Fried chicken in Oakland?

[jkate]

I'll be moving back to Oakland after several years in LA and my sister wants to eat fried chicken with me. Any recs?

Any other new places to try (eat in/take out/delivery)? Will be living near Lakeshore.

Thanks

[phwib]

Has anyone tried the Fried Chicken at SR24 right across from Bakesale Betty's???

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Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

SR24
5179 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

[10foot5]

I've had 2 great lunches and one really bad dinner at SR24. Never tried the chicken though, so I'm not sure why I'm responding.

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SR24
5179 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

[phwib]

haha, some info is better then none.

[JasmineG]

A friend who I trust tried it and raved, so I've been meaning to go there.

[lucymom]

Hibiscus has the best fried chicken in Oakland so far. The chef from Front Porch basically took all her recipes and recreated them at her restaurant in Oakland, including her famous fried chicken. Don't forget to ask for her homemade hot sauce too.

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Hibiscus
1745 San Pablo Ave, Oakland, CA 94612

[mariacarmen]

Hmm, I thought the Front Porch fried chicken sandwich was ok, but really not spectacular....

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The Front Porch
65 29th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[JasmineG]

Yeah, wow, I had dinner at Hibiscus tonight, and it's the best fried chicken I've had in the Bay Area (I haven't had the Ad Hoc chicken) -- better than Pican's, better than any of the SF places. Crispy and perfectly done skin, flavorful and moist meat, really well seasoned, everything I want fried chicken to be. And they give you a sizeable amount for $21, along with two good sized sides.

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Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St., Yountville, CA 94599

Pican Restaurant
2295 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

[abstractpoet]

I had the Hibiscus fried chicken tonight and agree that it is very good -- probably in the same league as Pican's, though it's hard for me to say for sure which I like better since the style is a bit different (and I haven't had Pican's for a while now). Definitely a great crust, and I enjoyed the spicing and didn't find it at all off-putting. Leg and wing were really moist; the breast was less so.

Like Jasmine said, it's a good value for the price. The seasonal sides, though unremarkable tonight, were a good size, and I appreciated that they gave a variety of fresh veggies (unlike Pican, which only gives you a big heap of artery-clogging mac and cheese).

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Pican Restaurant
2295 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

[Bryan Gros]

Chronicle said recently the fried chicken at Hibiscus (18th & San Pablo) was great. Anyone validated it?

[whimsygirl]

This one might have to be chalked up to a difference of opinion. That Chronicle bit on Hibiscus compelled me to go to last week specifically for the fried chicken and sad to say I really didn't care for it. I think the texture of the crust was as good as the article said but the flavors threw me off. There are leaves of some herb hidden in the folds of the chicken that reveal themselves when you bite into it. It imparted an odd flavor that overwhelmed the chicken.

I'll second the kudos for Caesars. Their fried chicken is pretty good.

[ourswimmer]

I don't think the odd flavor is from the green herbs; it's either allspice or nutmeg. Texture of the chicken and crust is great but that flavor is very prominent.

[Robert Lauriston]

Yeah, I've had it a couple of times, including just last night. I like it a lot. The seasoning's the chef's secret but it reminds me of jerk.

It's a slight variation on the recipe the chef used when she was at The Front Porch in SF.

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The Front Porch
65 29th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[nicedragonboy]

I still like Merritt Bakery for fried chicken, the chicken breast pieces are huge.

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Merritt Bakery
203 E 18th St, Oakland, CA 94606

[Ruth Lafler]

Since this thread has been revived, I'll add that there have been a couple of raves lately for Scends on San Pablo in Emeryville. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/701697

[annabana]

Second Scends. My husband always gets the fried chicken as takeout when he is in Oakland and my oh my is it good. Crispy outside, moist inside, not too greasy, well seasoned but not too salty. And its still great when he arrives home here in Marin. According to hubby it is an old school bar/resto, always crowded, very friendly and the sides are good too.

[nerdigrrl]

FYI, Scends is only open afternoon/evenings--so no lunch chicken.

I have to also throw in my 2 cents for the fried chicken at Culina Deli (in Alameda's Market Place). Unfortunately, it's only fried in the morning (so they can fry those awesome onion threads, etc during lunch and dinner service) but they hold up well in the frig and reheat well in the toaster oven. Plus to differ from BSB's sammie, they have a fried chicken sandwich fried to order, topped with cheese and ham.

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Culina
1650 Park St, Alameda, CA

[indigirl]

Merritt's for take-out. I haven't had either Brown Sugar Kitchen's nor Pican's but have heard good things about both. Had the Pizzaiolo fried chicken once & was in raptures!

Bakesale Betty's sandwich is excellent as a sandwich (or as a salad) but a very different experience from what I want when I'm looking for fried chicken per se.

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Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Brown Sugar Kitchen
2534 Mandela Pkwy, Oakland, CA 94607

Pican Restaurant
2295 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

[Jumbo_Jack]

The Bakesale Betty sandwich is a cult-like experience. Stand in line and get your cool-aid. It's bland. Sometimes cold, and not fried fresh to order.

About a 15-20 minute drive from Oakland, you'll find Caesar's Chicken. The spicy is better than the regular.

It's freshly made and crispy. They have a 4 piece dinner combo, with tasty sourdough bread, decent coleslaw, and a little bit of spaghetti with meat sauce. Good stuff and cheap compared to what you find anywhere in Oakland.

