"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across Los Angeles to find the best fried chicken in the city. They'll be visiting four locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
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00:00Today we're doing the best fried chicken in Los Angeles.
00:03I'm taking you four amazing fried chicken spots,
00:06starting here with possibly the spiciest,
00:09Howling Ray's hot fried chicken.
00:11Howling Ray's in LA, super popular.
00:14How are you with spice?
00:16Okayed and not great.
00:17Okay, because I'm looking at this menu
00:18and I'm thinking maybe we don't try and be heroes here,
00:21because we do have more Chickens Week today.
00:23I thought we'll do the sandwich, medium,
00:25do the wings, hot,
00:26and some fried pickles and banana pudding
00:29to help turn the volume down on the heat.
00:31That sounds perfect to me.
00:38Awesome.
00:39Remember these loaves to do, okay?
00:41So these are the hot wings.
00:42Hot wings.
00:43It's gonna be medium, breast pudding.
00:45Oh cool, thank you.
00:46Thank you very much.
00:47This is specifically Nashville hot fried chicken.
00:51I got so much to talk about, but before, let's dig right in.
00:54Starting off with the sandwiches.
00:56All right, bite it, buddy.
00:57One of these American steroid chickens that are like dinosaurs.
00:59Mm-hmm.
01:01Hot, hot, hot.
01:03Oh, man.
01:05Mmm.
01:06I know hot and howling's in the title.
01:08Uh-huh.
01:09And people love to, like, you know, be the tough guys,
01:11be blokes, as you guys like to call it, but being too spicy.
01:15When the spice isn't out of control and just adds in a flavor, I'm in heaven right now, man.
01:18That's fantastic.
01:19Mmm.
01:20This whole chain was founded by Johnny and Amanda in 2014.
01:24Johnny started working in the food industry and also worked with Gordon Ramsay and Thomas Keller, right?
01:30While in Tennessee, Johnny tried Nashville hot chicken and it was love at first bite.
01:34After that, him and his partner just went all over Nashville, perfecting the recipe and eventually launching their own truck.
01:41I will say there's, like, some misconceptions, I think, about British people and spice, which I would like to dispel while I have the opportunity.
01:47Do it.
01:48Do it.
01:48We do like spice.
01:49There's a reason why, like, Indian food has taken off so much in the UK.
01:52Yeah.
01:53Yep.
01:53We can handle a bit of heat.
01:54We think Brits can't handle heat because your native food is so flavorless.
01:59Sure.
02:00This is great, though.
02:01This particular, like, medium level for me is perfect because you get a lot of that warmth, but, like, not in an unpleasant way at all.
02:06The chicken itself is still super juicy as well.
02:08Yeah.
02:09It's like a thick piece of chicken breast.
02:10Yeah.
02:11The crispness of the skin and the way they lock in the juices comes from their technique.
02:14I'm doing the dry, the wet, the dry for the batter, going back and forth a couple times before they drop it in.
02:19So it really locks in the flavor and gives it that extra crispy skin.
02:22It's got a real crunch to it.
02:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:24The crust on that is probably thicker than the other places we're going to be going to today.
02:27And thicker crust doesn't mean more flavor.
02:30I'm not saying that.
02:31It's just it is thicker, which has a crispier taste to it, which I like, and also it's flavored perfectly.
02:35So this was medium.
02:36Yeah.
02:37We do have hot.
02:38The wings are hot.
02:39And I want to point out something, too.
02:40But the wings that they have here, I thought I was getting like the little chicken wings.
02:44We got a full wing.
02:45Yeah, a full wing.
02:46I mean, that is the chicken wings.
02:47What are you doing right now?
02:48Are you getting ready for surgery?
02:49What's going on here?
02:50I'm gloving up.
02:51For what?
02:52It's the hot.
02:53It's the next one up.
02:54I am playing it very cautiously here, Joe.
02:55Okay.
02:56While you're struggling with the gloves, this is hot.
02:57So this is the next level up.
02:58Yes.
02:59And also, yeah, like, so you got the drum and the flat attached.
03:02That's kind of well.
03:03Yo.
03:04Ho ho ho.
