Fried chicken is trending in LA and many Angelenos are now willing to pay for better quality fried chicken. What makes for good fried chicken? The exterior should be crunchy and not be glistening with oil. The coating should completely cover the chicken. Finally, the inside should be moist and tender. Since my wife and daughter love donuts and fried chicken, I gave Birdie’s in downtown LA a try.
Previously in this location, Jason Harley owned and operated Mabel’s Chicken and Waffles. He received high acclaim from his customers, but never gained enough popularity to maintain the business. This time with Birdie, he made the decision to market his restaurant as a place to get great coffee and donuts. His fried chicken was secondary. In fact, Birdie’s tagline is Coffee, Donuts, Chicken.
Birdie’s proudly brews Intelligentsia coffee, a company that sources its coffee beans from single-origin farmers resulting in unique piquancy according to the geographic region. They offer a complete line of coffee drinks including hot chocolate. Medium coffee drinks range in price from $3 to $5.
Artisanal doughnuts are made from scratch in-house every two hours. Biting into one, you can immediately taste the difference in how fresh they are. They prepare both cake and yeast-raised donuts. I was there just prior to Easter and so my selection of donuts included their Easter Chocolate.
While Harley operated Mabel’s Chicken and Waffles he was known for serving generous portions. The Breakfast Sandwich continues with this tradition as I was blown away with two large fried chicken tenders. I was happy that I added the optional applewood smoked bacon as the sandwich was absolutely delicious. Because it was too much for one sitting, I removed one of the tenders and enjoyed it the next day.
The Birdie’s Original is a Fried Chicken Breast Sandwich with coleslaw, buttermilk ranch mayo, Tillamook cheddar cheese, and cured pickles. This sandwich has a salty, sweet and sour flavor profile and the chicken was extremely moist inside.
Birdie’s is located in downtown LA just a few minutes away from the Staples Center, due east on Olympic. I was able to find metered parking on Hill Street. If you like donuts and fried chicken, I recommend that you give them a visit.
Birdie’s 314 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015; birdiesla.com