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Fried chicken sandwich at Orsa & Winston

16 Fantastic Fried Chicken Sandwiches in Los Angeles

They're finger lickin' good

by Eater Staff Dec 15, 2016, 10:59am PST

6 comments / new

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Fried chicken sandwich at Orsa & Winston

| Stan Lee

by Eater Staff Dec 15, 2016, 10:59am PST

6 comments / new

The year is coming to close and that means we must begin looking back on some of the food trends that swept 2016. While poke was big, we must not forget the excellent year fried chicken sandwiches had. Over the past twelve months, the sandwich has become a national star. Big name chefs, restaurateurs, and national chains have begun turning them out to the delight of the masses.

Luckily, the City of Angels has some of the best fried chicken sandwiches in the country. From the fiery hot chicken at Howlin' Ray's to the papaya slaw topped behemoth at Night + Market, the city has it all. You’d be hard pressed to find a more diverse selection anywhere else in America. In order to aid readers, the Eater LA team took it upon themselves to try as many of LA’s fried chicken sandwiches possible. Here now, they share the best and most unique offerings in the city. —Ashray Narayan

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Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

Fried chicken sandwiches are the name of the game at Plan Check, with three varieties all served on Plan Check’s signature crunch bun. There’s the original Southern Fry made with smoky fried Jidori chicken, spicy green pimento cheese, duck breast ham, and pickles, and even a happy hour Smoky Fried Chicken Sandwich with yam preserves, gravy, and okra for the discounted price of nine bucks. The real standout though is the Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich with habanero cheese, spicy mayo, and Sriracha pickles, available only as a special. Be sure to order it if it’s available, and prepare to sweat it out. —CC

1800 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

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Howlin' Ray's

You’ll mostly likely have to wait in line for this behemoth, but it’s well worth it. The huge boneless breast is fried until it attains a crisp crust spiced with a combination of ghost, habanero and cayenne peppers. The spice is balanced by sliced pickles, slaw, a special “comeback sauce”, and a classic butter bun.

727 N Broadway #128, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Alimento

One of the newer additions to Chef Zach Pollack’s Italian menu at Alimento is the chicken milanese sandwich. The richness of the super crisp fried chicken and layer of prosciutto is perfectly balanced by the bite of pepperoncini and a pleasantly bitter puntarelle slaw. The sandwich will also be on the upcoming brunch menu. —CC

1708 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

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Also featured in:

Night + Market Song

Does a ranch dressing and papaya salad-topped fried chicken sandwich sound insanely delicious to you? It should, and Night + Market Song is the place to get it. Kris Yenbamroong fries Chieng Rai-style skin-on fried chicken thighs until deeply crisped, tops it with som tum papaya slaw, tomato, jalapenos, cilantro, and a carefully crafted house-made ranch dressing. The sandwich is currently offered at lunch and as an off-menu item at dinner at the Song location only. —CC

3322 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

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Also featured in:

Barrel & Ashes

Studio City’s temple for elevated barbecue fare makes quite a statement with its self-proclaimed “The Best Damn Chick’n Sandwich Ya Ever Had.” While it’s definitely not the largest fried chicken sandwich ya ever had, the sweet little milk roll filled with coleslaw, jalapeno, and pimento cheese packs quite a punch, and just may live up to its name. —CC

11801 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

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Also featured in:

Canele Restaurant

The lunch-time fried chicken sandwich is loaded up with juicy fried chicken on a seeded brioche bun. The chicken itself tends to be a fairly large piece, making this a kind of thing you'll want to follow up with some coffee to stay awake afterwards. Available for lunch from Wednesday to Friday, and weekend brunch.—MK

Open in Google Maps

3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Visit Website

Free Range

This epic fried chicken sandwich is loaded up with a tempura-style hunk of free range chicken (duh), topped with a tangy whole grain mustard honey sauce, plus a spicy fresno chili sauce to round it out. It's all on a plus, sweet Portuguese bun.—MK

Open in Google Maps

8400 Melrose Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Sack Sandwiches

After cooking the chicken sous-vide, Michael Voltaggio’s Sack Sandwiches (formerly ink.sack) team lightly fries the bird then allows it to cool down completely. The result is a tender, cold fried chicken sandwich laced with housemade ranch dressing that doesn’t need heat to compete. —FE

8360 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069

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Also featured in:

