This Is Your Region's Favorite Chick-Fil-A Sauce

Chick-fil-A is mostly known for its delicious chicken, as certain spelling-challenged cows want to make sure you never forget. (Kind of hard not to, since this chain's signature dish is also part of its name.) They are also well-loved for their Icedream cones and shakes and also for their waffle fries (the most-ordered item on the menu, believe it or not), but one of their menu items that have developed an almost cult-like following is their range of dipping sauces. People steal them, hoard them, and throw major online hissy fits when Chick-fil-A threatens to mess with the sauce lineup.

Which sauce is the most popular? Chick-fil-A dived into their pool of data and found out – surprise! (or not) – the overall favorite is their signature Chick-fil-A sauce, made from honey mustard, barbeque sauce, and...ranch dressing? Maybe, maybe not, as the third ingredient remains one of life's enduring mysteries, right up there with the "33" on the Rolling Rock bottle. They've announced over The Chicken Wire that this sauce, along with their almost-as-beloved Polynesian sauce, will soon be available for purchase at grocers nationwide. But the level of love these sauces receive might not be the same nationwide.

While the signature sauce was tops overall, Chick-fil-A took a look at regional trends and found out that different areas of the country have ever-so-slightly different preferences in how they like to dip their chicken. In Chick-fil-A's native Southeast (its original location, present-day HQ, and official museum can all be found in the state of Georgia), people prefer to keep things sweet with sugary Polynesian sauce, also the favorite of the mid-Atlantic region. In the Northeast, Polynesian shares center stage with Barbeque, a sauce that is also a top pick in the Midwest and comes in a close second (behind Polynesian) in the Southwest despite being, well, perhaps not the best example of that type of sauce, nor the finest of Chick-fil-A's offerings.

The West Coast was the only region to express a preference for a sauce other than Polynesian or Barbeque since Garden Ranch Herb dressing is tied with Polynesian there. Surprisingly enough, though, Honey Mustard didn't get even the tiniest of shout-outs, despite being one of its original sauces. Two other sauces that got absolutely no love were the ones with a little (very little) bit of heat to them: their Zesty Buffalo and rather underrated Sriracha sauces. Kind of weird, but then, maybe all the hot and spicy lovers have migrated to Popeye's by now? Who knows. The not-so-secret truth about Chick-fil-A's chicken is: it's so good that you actually don't need any dipping sauce at all.