Category Archives: Cerritos

October 21, 2011 · 9:45 am

Politically Incorrect Chicken

I’ve heard a lot about Chick-fil-A and their famous fried chicken sandwiches over the years, but had never been to one of their fast food restaurants. So when they opened their second LA location a few weeks ago in Hollywood, I was there in line with hundreds of other people who were either already fans or curious as to whether the food would live up to the hype. Chick-fil-A started in Georgia in 1946 and has the kind of loyal following and reputation, especially in the South, that In-N-Out Burger has here in Southern California. They offer a menu that features inexpensive and much lauded sandwiches made with super fresh, high quality ingredients; fast food that transcends the genre. But Chick-fil-A also has some detractors who call for a boycott of the chain due mainly to Chick-fil-A’s political contributions to groups that campaign against gay marriage. The owners of Chik-fil-A, much like the owners of In-N-Out, are Christian conservatives with traditional Christian values. But unlike In-N-Out, which simply puts tiny references to biblical verses on the bottoms of cups without further explanation, Chick-fil-A is a lot more vocal about its Christian values and is even closed on Sundays.

Putting aside politics and marriage equality (which I support), what did I think of the food at Chick-fil-A? I loved it! They have basically perfected the fried chicken sandwich. Crispy, superbly seasoned batter on the outside, juicy and flavorful white meat chicken on the inside. You have your choice of spicy or regular chicken; both are spectacular. The chicken is freshly battered and fried in each Chick-fil-A location and the bread and everything else in the sandwiches are also super fresh. I liked the waffle fries (although I hear they don’t fare as well if not eaten right away), but what I really loved were the seven different dipping sauces, with my favorites being the Honey Mustard, Polynesian and Chick-fil-A sauces. I highly recommend the shakes, which include Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Peach and my favorite, Cookies & Cream. They also have great cole slaw and carrot-raisin salad, which are made fresh at each location. If you have room for dessert (or a second dessert if you’ve ordered a shake and consider a shake a dessert), I recommend the lemon meringue pie. For breakfast, which is only served until 10:30 am, the chicken sandwiches are served on biscuits (which was the only thing I was disappointed in; too soft and mushy).

Chick-fil-A is located at 6750 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles (in Hollywood) and 3758 S. Figueroa St, Los Angeles (Downtown near USC). There are also locations in Torrance, Cerritos, Lakewood, Santa Clarita and City of Industry. UPDATE 5/26/13: Additional locations are now in Northridge, Long Beach and Azusa.

Chicken Sandwich

Waffle Fries and Dipping Sauces

Chick-n-Minis for breakfast

Lemon Pie

What happened to barnyard animal solidarity?

New Hollywood location

8 Comments

Filed under Azusa, Cerritos, City of Industry, Downtown, Hollywood, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Clarita, Torrance

Tagged as Chick-fil-A gay, Chik-fil-A, Chik-fil-A Hollywood, Chik-fil-A Los Angeles, gay boycott, gay boycott Chik-fil-A

August 4, 2011 · 12:15 pm

Burger Battle!

In case you haven’t heard, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a hugely successful national chain which started in Washington DC, has come to conquer LA. In the world of fast food hamburgers and fries, Five Guys occupies the same space in the market that In-N-Out Burger has locally dominated for many decades; super-fresh, never frozen ingredients, fries made from potatoes cut in the restaurant and fried in trans fat-free oil, and burgers which are all cooked to order. As we all know, In-N-Out is a Southern California institution. It’s the object of many late-night cravings, the home of an awesome “secret menu” and hidden biblical verse references, as well as the place most frequently visited by LA vegetarians when they’re ready to start eating meat again for the first time. Is Five Guys better than In-N-Out? No, it’s not. But it is better than most other fast food burger restaurants.