Shake Shack

The Chick’n Shack is relative newcomer to Shake Shack menus everywhere, but since debuting it has been a runaway success. The boneless breast is fried until it has a flaky golden crust. Pair it with fresh lettuce, pickles, buttermilk herb mayo, and a Martin's Potato Roll and you have an instant classic

Open in Google Maps

8520 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Visit Website

Son of a Gun

This behemoth of a chicken sandwich is a towering construction of audibly crispy and powerfully seasoned fried chicken, vinegary slaw, crunchy bread and butter pickles, and spicy mayo. It is no wonder it has become one of the most talked-about dishes at Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s nautically-themed restaurant. —CC

8370 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Kato

This Taiwanese-style fried chicken sandwich is part of the small a la carte selection at Kato, a tiny tasting menu-oriented restaurant in a West LA strip mall. With a great crunchy batter and a slaw to match, it's a nice punctuation to the meal in case you're still hungry, or something nice to have at the bar.

11925 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Trencher

Trencher’s own brand of fried chicken sandwich is called The Coupe, and is surprisingly gluten-free. Using a spicy pickle slaw and doubling up on the Sriracha aioli, the spicy bird is an Echo Park favorite. —FE

Open in Google Maps

1305 Portia St, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Orsa & Winston

At night Orsa and Winston serves one of the city’s best tasting menus, but during the day it’s a whole other affair. The lunch menu focuses on healthy grain bowls, but it’s hard not to get drawn in by the fried chicken bun. The koji marinated chicken returns from the fryer with a crunchy crust. It’s seasoned with yuzu kosho, topped with pickles and served on a house-made Hawaiian bun.

122 W 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Superba Food + Bread

The fried chicken sandwich at Superba Food + Bread doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s down right delicious. The boneless breast with a thick and crunchy crust, vibrant slaw, mild jalapeno aioli, and a wonderfully fresh pain au lait all come together perfectly, To top off it off, the fried chicken sandwich also comes with some fries which just happen to make every meal better.

1900 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Birdies

The move at Birdies is to order the spicy fried chicken sandwich. What you’ll get is a all-natural boneless breast fried crisp and topped with coleslaw, ghost pepper mayo, Tillamook pepperjack, and a few cured pickles.

Open in Google Maps

314 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Visit Website

M Con

At M Con organic chicken breasts are thinly pounded, lightly bread and fried until crisp. The chicken is accompanied by a sweet mayo, house-made pickled mustard greens, and cilantro. The star of the show however is the housemade bun, a hybrid between a scallion pancake and an English muffin. All together, this fried chicken sandwich is one of the more unique ones you'll find in LA

8459 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Visit Website

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Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

1800 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Fried chicken sandwiches are the name of the game at Plan Check, with three varieties all served on Plan Check’s signature crunch bun. There’s the original Southern Fry made with smoky fried Jidori chicken, spicy green pimento cheese, duck breast ham, and pickles, and even a happy hour Smoky Fried Chicken Sandwich with yam preserves, gravy, and okra for the discounted price of nine bucks. The real standout though is the Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich with habanero cheese, spicy mayo, and Sriracha pickles, available only as a special. Be sure to order it if it’s available, and prepare to sweat it out. —CC

1800 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Visit Website

Howlin' Ray's

727 N Broadway #128, Los Angeles, CA 90012

You’ll mostly likely have to wait in line for this behemoth, but it’s well worth it. The huge boneless breast is fried until it attains a crisp crust spiced with a combination of ghost, habanero and cayenne peppers. The spice is balanced by sliced pickles, slaw, a special “comeback sauce”, and a classic butter bun.

727 N Broadway #128, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Visit Website

Alimento

1708 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

One of the newer additions to Chef Zach Pollack’s Italian menu at Alimento is the chicken milanese sandwich. The richness of the super crisp fried chicken and layer of prosciutto is perfectly balanced by the bite of pepperoncini and a pleasantly bitter puntarelle slaw. The sandwich will also be on the upcoming brunch menu. —CC

1708 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

Night + Market Song

3322 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Does a ranch dressing and papaya salad-topped fried chicken sandwich sound insanely delicious to you? It should, and Night + Market Song is the place to get it. Kris Yenbamroong fries Chieng Rai-style skin-on fried chicken thighs until deeply crisped, tops it with som tum papaya slaw, tomato, jalapenos, cilantro, and a carefully crafted house-made ranch dressing. The sandwich is currently offered at lunch and as an off-menu item at dinner at the Song location only. —CC