03:05Ho ho.
03:06Oh man.
03:07That's got some heat.
03:08For me, I've hit heat limit.
03:09Yeah.
03:10Here's what I mean by that.
03:11This is hot.
03:12From this point forward for me, I could maybe muscle the strength to do more, but I wouldn't
03:20be enjoying my meal.
03:21It's got like an addictive quality.
03:22It's delicious.
03:23There's something about it that makes you want to go back, right?
03:25It's so good.
03:26I wouldn't get the hot for a meal, personally.
03:28No.
03:29For me, the medium was like perfect.
03:30I think the medium is perfect.
03:31Maybe get like the wings of something hotter to kind of show off at the table.
03:35Again, bloke mode.
03:36Mm-hmm.
03:37This chicken's fantastic, dude.
03:39One of the claims to fame is they have chicken that is incredibly spicy.
03:43So spicy, in fact, for the two spiciest of the flavors, you have to sign a waiver.
03:48Look at that.
03:49Which I want to point out we have not signed.
03:51So they brought us the spiciest.
03:53Oh, bro.
03:54No, no, no, no, no.
03:55Howling Plus.
03:56I'm not touching it.
03:57So this one isn't even on the menu.
03:59This is like a secret menu level of heat.
04:00That's right.
04:01I want you to just like, can you just like show a differentiation?
04:03Oh, my God.
04:04I mean, this chicken's closer to black than it is red.
04:07She said that one is more like an oil-based sauce.
04:10Yeah.
04:11Which I guess just is going to coat your mouth.
04:13I don't want to touch it.
04:14Yeah.
04:15One of the things the head chef pointed out to us, and this is so true.
04:17You see a lot of people when they're dealing with spicy drinking milk or drinking things.
04:21Yes.
04:22What I said is that all that does is kind of like wash it out of your mouth and into your body.
04:25It doesn't like neutralize it very well.
04:27So he recommended getting things that are thicker like the macaroni salad and this, the banana pudding.
04:34Let me get a bang on that.
04:35That makes more sense, I think.
04:36If you're just like chugging milk, it's not going to be achieving much.
04:39Yeah.
04:40But if you leave this in your mouth to kind of like soak things up.
04:42Yeah, I want another bite.
04:43Like, yeah, coats it.
04:47Mmm.
04:48This is so good.
04:49It's really tasty.
04:50I could kill that.
04:51Yeah.
04:52And that did help.
04:53Yeah.
04:54I'm pretty much reset now.
04:55Oh, great.
04:56All right, my man.
04:57This was great, but I got a couple not screamingly spicy chicken spots to take you to.
05:03You ready for more?
05:04Yeah.
05:05Can we go via like a Baskin Robbins or something?
05:06Sure.
05:07Sounds great.
05:08All right.
05:09We are on our way to the next location, Honey's Kettle Chicken.
05:11How you holding up, buddy?
05:12Yeah, not too bad.
05:13I had a moment with the hot chicken there.
05:14That was definitely at the higher end of my spice tolerance.
05:17Sure.
05:18But we've leveled out now.
05:19I'm all good.
05:20That was a Nashville hot chicken place.
05:21This next place we're going to is a bit of a New Orleans style fried chicken place.
05:25L.A. does not have a long storied history with fried chicken.
05:30It's newer to the area comparatively.
05:32But as you've noticed, L.A. is a melting pot of so many cultures and therefore culinary flavors and styles.
05:40So each place is doing fried chicken their own way, which pretty much to me is the L.A. way.
05:45All right.
05:46All right.
05:47Next stop, we're in Culver City at Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken.
05:51Started at Nashville style.
05:52Now we're doing more of a southern New Orleans style fried chicken.
05:56Dude, we're getting a couple two pieces.
05:59I want to get some hot cakes.
06:01They're doing the fried chicken a little bit differently here as the kettle on the logo insists.
06:08It's a kettle style way of frying chicken.
06:11So not like a kettle that we would use to make tea in the U.K.?
06:13I don't believe so.
06:14I understand it as this giant vat of boiling oil.
06:17But first, I want to order that chicken bloody because I'm starving.
06:20Let's eat.
