In Search of Golden, Crispy, Delectable Fried Chicken - Farmshop, Pann's, Jim Dandy, Huckleberry, The Brentwood, Republique, Honeybird, Howlin' Ray's and more!

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
141

Hell yes to the red beans n rice. Also, make sure you get the “spicy” chicken. It’s all about the spicy at Popeye’s.

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142

Yep, all about the spicy.

143

the power play is putting the chicken skin bits on top of the RBR.

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144

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145

Thanks @TheCookie @Ns1 @sel @Bigmouth . :slight_smile: I’ll definitely keep these tips in mind. :slight_smile:

146

also keep your expectations in check, we’re talking about $1.99 for 2 pieces. Be prepared for salt. If you want more salt, you can ask for their “cajun sparkle”, which is basically MSG with cajun spices. I’m actually not even sure there are cajun spices in there.

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147

No.

But if you happen to go to any of them, not something I’d recommend or even suggest, stick to the Cajun Rice, Cajun Fries, and Jambalaya, and leave with your dignity intact.

Then head straight to the nearest Pioneer Chicken and do fast-food, greasy, commodified fried chicken right. And get an extra bucketful, or two, of their Spicy Rice while you’re at it.

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148

Alas, Pioneer Chicken is like an endangered species. The only one I know of left is on Florence in Bell Gardens east of the casino. I went about a year ago, and it was good, but not as good as I remember it from childhood.

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There’s one near DTLA (in Boyle Heights).

It’s like Thrifty’s Ice Cream for me. No longer 10¢ a scoop (which always made deciding between a triple and a game of Centipede one of those Robert Frost fork-in-the-road decisions during that dead period after school and before dinnertime) and no longer all that great when it comes to frozen dairy desserts, but I still find myself hankering for a triple scoop of Chocolate Chip, Pistachio, and Rocky Road (in that exact order) every time I come across a Rite-Aid.

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150

Thanks @Ns1.

Perhaps to better set my expectations, do you like Vons’ Fried Chicken taste & QPR more or Popeye’s? :slight_smile:

151

I’ve never been a fan of Von’s fried chicken. YMMV.

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Hi @Ns1,

Ah my mistake; just looked back and realized it was @JeetKuneBao who recommended Vons earlier in this thread. :sweat_smile: Thanks.

153

Out of the supermarkets, I find Vons the saltiest and not as good as Ralph’s or Albertson’s. Before they closed down the Albertson’s around us, their fresh batch consistently edged out Ralph’s by a bit.

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154

Went to Pann’s this weekend. Probably my 6th or 7th visit since they changed to limited hours. They definitely have consistency issues with the fried chicken now. For years, it was always on point. Now about every other visit, the chicken will be fried a bit too long. The cooks may be slammed with the higher volume now and unable to keep as close of an eye. Still good, just not as good as before…

One of these days, I still plan to wander in to Dinah’s after avoiding them the last several years.

155

I think in SoCal, Albertson’s may be the best for fried chicken.

Just as a PSA, if you ever find yourself in a city with a Publix, and feel a hankering for fried chicken while also needing to pick up a pack of toilet paper, then run, don’t walk, to your nearest Publix.

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156

To add on…I once was in an Albertsons, and to my surprise, they were hand-breading the chicken before throwing it in the fryer. Slightly unrelated, I love their Zesty wings…I walk into the store and first, order 3 lbs at a time (so I can convince them to fry up a fresh batch just for me) and then do my shopping so I’m not wasting time standing around.

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157

As a Floridian, I concur with this statement.

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158

My cousin who is a good chicken fryer herself orders Albertsons for larger parties (picnics). Like you wrote, they’ll do it made to order and it’s pretty good.

Ralphs does have a salt issue and all 3 of the markets mentioned overcook the chicken, but IMO Ralphs has the edge. The skin is usually fried just right.

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159

Thanks for the tip @Jase. :slight_smile:

And bummer about Pann’s. We haven’t been back in a while now, that’s unfortunate to hear.

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Hi @Chowseeker1999 -

[quote=“Ns1, post:146, topic:4255”]
also keep your expectations in check, we’re talking about $1.99 for 2 pieces.
[/quote]Definitely this. In fact, I would never send one such as yourself to a Popeyes. :grin: I was just goofing off with my fellow lowbrow food seekers… Just kiddin’ guys.

P.S. Either ipse is trippin’ or I moved to L.A. too late and missed Pioneer’s heyday. But, nooo! Until a year ago we had one of the last ones standing near our house. It didn’t cross my mind to set foot inside… really dirty looking. It’s now a Starbucks.

Happy Seeking!

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