Chili's New Menu Items Should Have McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, & Popeyes on High Alert
If you have a good memory of the late 90s and television ads back then, one of the standouts of the era was Chili's infamous "Baby Back Ribs" commercial. It was catchy and drove a fair share of people to the restaurant just to taste them.
However, since the 90s, the restaurant chain has made sure consumers know they're more than ribs, and now their new menu items put them squarely in the chicken sandwich craze, competing against fast food chains like McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Wendy's, and more. And I, for one, am actually excited to try Chili's latest offerings.
Chili's Introduces Six New Chicken Sandwiches and They're Big
Chili's is introducing a line of six flavors of chicken sandwiches called the "Big Crispy." According to a study, "the average Big Crispy filet was over 80% bigger than the average McCrispy breaded filet." George Felix, Chili's Chief Marketing Officer, said of the new menu items:
"Over the past few years, we've exposed the fast food shrinkflation by serving our massive burgers in the industry-leading $10.99 3 For Me meal for a value that can't be found in the drive-thru. Now, we're setting our sights on fast food chicken sandwiches, offering our gigantic Big Crispy and Spicy Big Crispy chicken sandwiches in the same 3 For Me value meal. This is a shakeup to the chicken sandwich category that is long overdue, and one that our guests are going to love."
As far as the flavors, there's the original Big Crispy and the Spicy Big Crispy. Both are thick hand-battered chicken breasts on a toasted bun, but the original has creamy mayo, whereas the spicy sandwich has spicy mayo. Both are again available as part of the 3 For Me promo for $10.99. Although not available as a 3 For Me deal, other flavors of the Big Crispy include the Honey-Chipotle Big Crispy, Nashville Hot Big Crispy, Buffalo Big Crispy, and the Deluxe Big Crispy.
Chili's Big Crispy Food Court Pop-Up Experience in NYC
Helping to roll out their new menu, Chili's is launching their Big Crispy Food Court Pop-Up Experience in New York City on April 16, at 37 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003, from 11 am to 5 pm EST. The immersive experience allows customers to hear more about the Chili sandwiches and taste for themselves to see if they are comparable or even better than fast food competitors.
I'm actually looking forward to tasting the Honey-Chipotle Big Crispy. I've always been a big fan of the Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers at Chili's, and I only imagine the sandwich being "finger-licking good" (Yes, I know that's a slogan from an entirely different restaurant chain).
Related: ‘The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender' Leaked Online, What's Next for Paramount+?
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Food section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 3:02 PM.