06:21All right.
06:22It's kind of warm in here.
06:23Yeah.
06:24Don't know if this is good jumper weather.
06:26No.
06:27I wasn't planning.
06:28We're in December, you know.
06:29I thought L.A. might be cold.
06:31Man, that's way better.
06:33You know, I didn't sign off on that.
06:35Do you not?
06:37You like it?
06:38It is terrifying.
06:39So I got to look at this the whole rest of the day now?
06:41Yeah, if that's all right with you.
06:42No, it's not.
06:43The jumper could go back on.
06:46Are you kidding me?
06:49Bosh.
06:50Okay.
06:51This looks ridiculous.
06:53Right?
06:54We diving straight in?
06:55Dive in.
06:56Dive.
06:57Oh, no.
06:58Amazing.
06:59Amazing.
07:00Okay.
07:01Have you ever had fried chicken that crispy before?
07:02No.
07:03Or that tender?
07:04No.
07:05That's fantastic.
07:06That's like next level.
07:07It's like pork crackling on the outside.
07:08Right?
07:09Yeah, that's a good reference for the U.K.
07:10So it's wet battered with filtered water.
07:12And I say that's part of the reason they get the perfect consistency.
07:15He marinates it in a secret blend of spices for 24 hours.
07:19The kettle style traditionally is a giant, I guess, kettle that is filled with oil but heated from the bottom.
07:23Mm-hmm.
07:24So when the chicken is put in there, it sinks right to the bottom.
07:26That's where the heat is.
07:27It almost like flash crisps it.
07:29I guess because you're not doing that dry breading.
07:31Like you said, you don't end up with that quite thick layer that does tend to soak up the oil as it cooks.
07:36This really is just like that shattered crisp shell on the outside.
07:39It's so good.
07:40It's so juicy on the inside.
07:41Wow.
07:42So obviously, they know fried chicken here.
07:44Mm-hmm.
07:45I think because it's quite a thin layer of batter on the outside, it doesn't taste too oily.
07:48No.
07:49It's just that, like, beautiful season crunch and then just very juicy chicken inside.
07:53The owner, Vincent, who we met on the way in here, he's been in the game for almost 50 years.
07:58They estimate they sell about 50,000 pieces of chicken a week.
08:0350,000?
08:04Bro.
08:05A lot of chicken pieces.
08:06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:07And I'm not surprised.
08:08This stuff is really good.
08:09Even the biscuit's good.
08:10Oh, it's incredible.
08:11I like a place like this where the turnover's high throughout the day.
08:14People are coming in, getting their chicken, heading out.
08:16People are coming in like crazy around here.
08:18It's busy.
08:19You know it's going to be freshly cooked that way.
08:20The chicken isn't going to be sat out for too long.
08:21Nope.
08:22It's something with fish and chips in the UK sometimes where people will cook their fish too
08:26far ahead of time, leave it in the kind of like heat lamp area for a bit too long.
08:30Yeah, no way.
08:31Not here.
08:32And then it goes a bit sad and soggy.
08:33But at a place like this, you know it's coming out the fryer like a couple of minutes ago tops.
08:37It's hyping hot, yeah.
08:38Still super crispy.
08:39Really, really good.
08:40You see how juicy this is?
08:41We've not had chicken that's juicy all day.
08:43And to be clear, all of the liquid coming off that is juice rather than grease as well.
08:48Yeah, oh yeah.
08:49I can't put this down.
08:50It's really good.
08:51Can I say also, the biscuits.
08:53Maybe the best biscuit I've had in America so far.
08:55How does it compare to anything?
08:56I've had hit or miss biscuits so far.
08:58Some of them are just like unbearably dry.
08:59Right.
09:00But these ones are still super moist and flavorful actually.
09:03Everything is A plus.
09:04Everything is so good.
09:05They're really good.
09:06I love this.
09:07But this is, yeah, like in terms of the crispiness, I've never had chicken this crispy in my entire
09:12life before.
09:13Right.
09:14Flavors too.
09:15Juiciness.
09:16Yeah.
09:17I mean, this is just like pretty much perfectly executed fried chicken.
