Richard Blais Crack Shack - Costa Mesa - March 2017

Found myself in the neighborhood today, so we dropped by for dinner. I was excited to try Richard Blais’s offerings. Pulled into the lot, found a parking space and got out…to the smell of delightful fried chicken. Ordered at the window outside before making our way inside.
The decor is pretty novel. Very family friendly with a green space and some lawn games for kids and families to hang out in. It gives the feel of a backyard party…with a full-service bar.
My sister got the Firebird (spicy fried thigh, cool ranch, crispy onions, pickles, potato roll), which is Blais’s version of hot chicken. It is hot…I took a couple of bites and my mouth tingled…my sister ate the whole thing and was flushed within 4 bites. She had to resort to adding more of the house ranch to help cook it down.


I picked the Coop Deville (fried chicken breast, pickled Fresno chiles, Napa slaw with lime mayo, brioche bun). The breast was an amazing piece of fried chicken…super juicy and flavorful…it arrived crispy and piping hot. The rest of the sandwich felt uninspired. The slaw was overdressed and I didn’t taste any lime. The Fresno chiles added a nice bite of heat every now and then, but I needed more acid or some bright flavor to cut through the mayo, fried chicken and buttery bun. I even added the cheddar and bacon…but I couldn’t taste the cheddar. However, the bacon tasted good and was crispy. I was disappointed with the sandwich as a whole.

We shared the schmaltz fries and the deviled eggs (French toast crumbles and candies bacon). The fries were completely overdone…too crispy on the outside…like they threw them in cold oil and then tried to make up for it. They were greasy and not a good vessel for trying out the many house made sauces. The deviled eggs looked super impressive, but tasted a lot like whipped cooked yolks…it was very yolk-forward and I wish there was an element like chopped pickles or celery to brighten it up…I’m a big fan of deviled eggs, and these did not excite me because they were too rich.

The house crack sauce is Blais’s version of Heinz 57…it’s interesting because you can actually taste the 57 ingredients. I have no idea how many ingredients he has in his ketchup, but I like how I keep on finding different flavors every time I try the ketchup. The house ranch is a solid try…tangy, herby, garlicky, creamy, and not too thick and rich. Both the kimchi BBQ sauce and the Sriracha 1000 island sound like great ideas…but both were overwhelmingly single-flavored. There wasn’t much kimchi in the BBQ sauce, and there wasn’t much 1000 island in the Sriracha 1000 island.
We spent $40 on chicken sandwich dinners, and while my sister was happy…I was pretty disappointed. I’ve seen Blais on Top Chef and I like his ideas. I thought those ideas would translate well in this casual approach. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

I went a while ago and it was massively disappointing, both at his SD and OC locations.

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Sounds like he needs to…pack his knives and go.

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I didn’t like the sandwiches but I thought the straight up fried chicken was pretty good

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That’s what we stick to. We generally go early to the Little Italy location in the morning when they first open. The fries, chicken and biscuits are good because they are fresh out of the oven and fryer.

Damn…maybe you guys have it right. I guess that’s what I have to try the next time I’m brave enough to come in. With Sidecar Doughnuts down the street, there are other surefire ways of getting my weekend cheat calories.

That’s disappointing. I thought the fries at the SD location were great.