LA's Best Fried Chicken, Francis Mallmann Talks About L.A., and More A.M. Intel

Leave it to the birds

Lots of familiar names on this fried chicken map from LA Weekly, including Son of a Gun, Plan Check, and Alimento. Still, newcomer Picnic Sandwich also makes the cut, and you may not agree with the #1 slot.

But is it humane?

The Awl tackles the world of humanely-raised meat (in this case, places like David Chang's Fuku), offering a counterpoint: places like this simply can't scale up to the size of competing operations like McDonald's, so unless you're willing to skip eating meat all together, you might not be making that big of a difference.

McConnell's puts the wheels down at Blue Bottle Echo Park

That sleek new coffee spot on Sunset is getting the ice cream treatment, thanks to Santa Barbara-based McConnell's Fine Ice Creams. They're dishing free samples on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and if you want to turn your scoop into an affogato Blue Bottle will sell you an espresso shot for $1.

The Burgerlords use a measuring tape

In anticipation of their upcoming Chinatown burger shop, the Burgerlords crew is apparently hard at work sizing up their available patio space.

Captive audience as we verify dimensions in the patio furniture w/ @design_bitches. Getting close! #burger lords #chinatown

A photo posted by BURGERLORDS (@burgerlords) on Sep 30, 2015 at 11:26am PDT

Esters is in for the long haul

The Santa Monica wine and snack shop next to Cassia has quietly added lunch service, with the full menu offered from 11 a.m. on. So, you know, there's lots more time for wine now.

Chatting with Mallmann

Joshua Lurie of FoodGPS managed to chat with Francis Mallman at the Hotel Bel-Air barbecue pop-up from a few weeks ago. In the wide-ranging conversation, the pair discuss Mallmann's love of Los Angeles, his continued search for accomplishments, and his upcoming Miami restaurant project.