09:20Yeah.
09:21I would say it's pretty close to perfect.
09:23Your chip, man.
09:24How the chips are?
09:25Pretty good.
09:26Yeah.
09:27More like a British chip that I would expect in terms of like that.
09:29Yeah.
09:30Bit of thickness.
09:31Not just a chip.
09:32It's like the thick ones.
09:33I think the name of the game here is that the biscuit hot cake and this is like, it pairs
09:37so well with the light juicy chicken, right?
09:40Yeah.
09:41Yeah.
09:42You want something like a little salty, a little starchy to really like balance that out.
09:46I've heard a rumor that some people consider this the best fried chicken in Los Angeles.
09:50Well, that's for us to decide.
09:51I don't know.
09:52Mm-hmm.
09:53All I can say for now is they've made an excellent case for themselves.
09:56I think I have room for a few more spots.
09:57You got room for a little more chicken?
09:58Mm-hmm.
09:59All right.
10:00Let's hit the road.
10:01Put that jumper back on.
10:03Now, I'm not going to go through the history of fried chicken because we did that in our
10:07New Orleans episode.
10:08Check it out.
10:09But I did have many very interesting factoids about fried chicken in there.
10:14It's been a few months and I'm going to quiz you and see if you remembered all that
10:17great stuff I told you back in that video.
10:19Yeah.
10:20You ready?
10:21All right.
10:22Question one.
10:23Which method of cooking chicken did the Scottish bring to the U.S.?
10:26It was frying, right?
10:27It's got some method fried chicken.
10:28Correct.
10:29Frying.
10:30Fried chicken episode.
10:31I like that.
10:32We start with the easy ones.
10:33Before switching to animal fat, which oil was the chicken originally fried in?
10:37Canola oil.
10:38Close.
10:39I think it was palm oil.
10:40Okay.
10:41Yeah.
10:42Palm oil.
10:43Palm oil.
10:44All right.
10:45And question number three for the New Orleans fried chicken episode.
10:47I painstakingly put together a tour of three fantastic fried chicken places in New Orleans.
10:54Can you name all three?
10:55Oh, man.
10:56Plan a trip for us.
10:57Gus's.
10:58Yep.
10:59There was.
11:00Can't believe this.
11:01I mean, I take this guy to New Orleans.
11:03Keys Food Mart.
11:04Yes.
11:05Okay.
11:06Yeah.
11:07Gus's and Keys.
11:08There was one more.
11:09There was a first one.
11:10Our favorites.
11:11Which is very funny.
11:13Oh, man.
11:14It was the first one.
11:15Mm-hmm.
11:16And it was delicious.
11:17It was.
11:18I didn't forget.
11:19Time's up.
11:20Fried chicken.
11:21Time's up.
11:22It was picnic.
11:23Okay.
11:24Two out of three ain't bad.
11:25Now we're heading to Koreatown for Korean fried chicken spots called Gool Tong.
11:29You're speaking my language.
11:30I love Korean fried chicken.
11:32Can't wait to see that LA twist on it.
11:34There we go.
11:35Well, it's about to get twisty, baby.
11:37Woo.
11:38We're in Koreatown at Gool Tong Chicken.
11:42Right here, buddy.
11:43Some say this is some of the best Korean fried chicken in the whole Los Angeles area.
11:49We're about to find out.
11:50You still hungry?
11:51I am still hungry.
11:52You said this guy also has quite an interesting story, right?
11:54Absolutely.
11:55He was a film director in Korea.
11:56He's made a few movies.
11:57Got the movie posters on the wall right there.
11:59There you go.
12:00And somehow he's ended up fighting a chicken shop.
12:02Yeah.
12:03Made his money in karaoke.
12:04Then went into film.
12:05Then jumped to fried chicken.
12:07Karaoke, fried chicken and movies are three of my favorite things.
12:10And they do fruit.
12:12Yeah.
12:13I was looking at the menu and it looks like a fruit salad that comes with the food.
12:16I think the fried chicken and fruit seems like a nice pairing to be honest.
12:19Yeah.
12:20Again, I was saying like sweet heat.
12:21Yeah.
