The Fried Chicken Report (LA)

And now my little chickadees, what you've all been waiting for...the outrageous, crispy, crunchy and sometimes spicy

Fried Chicken Report
(also known as the not-too-thorough list of my top fried chicken spots in Los Angeles, because a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do)

But wait! Before we dive into the Los Angeles chicken scene, you should know about my earliest treks into fried chicken land, started when I was a wee girl back in the N.J. then taken over the river to the big city (and Harlem and Raleigh/Durham)...

Early Life
1. Honey Bee Chicken in Somerville, NJ on the Somerville Circle (think they are now closed) was the favorite of my family. Honey was put into the batter for a touch of sweetness, and it was really good, probably my sister's favorite to this day.
2. Roy Rogers Fried Chicken - Sadly this chain is in a few locations back East. Too bad too, because this chicken is super awesome. Since we can't get it out here I think it's only fair to provide a copycat recipe for y'all to try at your leisure.

Adulthood East Coast
1. Sylvia's of Harlem, famous for their Sunday Gospel Brunch with an order of fried chicken and grits. (Best to arrive before the busses.)
2. Mama Dip's in Raleigh/Durham has to be one of the best ever. If you are in this area, RUN DO NOT WALK.
3. Jacques Imo in New Orleans still reigns as my ultimate favorite today, even tho I've only been to the NYC location (I've got a date with them in December, don't even think about talking me out of it!) Note: Subsequent to this post, NYC location now closed :(.

Los Angeles
Ok it was a bit of a challenge to find the best fried chicken in Tinseltown, probably due to all those skinny people suppressing the demand. That is why this Report has been so delayed. And because I didn't want to gain too much weight. So without further ado, here is the list, in order of my least favorite to the best:

8. The Prince - Written up in food blogs and given a big OK by my chiropractor Dr. Lee, Prince is a dark, atmospheric Ktown bar that serves standard cocktails and Korean snack food. Tried 2 times, the 1st = cut-up whole fried chicken and the 2nd = deep fried spicy chicken, both with a big fat ruling of "eh". Sorry Dr. Lee. And to everyone else, you can totally skip this one.
7. Pollo Campero - An important part of the Guatemalan culture and located right on Olympic Blvd. and Union, I blissfully skipped to Pollo Campero and ate the chicken and really wanted to love it but it was just ok.
6. Dinah's Fried Chicken - On San Fernando Rd. in Glendale, this place is a favorite of many and reminded me of the Honey Bee a little, however it's lower on this list simply because I'm a fan of the crunchy 3-D style of bird skin and Dinah's boasts a thin, shellacked sweeter skin. Great biscuits though Dinah!
5. Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits - Call me Jersey white trash but there's something about this chicken, especially the spicy fried variety, that is pretty awesome. When I couldn't find places good enough for this list, I ended up resorting to Popeye's.
4. Pioneer Chicken - Neil took me to the Pioneer on Sunset, and there isn't a lot to write because perhaps I was a little distracted by the company? ;) Ok though when I did try the chicken it was fairly tasty, with a point on for good slaw and two off for stale biscuits.
3. Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles - Also tried 2 times (the Hollywood location is better) and the 1st time not so good because the chicken sat in the car on top of a waffle for 30 minutes before I sunk my teeth into it. Alas, on the 2nd try, eating chicken with red beans and rice, cornbread and hot sauce at the restaurant, I was in Roscoe heaven.
2. Zeke's Smokehouse - This down-to-earth BBQ place by the La Brea Target should be on people's radar more than it is. The discovery here is surprisingly awesome fried chicken. Does it matter that it's boneless? You know at one time I thought it did but it does not matter, it's awesome chicken, and n.b. the sides and atmosphere also rock. Note: Subsequent to this post, La Brea location closed and the only location in Montrose changed the chicken recipe not for the better.
1. Louisiana Fried Chicken - Zeke's had the #1 spot for a long time but I couldn't shake that guilt about the #1 chicken needing to be on the bone. Then just last week the Lousiana Fried Chicken on Adams crossed my car Kenny's path and lo and behold... No they don't have any good sides and you may take your life into your hands if you arrive on this doorstep late at night. What's important is the fried chicken, which is hot, moist, and flavorful with a hint of spice. It really is that good, in fact great, and that's why it's my #1.