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Caesar's Chicken
19450 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward, CA 94541

[mariacarmen]

i agree about bakesale betty sandwich. i got there 15 mins. after they opened, 20 people in and the chicken was soggy.

[indigirl]

It's been a little while since I've eaten that sandwich (not because the last one wasn't good!) so I'll concede it's possible that the ever-expanding mass production is wearing down the quality control. A friend who lives in the neighborhood told me she counted 110 people in line recently, stretching all the way down to the yarn store!

[ThirstyReader]

Thank you for saying what we were all thinking. That place disappoints considering the length of the line. I think most people don't want to admit their true feelings after investing so much time for so little.

www.thirstyreader.com

[Robert Lauriston]

I dunno, I don't see how anyplace can have lines like that day after day without a lot of satisfied repeat customers.

[indigirl]

It's the love, plain & simple. Food is more than technique & execution. People go to be called "luv" & be given free cookies just as much as they go for fried chicken sandwiches. As for me, I go to Betty's for both the love & the chicken pot pie, which is all that chicken pot pie should be. But I ain't standing behind 109 people!

[Melanie Wong]

Caesar's Chicken, thought that sounded familiar or like something from the distant past. Here's a post from 2003,
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/2603...
Do you also go to Porky's Pizza for fried chicken?

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Porky's Pizza Palace
1221 Manor Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94579

Caesar's Chicken Take Out
19450 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward, CA 94541

[alina555]

Thumbs up for Caesar's - cheap but oh-so-tasty.

[indigirl]

Since I knew we'd be passing through Hayward at lunch time last week we tried Caesar's. Sort of a quintessential fried-chicken experience, which is to say yummy but much greasier than Scend's. I liked it but I have to say I'm already spoiled by just one visit to Scend's. One thing Caesar's does better than Scend's though is the coleslaw: nice, fresh-tasting, w/ no noticeable sugar in it. I was also pleasantly surprised by the spaghetti, which tastes very homemade. The fries are totally generic though & we ended up throwing most of them away.

[10foot5]

I too have become disenamored of Bakesale Betty's Chicken Sandwich over the years.

The first time I had one at the Timescale street fair (Or Telegraph street fair, whatever they call it) 3 or 4 years ago it was eye opening. Chicken was tasty and the slaw was zesty and sharp. The bread didn't overwhelm the sandwich.

The last few I've had (including one just last week from the new downtown location) have had horribly dry tasteless chicken with bland slaw.

Bakesale Betty has its merits, but I wouldn't say their fried chicken is any longer one of them.

A much much better version of a very similar sandwich at the same price is served at Cafe 15.

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Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Cafe 15
597 15th St, Oakland, CA 94612

Bakesale Betty
2228 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

[abstractpoet]

I like the Cafe 15 version, too, though I wouldn't say it's "much much better". The chicken IS much more moist, which makes sense since it's made to order. But it wasn't particularly crisp the one time I had it.

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Cafe 15
597 15th St, Oakland, CA 94612

[daveena]

I actually went to Cafe 15 the day Bakesale Betty II opened because of all the fried chicken sandwich talk... the chicken was crisper and moister than BB's, but I think the breading could use seasoning, and the slaw was excessively vinegary. On the other hand, the chicken in the sandwich I had from Baksesale Betty II was both dry and cold, but the slaw was good (I've read reports of it getting excessively bland, but it was pleasantly spicy the day I went).

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Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Cafe 15
597 15th St, Oakland, CA 94612

[vulber]

I have not been there, but Pican has fried chicken; its $23 price tag would probably make it hte most expensive in oakland

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Pican Restaurant
2295 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

[abstractpoet]

It is the most expensive and by far the best, in my experience. (This is an old thread, though--there are a few more recent discussions on this topic.)

[Anya L]

I recently had some great fried chicken at Mua. The serving comes with a drumstick and breast (breast is boneless except for the wing tip), accompanied by cole slaw (I really liked it and I'm not always a slaw fan) and corn bread.

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Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

[Robert Lauriston]

Links:

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Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Nellie's Soulfood
1155 3rd St, Oakland, CA 94607

[Lori SF]

The Southern Cafe -2000 Macarthur Blvd

welome back

[shaker53]

House of Chicken and Waffles. or whatever it's called now.

[nicedragonboy]

House of Chicken and Waffles is just okay, but not impressive. I just had a chicken breast at Merritt about a week ago and it's still great. Very tasty, and not too greasy.

That being said, DeClancy's is my new favorite, seasoning is great, crispy, and very freshly made and probably the least greasy of the 3.

[tobycat]

The Merritt

[Doodleboomer]

also, pizzaiolo does fried chicken at least once a week (thursdays or fridays, i think), and bakesale betty does fried chicken sandwiches everyday!

all located at 51st and telegraph

[Morton the Mousse]

Nellies Soul Food in West Oakland has excellent fried chicken.

[Carrie 218]

Second Nellie's.

[rworange]

Delancy's is a new place that has fried chicken in that area. It is up the street from Merritt Bakery.

[Ruth Lafler]

That's Declancy's (with a c before the l) -- Delancy's is in SF. Merritt Bakery is also known for its fried chicken -- maybe you can do a comparison tasting and report back.