12:22Great combination.
12:23Also, you notice there's a vocal booth back there.
12:25So if you want to spit a few verses for your fierce mixtape, you can do it here.
12:29Right?
12:30Put a fire in the booth.
12:31Yeah.
12:32What about the fire chicken?
12:33Then do a fire verse.
12:34Drop some fire in the booth.
12:35I'm going to put it in order.
12:36You hungry?
12:37Alright.
12:38Yeah.
12:39Let's go.
12:40Yes, sir.
12:41Thank you so very much.
12:42Wow.
12:43Gotcha.
12:44Wow.
12:45Thank you so much.
12:46Thank you sir.
12:47Dude.
12:48Oh, we're in trouble.
12:50This is the director's cut.
12:51You got one, two, three, four different styles of fried chicken here.
12:55Right?
12:56This is one of the craziest plates of food I've ever seen in my life.
12:58Well, how about we try it before we talk about it?
13:00Okay.
13:01Sounds like a plan.
13:02Oh yeah.
13:03Amazing.
13:04On some of these, the fruit salad in with the chicken.
13:07Dipping sauce is too.
13:08It's like a berry flavor, but it's so spicy.
13:11Mmm.
13:12Have you ever had...
13:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:14Have you ever had fried chicken and fruit in the same mouth before?
13:15I haven't.
13:16I don't think I have.
13:17Yeah, I just had some strawberry with fried chicken, which I've never had before, and
13:20that was absolutely delicious.
13:21Amazing.
13:22I can't even count.
13:23There's like blackberries on here.
13:24There's blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, avocados, kiwi fruit, I think I'm
13:28seeing there.
13:29Pomegranates?
13:30It's just things that I would never think to consume together, but now they're here,
13:35I'm going to do it.
13:36This guy's a genius.
13:37In terms of the chicken itself, how's this stacking up for you?
13:40This is fantastic.
13:41This was the wild card coming in today.
13:43I do not have Korean fried chicken.
13:44I've had it before, but never like this.
13:46This one over here, this one with the fruit sauce on it.
13:48Yeah.
13:49I haven't had anything like this before and I absolutely love it.
13:51One thing that really impresses me about Korean fried chicken, especially this Korean fried
13:55chicken, is that when it is tossed in that sauce, it still retains that crunch.
13:59Because often when you get like a fried thing, you cover it in sauce, it'll just go soggy
14:03really fast.
14:04But this one, like, you still get the texture difference.
14:06The gentleman that we're singing back and forth here, I believe his name is Kil Chae Jong.
14:11My apologies if I pronounced that wrong.
14:13Only person who works here.
14:14Wow.
14:15One man show.
14:16This is his joint.
14:17He's got the sweet, he's got the savory, and he's got the spicy all on one dish.
14:21I want to point out, they normally have, you know, K-pop blasted.
14:24And you see from the TVs here, it's like more of a upbeat vibe.
14:28And it turned down the stimulus for us, understandable for the shooting.
14:32But yeah, this is absolutely fantastic.
14:33I love it.
14:34This is just like, to me, so unique.
14:36I've had Korean fried chicken before.
14:38Never in LA, but I've never had a plate of food that looks or tastes quite like this.
14:42Yeah.
14:43With those fruit combinations, particularly, you can almost tell that it is just run by this
14:47one guy in the way that, like, this is so distinct.
14:49Yes, it has a very personal flair to it.
14:51Right, it feels like this is like very much his personality coming through on the plate.
14:55And it's really, really delicious.
14:57I think we may have to get the rest of this to go because there is an enormous amount that
15:01we have unfortunately not touched.
15:02All right, last spot I want to take you.
15:04Can't go today, but I'll see you bright and early tomorrow.
15:07Sounds good.
15:08Fantastic.
15:09All right, my guy, we're in Venice right now.
15:11We're stopping our last chicken spot, Willie Mays.
15:14Oh, I thought that was in New Orleans.
15:16That's right, sir.
15:17When we went to New Orleans for our fried chicken episode, it was not open.
15:20But they have a spot out here in L.A., opened in 2022.
15:25And some say it is as good as the OG location in New Orleans.