Note: The findings of this report are final, until other fried chicken places are discovered and taste-tested. Challenge me if you dare!

Other area spots I didn't get to that are worthy of checking out
Honey's Kettle - The place for fried chicken & pancakes in Culver City
The Ivy - Heard they serve fab fried chicken with a side of paparazzi
Stonehill Tavern - Popular west coast chef Michael Mina's ritzy spot in Orange County features an apparently wonderful whole-fried organic chicken for two

And with that dear readers, I lay down the greasy gauntlet to take the higher path of cholesterol-resistance. The real reason being, of course, to save some of my arteries for Germany.

:) Marly

Fried Chicken Report Teaser 2

Peeps I'm gonna be honest with you... surprisingly, there's a lot of fried chicken in LA. And... it's still bathing suit season.

Yeah this means I can't try all the oodles of fried chicken (F.C.) I want to for the F.C. Report. Instead, you know it, another F.C. Teaser (without a southern accent) while I stretch out my taste-testing over a few months, updating along the way, and ultimately announcing the winner of the L.A.F.C. (also could stand for L.A.FatChick) Report later on.

Now, this week's entry is just as relevant, a sorta long-ish true food story about a man named Austin Leslie, photo above. Here goes...

Our story begins somewhere in the early 90's. I was collecting the cookbooks in the Time Life Foods of the World series. From the late 60's/70's, these were monumental in that they divided the world into food regions for the home cook pretty much for the first time.

One of the cookbooks -- American Cooking: Creole and Acadian -- included a big New Orleans section with a photo of a chef and his staff in a restaurant, Chez Helene. The caption referred to the guy in charge: Austin Leslie. The food looked comforty and delicious, the people warm and gracious. I decided if I ever visit New Orleans I'm going to Chez Helene!

So a coupla years later, in '94, Matthew and I flew down to the Big Easy and hopped in a cab bound for Chez Helene. The cab driver drove to nowhere until finally admitting he'd never heard of it, and then "Oh yeah, that place closed." I mean sure, that cookbook was printed roughly 30 years prior, yet this was still disappointing.

The next day we landed at a flea market after delightful Cafe du Monde chicory coffee and beignets when OMG, there in the piles o' stuff was a tiny Chez Helene cookbook which I rightly snapped up. This made me feel much better, because if I couldn't eat Chef Leslie's food, at least I could make it myself! (note: you guessed it, I have not, but we digress.)

About eight years or so later I read a "$25 and Under" review in The New York Times food section, which claimed that an Upper West Side hole-in-the-wall with a New Orleans-theme called Jacques-Imo served the best fried chicken in New York. Did I run? Did I doubt? Bingo, I doubted... feared it wasn't true, and drooled at the possibility of it being true.

Another year had passed before Matthew and I took a chance and went to Jacques-Imo. Beyond the slumming-it coolness of the free warm corn muffin topped with liquid Parkay, we agreed, it was the best fried chicken in New York. (To date it is still my favorite.) Excited, I went online and perused. Found out the original Jacques-Imo was in New Orleans and NY was a spin-off. The restaurant is known in both spots for its fried chicken, and oh my goodness, this because Jacques-Imo himself hired Austin Leslie as his fry cook.

(Note: Before this hiring, a late 80's TV show called "Frank's Place" was on-air, based on Chef Leslie and his Chez Helene, tho it and its revenue for Chef Leslie sadly did not last long.)

So check it, the recipe for Jacques-Imo's chicken in New York was Chef Leslie's (you can also tell because of the signature touch of persillade and sliced pickles). Meaning after all these years I did get to taste this chef's Chez Helene food, and not only was it beyond my crunch-lovin' dreams but the whole idea of it was soooo satisfying.

