick to ‘em. They also used to have the best buffalo chicken sandwich in the fast food world, but they’ve apparently retired it. Regardless, they have a pretty consistent and varied stream of new items that never fails to tempt me off the computer and out the door. As is often the case, our good friends at GrubGrade tipped us off. If you don’t already read that site, shame on you, because they have fantastic reviews and to-the-minute food news.

The latest example of this would be the new Jalapeño Chicken Sandwich (as well as the Jalapeño 1/4 lb Thickburger, but I was in a chicken mood). I stopped by Hardee’s and grabbed one, and was pleasantly surprised. It consists of a grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, and “Southwestern sauce”. The sandwich alone is $3.99, and a small combo makes it $5.99, so it’s not exactly cheap, and it had a lot to live up to.

The size of the chicken breast is what surprised me most. It was quite a bit larger than I expected, probably 4.5 to 5 inches at its widest. It wasn’t as thick as a full chicken breast, at a little over a half inch thick consistently, but the total size of it made up for this. The chicken had a bold grilled flavor that was one of the focal taste points.

The Southwest sauce I wasn’t too fond of at first. It took me some pondering to figure out what it was, but I’m pretty sure I got it eventually. It seems to be pretty much just mayo, sugar, and paprika, with perhaps some cumin in there, too. I know this because I’ve made my own Taco Bell quesadilla sauce, and those are some of the main ingredients. This Southwestern sauce tastes a lot like that, only a little more bland. However, supplemented by the grilled chicken taste, you have quite a combination on your hands. They weren’t scant with the sauce, either; the bun was partially soaked through on the bottom.

As you can see, there were ample jalapeños although they were surprisingly mild for some reason. They added some nice texture and a strong flavor that would certainly have been missing otherwise. Considering the surprising heft of the sandwich and the unique flavor combination of the Southwest sauce, the grilled chicken, and the jalapeños, I think this sandwich is almost worth the $4 I paid for it. It almost left me full enough to not want to eat another one, and the large fry I got with it took care of the rest anyway, so it’s a decent value. If you’re into Southwestern flavors, jalapeños, or just really good chicken, give this one a bite.