The burgers at Five Guys, like In-N-Out, are really good. Five Guys even has several more choices for toppings than In-N-Out, including bacon, jalapenos and sauteed mushrooms. Five Guys also gives you free peanuts to munch on while you’re waiting for your food to be cooked. While I like both burgers a lot, I slightly prefer the burger at In-N-Out mainly because In-N-Out has much better buns. I love the fries at In-N-Out, but Five Guys also has great fries, and you can order Five Guys’ fries with cajun seasoning generously sprinkled on top! Unfortunately, I found the service at Five Guys to be less than stellar. They are not staffed with the uber-efficient yet exceedingly friendly, clean-cut kids that one always encounters when going to In-N-Out. The last time I was at Five Guys, after waiting about 20 minutes after ordering, I was given our burgers and unapologetically informed that they ran out of fries and we would have to wait another 20 minutes while they prepared a new batch. This would never happen at In-N-Out! Also, Five Guys in notably more expensive. So while Five Guys is definitely worth trying, I think In-N-Out has nothing to worry about.

Five Guys currently has locations in Culver City (at the Westfield Culver City Mall), Valencia, Carson (at the Southbay Pavillion) and Thousand Oaks; more locations are opening soon including Northridge, Mid-City and Downtown. In-N-Out is all over Southern California. UPDATE 12/10/11: Five Guys now also has locations open in Cerritos, El Segundo, Northridge, Whittier and Downtown. UPDATE 5/25/13: Five Guys now has additional locations in Long Beach, West Covina, Lakewood, Westwood, West Hollywood and Studio City.

Five Guys Burger

Five Guys Fries

Lots of bragging on the walls at Five Guys

In-N-Out: Still the Champion

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Filed under Carson, Cerritos, Culver City, Downtown, El Segundo, Lakewood, Long Beach, Mid-City, Northridge, Studio City, Thousand Oaks, Valencia, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westwood

Tagged as 5 Guys, Five Guys, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, In-N-Out, In-N-Out Secret Menu

July 13, 2011 · 11:00 am

Finger-Lickin’ Korean Goodness

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO AVOID DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO ONE OF THE TASTIEST THINGS IN L.A.

KyoChon serves Korean fried chicken and it is insanely good! This is not your run of the mill fried chicken and it is certainly nothing like the KFC variety. There are many different kinds of chicken at KyoChon. However, the most popular item is their chicken wings, which are very much like Buffalo wings, but with an incredibly delicious Korean-style sauce. Â You have your choice of three different flavors of wings including Spicy & Sweet Wings and Honey Wings but, by far, my favorite is the Original Soy Garlic Wings. I recommend the Soy Garlic even if, like me, you usually go for the spicy option; trust me on this one. The Soy Garlic sauce is so finger-licking-good and the fried chicken is so crispy and tasty. It’s the perfect mix of saltiness, tangy sweetness, crunchiness and juiciness. You can also get bigger drumsticks and a whole fried chicken. Another option is the healthier (and less tastier) grilled wings, but really what’s the point?

A new offering at KyoChon are the Sal Sal Strips, which are battered strips of white meat lightly fried and then coated with puffed rice crumbs and cooked to a golden crisp. They are served with your choice of dipping sauces and can also be included in a salad. The Sal Sal Strips are good, but I much prefer the wings. If you want to try all of the wings, they offer a sampler platter. I’m big on sampler platters, so if that’s the way you want to go, I won’t hold it against you. Side dishes include rice, potato wedges and my favorites, broccoli salad and sweet radish pickles. The broccoli salad is made with fresh broccoli, bits of bacon, green onions and raisins in a homemade sauce; it’s really great.

KyoChon is a very popular chain in Korea with with over a 1,000 locations, only a few of which are in the United States. They opened their first Los Angeles branch in Koreatown, but there are three additional LA locations; in the Glendale Galleria, Westfield Culver City and Los Cerritos Center. It’s surprising that one of the most delectable things in LA can be found in mall food courts. I often go to the Glendale Galleria location and it’s every bit as good as the Koreatown location, although if you’re looking for a whole fried chicken, you can only get that in K-town. KyoChon proudly advertises that their chickens are always fresh and hormone-free, so that makes it kind of heathy even it you don’t go for the grilled option, right??

KyoChon is located at 3833 W 6th St., Los Angeles (in Koreatown) and in the Glendale Galleria, Westfield Culver City (formerly Fox Hill Mall) and Los Cerritos Center.