15:29And now we're at Willie Mays in Venice, Los Angeles, California.
15:33Not Venice, Italy?
15:34Correct.
15:35Cool.
15:36We came here in a car, not a boat.
15:37Sure.
15:38Gondola.
15:39This location has been here since 2022, and it is a sister location of the OG restaurant
15:44in New Orleans.
15:45I feel like when we were in New Orleans doing chicken, you said that Willie Mays was a contender
15:48out there, but we couldn't go?
15:49Oh, yes.
15:50We could not go because not only we're affected by Hurricane Katrina, but rebuilt.
15:55And then recently, when we were there, suffered a fire.
15:58So it closed once again to rebuild once again.
16:01But some say it is the best fried chicken in New Orleans.
16:05We will see how good it is here in Los Angeles.
16:08I think it is going to be fantastic.
16:10The chicken here is wet battered.
16:12So because of that, it's going to be nice and crispy on the outside, but oh, so juicy
16:16on the inside.
16:17One thing I love about this place is it said very clearly the ingredients and the spices
16:21are a closely held family recipe.
16:24And no secrets will be revealed today.
16:27If they're sitting on the chicken recipe, you know they got something good.
16:30Yeah, yeah.
16:31It's worth protecting.
16:32It's worth keeping under wraps.
16:34Also known for the Soul Food Classic, so we might try a few sides.
16:37We're definitely getting the chicken.
16:39I kind of miss gumbo from the New Orleans episode.
16:41So maybe we get a little gumbo to share.
16:42I'll see if I go with something gumbo.
16:43Yeah, I do miss gumbo.
16:44Isn't gumbo great?
16:45It's so good, yeah.
16:46That's right.
16:47You don't have gumbo in the UK.
16:48We do not.
16:49No.
16:50That's one that I've not found yet at all.
16:51So let's get it while we're here.
16:52Another opportunity, buddy.
16:53Open a gumbo shop.
16:54Willie Mays originated as a bar in 1957, but by the 70s they became a restaurant.
16:59They were given the James Beard Award as an American classic in 2005.
17:04Jimmy B.
17:05Jimmy B.
17:06Operation is run by Carrie Seaton Stewart, who is the great-granddaughter of Willie May.
17:09Still in the family.
17:10Yeah, still in the family.
17:11And they noticed out in New Orleans that they're getting a lot of visitors from California.
17:16Yeah, none of these are pretty like originated in LA.
17:18Yeah.
17:19But you know, they may have been profited in LA.
17:21Yeah, that's right.
17:22Yes, please.
17:24Thank you so much.
17:26Looks incredible.
17:29Thank you so very much.
17:33I think we have a winner.
17:36You haven't even tried it yet.
17:38Looks alone incredible.
17:40We have a lot to talk about, but first.
17:42But first.
17:43We diving in?
17:44Shall we taste?
17:45We're diving in.
17:46Mmm.
17:47Oh, yeah.
17:48Not a crunch.
17:53I got the wrong part.
17:54We got mostly bone.
17:59Oh.
18:00Mmm.
18:01I'm so glad we came here.
18:02This is amazing.
18:03We haven't had skin as crispy as this, but it's also this light.
18:07You notice that?
18:09It's in that crunch.
18:11Mmm.
18:12Mmm.
18:13I get it.
18:14I get why people were flying to New Orleans for this chicken.
18:18And I do honestly think it is a stroke of genius to go, why don't we just open it in
18:24California on the West Coast?
18:25I mean, looking at the batter, I thought it was going to be quite a thick layer of
18:28batter as well.
18:29Yeah, same.
18:30The way it's kind of like blistered up and you have these like puffy layer bits.
18:33But it's actually not that thick.
18:35It's quite a light, delicate layer of batter, like you're saying.
18:37And it is that, you can tell it's that wet batter again because it's really just sealed
18:40in like every ounce of juice that was in this chicken.
18:43It's all right in there.
18:45Still tasting amazing.
18:46Ah, so good.
18:48As mentioned before, the recipe, the spices, the highly guarded secret it said online.
18:56Mm-hmm.
18:57Before I'm like, okay, whatever.