3322 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

Barrel & Ashes

11801 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

Studio City’s temple for elevated barbecue fare makes quite a statement with its self-proclaimed “The Best Damn Chick’n Sandwich Ya Ever Had.” While it’s definitely not the largest fried chicken sandwich ya ever had, the sweet little milk roll filled with coleslaw, jalapeno, and pimento cheese packs quite a punch, and just may live up to its name. —CC

11801 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

Visit Website

Canele Restaurant

3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

The lunch-time fried chicken sandwich is loaded up with juicy fried chicken on a seeded brioche bun. The chicken itself tends to be a fairly large piece, making this a kind of thing you'll want to follow up with some coffee to stay awake afterwards. Available for lunch from Wednesday to Friday, and weekend brunch.—MK

Open in Google Maps

3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Visit Website

Free Range

8400 Melrose Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069

This epic fried chicken sandwich is loaded up with a tempura-style hunk of free range chicken (duh), topped with a tangy whole grain mustard honey sauce, plus a spicy fresno chili sauce to round it out. It's all on a plus, sweet Portuguese bun.—MK

Open in Google Maps

8400 Melrose Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Sack Sandwiches

8360 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069

After cooking the chicken sous-vide, Michael Voltaggio’s Sack Sandwiches (formerly ink.sack) team lightly fries the bird then allows it to cool down completely. The result is a tender, cold fried chicken sandwich laced with housemade ranch dressing that doesn’t need heat to compete. —FE

8360 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Visit Website

Shake Shack

8520 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

The Chick’n Shack is relative newcomer to Shake Shack menus everywhere, but since debuting it has been a runaway success. The boneless breast is fried until it has a flaky golden crust. Pair it with fresh lettuce, pickles, buttermilk herb mayo, and a Martin's Potato Roll and you have an instant classic

Open in Google Maps

8520 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Visit Website

Son of a Gun

8370 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048

This behemoth of a chicken sandwich is a towering construction of audibly crispy and powerfully seasoned fried chicken, vinegary slaw, crunchy bread and butter pickles, and spicy mayo. It is no wonder it has become one of the most talked-about dishes at Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s nautically-themed restaurant. —CC

8370 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Visit Website

Kato

11925 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

This Taiwanese-style fried chicken sandwich is part of the small a la carte selection at Kato, a tiny tasting menu-oriented restaurant in a West LA strip mall. With a great crunchy batter and a slaw to match, it's a nice punctuation to the meal in case you're still hungry, or something nice to have at the bar.

11925 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Visit Website

Trencher

1305 Portia St, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Trencher’s own brand of fried chicken sandwich is called The Coupe, and is surprisingly gluten-free. Using a spicy pickle slaw and doubling up on the Sriracha aioli, the spicy bird is an Echo Park favorite. —FE

Open in Google Maps

1305 Portia St, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Orsa & Winston

122 W 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

At night Orsa and Winston serves one of the city’s best tasting menus, but during the day it’s a whole other affair. The lunch menu focuses on healthy grain bowls, but it’s hard not to get drawn in by the fried chicken bun. The koji marinated chicken returns from the fryer with a crunchy crust. It’s seasoned with yuzu kosho, topped with pickles and served on a house-made Hawaiian bun.

122 W 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Visit Website

Superba Food + Bread

1900 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

The fried chicken sandwich at Superba Food + Bread doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s down right delicious. The boneless breast with a thick and crunchy crust, vibrant slaw, mild jalapeno aioli, and a wonderfully fresh pain au lait all come together perfectly, To top off it off, the fried chicken sandwich also comes with some fries which just happen to make every meal better.

1900 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Visit Website

Birdies

314 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015

The move at Birdies is to order the spicy fried chicken sandwich. What you’ll get is a all-natural boneless breast fried crisp and topped with coleslaw, ghost pepper mayo, Tillamook pepperjack, and a few cured pickles.

Open in Google Maps

314 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Visit Website

Related Maps

M Con

8459 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048

At M Con organic chicken breasts are thinly pounded, lightly bread and fried until crisp. The chicken is accompanied by a sweet mayo, house-made pickled mustard greens, and cilantro. The star of the show however is the housemade bun, a hybrid between a scallion pancake and an English muffin. All together, this fried chicken sandwich is one of the more unique ones you'll find in LA

8459 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Visit Website

Related Maps