Foodie Girls Lunch Brigade – Episode 5

Quick! What is the last thing you think you want to eat when the town is burning down around you and it's 104 in the shade? Go ahead. Just shout it out.

Fried Chicken.

Episode 5- Sizzling Hot Kettle

So it was not surprising to see FG2 and FG3 surreptitiously googling "cool crisp salad Culver City" using the "FG1 is insane and tardy" iPhone app when I arrived late to our most recent rendezvous. Nevertheless, they gamely followed me into Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken, prepared to take one for the team. The iced tea and a tall cold lemonade took the edge off, and resistance completely broke down when the food arrived. Little red plastic baskets topped with a piping hot, butter-laced biscuit, seasoned fries, and two pieces of gloriously juicy bird nestled in the parchment paper lining. And what chicken it is. I can only say the batter is beyond delicious...crackling, crispy, a rich deep golden brown, and light as a feather going down. Seasoned to perfection with enough salt to keep you happy, but not so much as to take away from the flavor of the meat itself. This is great, great stuff.

FG2: (Practically purring) I could eat about six more of these biscuits.
FG3: (coming back from getting a refill from the sauce bar) I didn't realize the honey was warm! Oh my!
FG2: This hot sauce is fantastic.
FG1: I know. I know! Man, this fish is good.

Although it is almost beside the point, they make an excellent pecan pie and tasty blueberry pancakes as well. The fries are good, not great, and from prior experience I can tell you to skip all of the traditional side salads. But we ate every scrap of chicken on our plates, loved the fish fillet, and sopped up loads of honey with those remarkable biscuits. We decide there is a reason that fried chicken is a very popular item for picnics, even when it is 104 degrees in the shade: it's the perfect summer food. At least this version is.

Foodie Girls' final verdict: We loved it! FG2 even took a family pack home for dinner.

NEW! Cost info: 2 piece chicken lunch, with fries & a biscuit, $8.95. Sampler lunch with fish fillet, piece of chicken, side, fries, and a biscuit: $10.95. Drinks around $2. Specials available.