The first indications of something intriguing afoot in College Park were visual. Photos, appearing on social media, showed crowds gathered in front of a freshly painted building emblazoned with three all-caps words: “LITTLE BLUE MENU.” Below were three more words — smaller, cursive, one in red with a flourish that can cause delight in a particularly passionate subset of fast-food fans: “Created by Chick-fil-A.”
What is Little Blue Menu? What does it mean that it was created by Chick-fil-A? Why did it suddenly appear in College Park? And, perhaps most importantly, how long is the line to get in?
There were so many questions that I decided an investigation was in order. (You’re welcome, dear reader.)
I unearthed a Chick-fil-A press release announcing the opening of the restaurant on Sept. 14. The release explained that Little Blue Menu is meant to serve as something of a beta kitchen, “created to test and innovate new menu items.”
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And it included this bit of goodwill, attributed to L.J. Yankosky: “College Park is a hub for innovation, so we can think of no better place to introduce Little Blue Menu.”
I also learned that the restaurant’s name is an homage to the founder of Chick-fil-A, who experimented with the original restaurant’s lineup on a — well — little blue menu. Two previous Little Blue Menus have existed — one in Nashville and the other in Stockbridge, Ga. — but both operated as pop-ups and closed after a limited time.
But the internet can only reveal so much, so I decided to continue my investigation IRL.
By the time I showed up, College Park’s Little Blue Menu had been open almost exactly a week. Every spot in the parking lot was full, and people crowded around outside the doors, waiting for their orders or deciding what to order themselves. Smiling polo-shirt-clad employees drifted between the blue metal picnic tables outside, offering samples of cookies or chicken tenders to those who waited. It was noon on a Wednesday, and the majority of patrons appeared to be workers on lunch break, University of Maryland students or parents with young children.
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The menu — available on paper outside the restaurant and online — offers Chick-fil-A’s regular fare, including its classic chicken sandwich and beloved waffle fries, in addition to some exclusive options like blue cheese burgers and bone-in or boneless wings. It also hosts a roster of Little Blue Menu-only sauces and seasonings, including Old Bay — an homage to its new home — and red pepper garlic sauce.
I ordered only Little Blue Menu exclusives: the traditional boneless wings with Old Bay and white barbecue sauce, the signature burger, the mini biscuits, and the sweet potato tots with a side of burger sauce (which I found to be a slightly tangier, more mature cousin of Chick-fil-A’s classic sauce).
My order was announced simultaneously on the app and over the loudspeaker within about five minutes of my arrival, and I went inside to the pickup counter to retrieve it. As I grabbed my food, customers leaned against walls. The restaurant is located in the former home of an Applebee’s, but at Little Blue Menu, there is no indoor seating.
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As for the food, imagine what it would taste like if Chick-fil-A made a burger, and you’ve probably conjured the signature burger. It includes one patty, though you can add another for an extra couple of dollars, plus tomato, lettuce, pickles, grilled onion, cheese and burger sauce on a buttery brioche bun. As a minimal red meat eater and a maximal bread eater, my favorite part was the bun. The bread plus the burger sauce created a salty and sweet dynamic that I appreciated.
The boneless wings were almost identical in size and flavor to Chick-fil-A’s chicken nuggets, although their seasoning had the lightest touch of a kick, which was helped by my addition of Old Bay. I enjoyed them because I enjoy Chick-fil-A nuggets, but perhaps the roasted or smoked wings would have provided a more unique taste to someone who craves something different.
The sides were most interesting to me. Mini biscuits were almost like biscuit-flavored muffins — slathered in butter and nowhere close to crumbly. The sweet potato tots, likewise, served up exactly what they said on the label, but they could be enhanced with a dip in the burger sauce. The restaurant also offers Brussels sprouts, mac and cheese, and a selection of desserts, including a lemon pie bar, chocolate toffee cookies and a cinnamon roll. But my stomach let the gastronomic portion of this investigation go only so far.
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Still other questions remained, so I contacted Chick-fil-A’s public relations team, which declined an interview request. They also declined to specify how long Little Blue Menu will remain in College Park. But they did reveal, via email, that there will be a Little Blue Menu food truck opening in Athens, Ga., later this year to accompany the one traveling through Kentucky.
I am not, it should be said, a die-hard Chick-fil-A enthusiast, but I found Little Blue Menu’s offerings to be fun and inoffensive. And my investigation turned up one juicy nugget that should serve Chick-fil-A’s most ardent, impatient fans: Little Blue Menu has a delivery service that uses its own drivers, deployed through the Chick-fil-A app or littlebluemenu.com, to deliver within 10 minutes of the restaurant. (Again, dear reader, you’re welcome.)
Little Blue Menu, 7242 Baltimore Ave., College Park. Open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Like Chick-fil-A, it is closed on Sunday.
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