Chick-fil-A finally gets spicy

This week I reached out for a new Spicy Chicken Sandwich, five years in the making, at America's No. 2 chicken chain, Chick-fil-A, with 1,600 restaurants coast to coast. You know the place: "We didn't invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich."

Chicken or egg? Not sure. But the sandwich definitely came third. And things do come in threes.

For the longest time, Chick-fil-A has asked customers, "What would you like to see added to our menu?" And the same answer kept coming back: "A spicy chicken sandwich." There! Now you've got one. Happy? Very happy.

Here's the blueprint: a chicken breast fillet, boosted by a spicy marinade, breaded and fried in peanut oil, and served with pickles on a buttered bun.

Total calories: 490. Fat grams: 20. Dietary fiber: 4 grams. Carbs: 46 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $2.99.

OK, first things first: How spicy is Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Sandwich? All together now ... it's so spicy that it's about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. That was Chick-fil-A's goal, to throw a perfect strike down the middle of the plate. It's one of those spicy foods that creeps up on you. First bite: Aw, this isn't spicy at all. A few seconds later, there it is! Three bites in, you're drinking your lunch partner's glass of water.

I'm thinking that the Spicy Chicken Sandwich will be for people in the front seat of the car, and the Original Chicken Sandwich will be for the kids in the back.

The finished product uses a technique where a spicy marinade is forced into the chicken breast by vacuum pressure. So the heat is in the chicken, not in the breading. That's the big difference between this Spicy Chicken Sandwich and similar products down the road. Other fast-food joints simply use a spicy breading mix to raise the temperature.

Also, every Chick-fil-A breast is hand-breaded in the store. They don't just toss a factory-breaded hunk of chicken into the deep-fryer.

Chick-fil-A uses peanut oil, so its chicken sandwiches taste a little different -- better -- than some rivals' chicken sandwiches. Chick-fil-A uses separate fryers for Spicy and Regular, so the twains never shall meet.

There's a Deluxe Spicy Chicken Sandwich with pepper Jack cheese, lettuce and tomato for $3.59.

For those for whom spicy is never spicy enough, just toss on a packet of Buffalo sauce. If it's too spicy, tone things down with ranch dressing. Both Buffalo and ranch are available on request.

Just remember, Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday, a chain-wide tradition that allows employees to spend time with their families to worship or watch sports or just have dinner together -- but not at Chick-fil-A.