The 16 Best Fried Chicken Dishes in Los Angeles
There’s no doubt fried chicken sandwiches are having a moment in the culinary scene, what with the Fuku vs ChickenShack rivalry making waves in New York and, of course, LA’s own spread of its phenomenal varieties. Sometimes though, you just need to dig in to a good ol’ bucket of the stuff, trading buns for waffles or classic sides. We asked Eater readers for their favorite fried chicken jointsin the city, and curated this list of the 16 best plates of fried chicken in Los Angeles, listed in no particular order:
1 Jim Dandy Fried Chicken
Sometimes you want to eat fried chicken on white tablecloths in Beverly Hills. For most other times, there’s Jim Dandy, the South Central institution with retro yellow and orange signage. Here you eat your fill of shatteringly crisp fried chicken and powdered sugar-dusted corn fritters, and all is well with the world. [Photo: Yelp]
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2 Plan Check Kitchen + Bar
While Plan Check’s spicy fried chicken sandwich with habanero cheese and Sriracha pickles is really where it’s at, the restaurant also serves the smoky fried chicken with homey sides like milk gravy and yam preserves for a smoky, juicy, sweet, and salty meal all wrapped up in one tidy dish. [Photo: Darin Dines]
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3 Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles
Not much needs to be said about the OG chicken and waffles at Roscoe’s, because who doesn’t love the salty-sweet revelation that is maple syrup-coated fried chicken. What’s more? The No.9 with wings and a waffle is President Obama approved. [Photo: Yelp]
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4 Howlin’ Rays
Hot chicken is a trend we all hope sticks around in LA. The Nashville specialty takes fried chicken and coats it with a sauce that ranges from mild to Howlin’ Hot, and is served on a piece of white bread with pickles. While a brick-and-mortar is in the works, the mobile operation currently roams from popular food truck destinations to farmer’s markets. [Photo: Howlin’ Rays]
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5 Tokyo Fried Chicken Co.
As the name would suggest, everything at Tokyo Fried Chicken is East-meets-West at its best, from its hybrid Wild West-Japanese décor to, of course, its karaage-inspired fried chicken. Here customers are armed with plastic gloves to defend against the blazing hot bird and with bottles of bear-shaped bottles of ponzu sauce to add a sweet and spicy glaze to the soy-marinated chicken. [Photo: Facebook]
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6 Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken
Culver City’s Honey’s Kettle has the whole salty-sweet, finger-lickin’ thing down pat. Here, chicken is fried in enormous kettle drums until a thick, crispy coating is formed, and is served with packets of honey that are meant to be slathered all over the chicken and flaky biscuits. [Photo: Yelp]
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7 Kyochon Chicken
While Korean fried chicken can be found on every street corner in Seoul, it unfortunately isn’t quite as ubiquitous in LA. This Koreatown specialist serves twice-fried chicken glazed in a soy garlic, honey, or hot and sweet sauce that calls into question everything you thought you knew about fried chicken, and sparks serious addictive tendencies. [Photo: Yelp]
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8 Pizza Romana
When The Cube morphed into the fast casual Pizza Romana, one very important holdover remained: the extra crunchy, nicely spiced fried chicken. What’s better than a pizza restaurant with some of the best battered chicken in town? Beats us. [Photo: Yelp]
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9 Osso
A serious contender for the best new friend chicken in LA, Osso has built up a loyal following for its ultra juicy chicken that is coupled with old fashioned potato salad. Bonus points for bringing out an entire cart of hot sauces for you to try with your bird. [Photo: Yelp]
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10 A.O.C.
Although it certainly isn’t what first comes to mind when it comes to fried chicken, AOC’s Spanish fried chicken is deftly seasoned and comes served with romesco aioli and chili-cumin butter. Come for brunch to get it on a nicely crisped cornmeal waffle. [Photo:Yelp]
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11 Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
This New York transplant has become known for what must be the great combination of foods: sushi and fried chicken. Blue Ribbon coasts their bird in matzo meal to give it a crispy crust, and serves it with a sweet and spicy honey wasabi sauce. [Photo: Yelp]
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12 Bouchon
No doubt one of the most expensive of the bunch at $38 per meal, Bouchon serves Ad Hoc’s well-known version only on the first and third Mondays of every month with seasonal sides. [Photo: Yelp]
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13 Farmshop
Also on the pricey side, the Brentwood Country Mart’s FarmShop is a convenient way to get a westside fried chicken fix. Offered on Sundays, the astoundingly juicy, herb-topped chicken makes for quite a nice no-fuss end of the week supper. [Photo: Darin Dines]
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14 Catch & Release
Jason Neroni already had one of the best fried chicken dishes in town when he was chef at Superba Snack Bar. While that Venice version is still fantastic, the buttermilk fried chicken at this Marina del Rey seafood shack is a cut above, glazed in red wine vinegar and dusted with cheese. Some pickled chiles give the right acidic counterbalance to the rich, crispy skin. —Matthew Kang [Photo: Matthew Kang]
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15 Seoul Sausage Company
The Korean fried chicken here by chef Chris Oh is a marvel, sized big enough for a snack but not so much that you can’t eat anything else. Glazed in Korean spicy sauce and covered with a crispy cornmeal crust, the addictive bites of fried chicken at this Sawtelle shop (which also has a new Little Tokyo outlet) are rounded out by a chunk of sweet corn bread and some pickled daikon radish pieces. —Matthew Kang
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16 Donahoos Golden Chicken
OK, this one’s a trek from L.A. but the old-school fried chicken (in either chicken tender or whole piece form) at this far-flung shop is righteous, with a light crisp batter and heavy pepper seasoning. Add some steak fries, a dinner roll, and a pile of fries, and you have pure Americana in a box. Two other awesome aspects: the faded old sign outside and the bargain-basement prices. Pro tip: stop by on the way to or back from Vegas. —Matthew Kang
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