How Long Would You Wait for Fried Chicken?

By JARED HAMM | Junior Reporter

My brother, dad and I went on a journey for the greatest fried chicken in Los Angeles. We had already visited Roscoe’s, Honey’s Kettle and Gus’s. But we still sought our Holy Grail.

The journey began by taking an hour car ride to downtown where we parked at a mini mall in—of all places—Chinatown. Our destination: Howlin’ Ray’s.

We eluded the dragon and lion statues on our way to battle our biggest foe yet: the two-hour line. Our special weapon, getting there before the store opened, had not helped in the least. After an hour, we were almost ready to give up, but the smell of the hot chicken kept us pushing on.

We had finally reached the end of our torture. Challenge complete: The front of the line.

Suddenly a family approached us and asked if we could get their meal, and they would buy us lunch. We thought it was unfair to all the other people and respectfully declined.

At last we reached the cashier wizard, James, who explained to us the five levels of dragon heat, using their secret cayenne pepper recipe. He warned us off the x-hot and Howlin’ choices, as we were first timers. We paid the tribute and walked out with the prize: Hot Howlin’ Ray’s Chicken.

Near starving, we attacked the red and white packages, starting with the sides. My favorite was the hot shake fries because they had a little heat, which paired nicely with a cold side of ketchup.

The creamy macaroni salad had a little too much mayo, but the cider vinegar slaw was excellent in taste and texture. The chicken was overall amazing, featuring a hard coating of fry on the outside that kept the chicken nice and moist.

We ordered three levels of heat: The mild was lightly spicy, while the medium let you feel the burn.

Then came the flaming hot. It was not too spicy for my brother but for me, it was a mouth volcano.

In total the meal was excellent, but was it worth the wait? Almost, but two hours plus an hour drive is a very long time.

Perhaps Mr. Rick Caruso would consider putting a Howlin’ Ray’s in the Palisades Village!