Sandwich Of The Week: The Chicken Shack's Chicken Sandwich

Let's just say that, like us, you're a little tired of the discriminatory politics that come along with your favorite fried chicken sandwich. How can you find a less controversial way to scratch the powerful, powerful itch for chicken-and-bread-and-pickles? Two words: Road trip.

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Here's the tricky part: You're going to have to quest. You're going to have to make your way through rural Alabama on Highway 331 to a spot about 50 miles south of Birmingham, almost to the so-called "Flor-Ala" border. There you will find The Chicken Shack, a cheerfully agreeable dive with an enormous billboard, a very popular takeout window, and the best fried chicken sandwich this side of the gay marriage debate.

Here in the town of Luverne, nicknamed the "Friendliest City in the South" (and by "city," they mean a Pepsi plant and less than 3,000 people), where the "World's Largest Peanut Boil" is held annually on Labor Day, folks are very, very serious about fried chicken. A number of joints around town claim to serve the best. None of them can claim to have a sandwich as good as The Chicken Shack's, though.

We're not talking rocket science: This is a freshly fried breast, moist and tender and seasoned properly with salt and pepper, on a cottony white bun with dressed with lettuce, tomato, and pickle. It's almost exactly like some fast-food versions we know, except that it's homemade, it's slightly larger, and it's much more fun to consume since it's at a real live thriving truck stop instead of a depressing food court in a mall in Anytown, USA.

Get going already.

Click here for other featured sandwiches or check out the 2012 Year in Sandwiches and the Sandwich of the Week Slideshow. Know a sandwich that should be featured? Email The Daily Meal or comment below. Better yet, become a contributor and write up your favorite today!