My sister said she has ordered take out but it was a month in advance. Can you do that?
Yes, IIRC Howlin’ has a limited number of slots for take-out orders ahead of time, but there’s a minimum amount required to order (and right now they’ve closed all take-out / pre-orders).
Last time I did it you had to pick up before opening. So you basically have to eat lunch at 11 or eat colder HR. I wouldn’t preorder sandwiches again…YMMV.
Finally tried Gus’ and it’s really awesome. And that was at the office, catered lunch, chicken that was fried hours ago. Microwaved to reheat and still crazy juicy and flavorful.
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Ahhh… good to know. Maybe I’ll give it a 3rd try. It was the opposite of crazy juicy the times we tried it.
No, we didn’t. I’ve been procrastinating, but definitely have biz to take care of downtown, so…
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Anybody try this place, Cuckoo Rooster, in Agoura next to Italia Deli? They look like a Howlin Ray’s knockoff. I’ve heard rumblings from a few people I know saying it was really good but not sure I trust them.
I need someone respectable from FTC to give me the word 
Cuckoo Rooster
5653 Kanan Rd
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Another upscale choice that is surprisingly good is Ricky’s fried chicken at the Ivy.
I was in Agoura and had time to grab a bite. I was going to go to my favorite, Italia Deli (On Kanan Rd) as part of my “Gr8Pimpin’s Pre-Diabetic Carbs Of The World Tour (bender)”, but saw this place right next-door, Cuckoo Rooster.
Now you can take my comments with a grain of salt, or maybe a shaker of salt is more appropriate because it’s me, I have never been to Howlin’ Ray’s so I really have nothing to compare to.
Also, I am no wordsmith like @Chowseeker1999 , nor am I very good at being super descriptive. So deal.
All I can say is this place was unbelievable. Now I got a quarter bird, breast/wing with the medium heat (lol, yeah, sure, it was medium), and it’s the kind of heat that doesn’t hit you right up front, but is more a slow backend burn. The chicken coating was crunchy and well-flavored and the chicken was so incredibly juicy unlike anything I’ve ever had.
Trying to capture the juiciness in a photo wasn’t very easy but maybe you can see it. I’m guessing it’s pressure-fried.
I just couldn’t get myself to get another order just to try it without any heat so that I could really just get a feel for what the coating itself tasted like. But I will dream of this chicken.
I ended up having to get it to go. As I was driving, it smelled so good I couldn’t resist. The chicken was so tender, I was able to reach into the box and pop the wing off with one hand.
By the way, I have in my grubby possession a Howlin’ Ray’s front-of-the-line pass that has yet to be used. So eventually I’ll get down to comparing it. But this place, Cuckoo Rooster had no line, so in and out.
Their site needs work but here it is. Check out photos on yelp or google.
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looks legit as shit
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Wow, that looks quite similar to Howlin Ray’s, including the spice descriptions.
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This is the only one of the Howlin’ Ray’s true knock-offs that I’ve seen. The other hot chicken places that are popping up all over the valley are doing “tenders”. I went to 24 Hot Chicken & Waffle Bar last week in Studio City. NOTHING like Cuckoo Rooster and quite expensive. 4 tenders and 6 wing parts was well into the $30 range. Though 24 Hot actually does serve the tender (as opposed to a chicken strip) but because it’s a tender, it’s small and over $3 each.
Cuckoo Rooster serves giant “tenders” (theirs are really strips) and looked like the bone-in chicken as far as coating.
This place was worth a trip to Agoura, especially if you get a sandwich from Italia Deli to-go for later.
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Went back to Cuckoo Rooster, with the kid… ok he’s not a kid.
So he got the “medium” heat, quarter white Chicken ‘N Waffle. Even after dumping most of his syrup on the chicken, lol, the heat was still a bit much for him. Personally this is the perfect level for me.
The outside batter is fairly thick but works well with the addition of the oil based flavoring.
I tried the Original Chicken Sandwich, also medium heat. Thick incredibly juicy breast, felt close to 8oz. Topped with slaw and dill pickles on butter bun.
This was so good. The slaw dulled the heat somewhat, probably could up the heat to a Four if getting this sandwich. So juicy and tender. Wow.
I got an order of tenders, “Naked” (no heat). Huge, they were actually strips not tenders, but they were so thick and juicy. The outside coating/breading was crunchy, like Popeyes crunchy. I think I prefer my plain fried chicken with a thinner crust. Though the thicker works well with hot chicken. I think strips have a tendency of having a thicker batter. It was really really tasty, not overly salty, I’d like to try the regular bone-in chicken with this style and see if it’s as thick. The fries were very well cooked too, crispy outside and soft pillowy inside.
Kid insisted on trying some buffalo wings too. They were good party style wings. After eating the hot chicken, these tasted like they had no heat.
I really really enjoyed this place. I cannot wait to try Howlin’ Ray’s. I really want to compare the style of the batter/breading and heat. Can’t wait to use that front-of-the-line pass.
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Please report when you do. I am curious how it stacks up but from looking at your pictures, it looks very promising! Agoura Hills is a decent trek for me, but I don’t want to blow my last front of line pass just yet 
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If you make the trek, get a sandwich to-go for later from Italia Deli and head over to Westlake to Cake Monkey. Now you can make a day of it
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Thanks! I’ll probably do that. Any FTC insider hacks for the sandwich or order as is?
For Italia Deli? Nope. But the hard roll is the way to go for the cold sandwiches. 
I get them with everything on them.
And since you’ve trekked that far, why not check out the excellent tri tip at http://www.simigreenacres.com/departments/santa-maria-style-bbq-patio/ and wrap up with dinner at Sushi Tanaka.
At Italia deli - everything on it but easy on the mayo. They can be a little heavy handed with the latter. The tomato pies are noteworthy too.
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That’s so interesting, because I’ve never had one that I thought was heavy on the mayo and I typically am not a mayo person.
Good advice, best to be safe.
And if you’re going all the way to Simi, you’re just down the road from The Hat. ( OK, now we’re getting out of control )