Soon after, John T. Edge published his book "Fried Chicken: An American Story." One of the sections features Austin Leslie, and the author mentions that he's tried to personally pry the secret fried chicken recipe out of this wonderful man but in reply the chef would merely hold out his flour-covered hands and say "The secret is in here."

I got in touch with Mr. Edge to say thanks for writing about this person, and he wrote back happy to hear there were other fans out there. So I sent Mr. Edge the fried chicken recipe from my old Chez Helene cookbook in case that was the secret one (and here is a version of his recipe that includes the persillade garnish).

Actually I was pretty thankful to have the chance to share my feelings about Chef Leslie with Mr. Edge, since I'd read in the Times that after Hurricane Katrina, Austin Leslie's health had suffered and as a result, at the age of 71, he passed away. He had recently stopped working at Jacques-Imo, however his fried chicken still lives on. If you're ever in New Orleans (sadly after this posting the New York location closed), go to Jacques-Imo and taste a few pieces of fried chicken Shangri-La -- or try to make it yourself -- as inspired by the late, great Austin Leslie.

Fried Chicken Report Teaser

Helloooo fried chicken fans of LA, or I mean, people who wish they could find fried chicken goodness in LA. The rumored illustrious Fried Chicken Report is coming to a fobloog near you, but not until next week (or the week after). THIS is your Fried Chicken Report Teaser.

My friend Joe B., and are you sitting down, confessed that years ago he had the pleasure of visiting the Kentucky Fried Chicken factory... in Kentucky! In my imagination it's only a mystical palace where urban legend says they grow chicken parts electronically without brains, not a bona fide stop on the Kentucky chicken trail. So this was very exciting.

Joe has been kind enough to let me conduct this fooblog's first man-on-the-street interview, even though at the time Joe was NOT on the street but in a car. Here we go... (p.s. I am the interviewer)

Interviewer - Joe, you've gotta tell us, how did you decide to make this momentous trip to the birthplace of KFC.

Joe - Well Marly seriously there was nothing else to do in Kentucky after the Derby and I gave up Bourbon in grad school.

Interviewer - Ah, gotcha. Hey can we talk in a southern accent now? For authenticity, as if you're still in Kentucky??

Joe - Yeah sure.

Interviewer - So when yooo went to visit KFC, what was the price to get in? Is it as muCH as Dis-knee-land?

Joe - It's free y'all, and at the end there they handed out some BOGO* cyu-pons. (*BOGO = retail term for "buy one get one free", ie. buy one drumstick get one free)

Interviewer - All right! Now I've visited the Ben & Jerry's factory up there in Yankee territory in Vermin, I mean, Vermont, and at the end of the factory toe-er they gave out tiny little cups o' ahs cream. Well were there any fried chickin samples handed out at the KFC? Popkern chickin 'n stuff? Boy do I love that crap.

Joe - No as I said beforah, just them there BOGO cyu-pons. But the chickin isn't my fave-rit so the cyu-pons EXpired.

Interviewer - Well Jiminy Cricket. So during the toe-er, did you meet the Cuh-nul?

Joe - (pause) What did you say? Did you mean the Colonel? (why did I agree to do this?)

Interviewer - Speak in the accent please!

Joe - (sigh) The Cuh-nul's dead y'all.

Interviewer - Aw shucks. Well that's a darn shame. Let's tawk 'bout them 11 herbs & spices, is that a lie that'll make Roy Rogers roll over in his guh-rave or ta-rue fact?

Joe - Sure so you think they just hand that information out for free...

Interviewer - Oh come on now, don't hold out ... I think the 11 herbs & spices must have some crehck'd peppa in theyer, some pap-rick-a, must'ed pow-der maybe...

Joe - Okay this interview's over.

Interviewer - Bye! Thank you! Take some sweet tea for the road?

(And scene...)

Stay tuned for the real Fried Chicken Report, without any unnecessary stalling, soon to appear in this very place.