18:58Now, no.
18:59Mm-hmm.
19:00We must protect this recipe at all costs.
19:02This is so good.
19:03I totally get it.
19:04If I came up with this, I'd be like, ain't nobody getting this.
19:06Good.
19:07I also want to try some gumbo.
19:08I miss gumbo a lot.
19:09Gumbo was one of my favorite things that we actually ate on that whole trip, last time
19:13we were out.
19:14Yeah.
19:15Does it taste like we're back in New Orleans?
19:16Feels like it, right?
19:17It kind of does, yeah.
19:18So, yeah.
19:19The vibe in here is very New Orleans.
19:20Mm-hmm.
19:21Yeah.
19:22I feel that they've done a perfect job of replicating great New Orleans food here in sunny California.
19:28Mm-hmm.
19:29Because, yes, the chicken is on point, but the gumbo's fantastic.
19:32The corn muffins are fantastic.
19:34Yeah.
19:35The sides, all this stuff is really fantastic.
19:36I really feel like we could have this exact same meal in New Orleans, but we're in California.
19:40Yeah.
19:41I agree.
19:42Impressive display of consistency, love and care.
19:45It's really, really tasty.
19:46All right, buddy, but if you had to pick your favorite of all the places I've taken you
19:51today, what do you think was your favorite fried chicken in Los Angeles?
19:56As always, it's a tough call.
19:57You've given me very different, like, styles of chicken across the board.
20:00Yeah.
20:01It's not like a direct comparison, but I think the one that I personally have enjoyed the
20:04most was actually Honey's Kettle.
20:06Oh, really?
20:07I think that kettle style frying for me produced what I think of as kind of like the platonic
20:11ideal fried chicken.
20:12It was super crispy, unbelievably juicy.
20:15Yep.
20:16Flavorful, but surprisingly light.
20:18Mm-hmm.
20:19I always love the vibe in there.
20:20I think the family are doing an amazing job.
20:21Mm-hmm.
20:22It's fine margins, because this is also great.
20:23Gold Tong was also great.
20:24Mm-hmm.
20:25They've all been great.
20:26Harlem Ray is also good if they hadn't tried to assassinate me with spice.
20:29Here's this chicken.
20:30Sign this waiver before you eat us.
20:32When you die, you can't sue us.
20:33Mm-hmm.
20:34That's bold.
20:35For me, fine margins, but I think, yeah, Honey's just edged up.
20:38Yeah.
20:39I think my head is the same place as yours, except I'm going to flip them.
20:41I think Willie Mays is the best fried chicken I've had in Los Angeles.
20:44Honey's kettle is a close second.
20:46I guess we have the same sentiments, although I felt that this style, this crispiness, and
20:51this flavor profile, and the lightness and juiciness of this specific chicken was better
20:56than Honey's kettle.
20:58But, I mean, they're neck and neck.
21:00I mean, Howling's still great.
21:01We'd still highly endorse that.
21:02If you want the real spice, if you want to push yourself, do that.
21:04Also, Gold Tong was so fun.
21:05Also, Gold Tong was so fun.
21:06Yeah, probably the most entertaining meal, get three of your friends together and go
21:10to Gold Tong.
21:11Yeah.
21:12Three friends, several beers.
21:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:15And a mountain of French chicken and fruit.
21:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:17It's cool, though.
21:18I feel like I've had a really good overview of the LA fried chicken scene.
21:21You can see those cultural influences have come from all over the US and beyond, and
21:25they're really kind of like being honed in LA, which I really love.
21:29And yeah, I wish like half of these places were available in London.
21:32Never happening, buddy.
21:33Never happening.
21:34All right.
21:35I'll have my sad, soggy KFC.
21:37There's a lot of talk in the Manosphere about getting up early and exercising or hopping
21:42on a cold plunge to really get your day started.
21:45Yeah, none of them reference having blazing hot chicken to get the blood flowing.
21:49That's what we're doing today, buddy.
21:50Get ready.
21:51That's a good point, actually.
21:52Yeah, like cold plunge, supposed to get your heart pumping.
21:54I'm sure two million Scoville's will do the same thing.