We tried our first chicken and waffles recently. Not at Roscoe's (they have had huge lines even before Obama's endorsement), but at Wood and Vine. We can see the appeal. But if you prefer your chicken sans syrup, then you find the next big thing at the Los Angeles Fried Chicken Fest.
The first annual event, a fundraiser for anti-hunger organization Share our Strength, featured the latest take on a summer picnic staple. But this is L.A. people. We eschew the colonel. Popeye is soooo 1988. We use volcanic ash in our fried chicken, for pete's sake.
The featured chefs were:
The event was held in the empty space for a formerly large Japanese restaurant, which seemed like a strange place to nickname "The Coop" for the evening. The checkered tableclothes were rather our of place near the massive koi pond. Stations were set up throughout the property for sampling.
I think Matt Molina's take on the fried chicken with fried biscuit accompaniment (why not just throw the whole meal in the fryer?) was the group favorite of the night, though the fried curried chicken was a close second. There was a Peruvian dish, some Carribean nuggets and a Thai-inspired take on a Southern U.S. staple.
But by far the most unique 'how far will L.A. chefs go for the next big thing' was the Hot Lava Chicken. I happened to be there just as a new batch was being served....though it appeared to me to have been cooked too long. If you happened upon this dish anywhere else, you would think someone had formed charcoal to loosely resemble a chicken leg. The carefully placed sauce for presentation may have been the only clue that one should pick it up, look beyond the seemingly exceedingly charred exterior, and find tender chicken. The server offered the explanation that they used volcanic ash in the cooking to give it that look. Given that stories surrounding any volcanic eruption include reports on threats to food supplies, I do not believe her. But some secret spice concoction was used that gave the credibility to the idea that perhaps, at least, the chicken had perhaps lived a little to close to Eyjafjöll.
Check it....opening of a new chicken fast food joint near you....Mt. St. Marenzo (patron saint of cooking). Until then, we will have to survive L.A. with Roscoe's....maybe the President will join us again.
