Sat 24 Jun 2006
Zankou Chicken: Crack Never Tasted So Good
Posted by Caroline on Crack under Los Angeles -
I have found a new addiction and the dealer is Zankou Chicken. For years my friend Bernadette would tell me about it. Actually, damn her, she only mentioned it in passing. Never really selling it to me so I thought that it was just like Koo Koo Roo or something.
Only trying to find something different to do for lunch did I decide on venturing over to the scary-busy intersection of Sepulveda and Santa Monica (which always seems to be under construction). I tried to cheat the lunch rush by ordering over the phone. But the gruff lady on the line said that they don’t take orders for anything less than $100 and that they were fast anyway. Preposterous!
But sure enough when I got there, no sooner had I placed and paid for my order when they called my number. Damn, they ARE fast!
I ordered the quarter white chicken ($5.48) and it came with some pita bread, hummus and pink pickled turnips with chilies. The chicken was disappointingly dry but I just slathered the infamous garlic paste and hummus on each piece before I stuffed it in my mouth. The roasted skin was a delicacy. I wish there was more of it. They should sell a side of just the skin. Mmm!
For a drink, I got a can of mango juice only cuz it spoke to my Filipino-ness and besides, how often do you see mango juice at a fast-food joint?
Overall I was pleased with my first Zankou experience and I’d like to try their wraps eventually. For now, I think I’ll stick with the white meat chicken, only next time I’ll kick it up a notch with half a chicken instead of a measly quarter. What was I thinking?
But I love how the food is surprisingly cheap and oh-so savory. I’m definitely going to add it to my repetoire of “Foods That I’m Addicted to.” Right up there with the Outdoor Grill’s barbecued tri-tip, In-N-Out’s cheeseburger and Cold Stone Creamery’s Mud Pie Mojo.
1716 S. Sepulveda Boulevard #101
West Los Angeles, California
(310) 444-0550
June 24th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Yeah, you gotta try the wraps (or you can fashion your own), but get losts of garlic sauce. Beef, chicken–they are gooood!
June 24th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
This food is *totally* crack. Damn you, now I want some!
June 24th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
Yeah, baby … I’m hitting the brand-new Burbank venue at least once a week now, although the hubby of late has been kinda been complaining of the garlic oozing out my pores ;-) … I do get extra garlic paste, but manage to hog at least two-thirds of the supply by the time I’m done.
June 25th, 2006 at 8:17 am
Beck on Zankou…
like a fruit that’s ripe for a pickin’
i wanna do you like that Zankou Chicken
‘cos only you’ve got a thing
that i just got to get with
i just got to get with you
and you know what we’re gonna do
…..
i pick you up late at night after work
i said “lady, step inside my Hyundai”
i’m gonna take you up to Glendale
gonna take you for a real good meal
cos when our eyes did meet
girl you know i was packin’ heat
[The mothership of Zankou is in Glendale, tho some would argue Hollywood.]
June 26th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Ah, but wait until you try the herion! The tri tip shawerma is amazing! One can only pray you don’t end up like those Zankou whores, working the parking lot and Armenian events for food…
Try the one in Van Nuys next.
June 26th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Bah! Here I am all the way in Vancouve, oh-so far away from Zankou and now I’m fiending for it!
June 29th, 2006 at 9:57 am
Damn! I’m in DC. I have to wait months before I can come back to L.A. for a FIX!
June 29th, 2006 at 11:11 am
My bf used to live a block away from the Pasadena branch. He’s very much addicted to it.
June 29th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
God I love Zankou. I just ate there Tuesday, and I may have to head back tommorow after seeing this….
June 30th, 2006 at 7:54 am
have to beg to differ. the quarter dark meat is actually a little jucier (to me) than the white meat. i’ve heard bad things about the wraps….a while back they had tv commercials that said, “so good you will eat even the bones!” so true.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:15 am
I’m near the one on Sepulveda in Van Nuys. I do love the stuff, but it is way too salty for me. Why can’t restaurants, lowbrow and highbrow, get that less is more when it comes to salt?
July 23rd, 2006 at 12:40 am
I been working there for 2 years and its the bombbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
July 25th, 2006 at 10:59 am
I used to live in Glendale, and would eat here at least once a week. I miss it like the sun! PLEASE open one up here!
October 9th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
[…] Zankou has some competition on my list of addictions for the best crack chicken in L.A. ever: Honey’s Kettle. I’ve wanted to try this ever since I read all the online reviews claiming that Honey’s must put crack in their batter because their fried chicken and their biscuits keep you coming back for more. But then a lot of other reviews complained about slooowww service and rude staff, warning would-be customers to avoid lunchtime because the mix of the rush from Sony Studios and the slow service would make for a stressfully long lunch hour. […]
March 2nd, 2007 at 4:44 pm
[…] While strolling to Zankou Chicken for lunch, I was cutting through the alley when I noticed a sign behind Winchell’s Donuts for Dainties Cupcakes. Despite the fact that the entrance didn’t look like a store front at all, let alone one that sells cute cupcakes, but rather a sketchy office entrance, I was drawn to it. “Chocolate covered cupcakes” the sign beckoned. […]
March 15th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
After having worked near the Glendale location for years I almost went into Zankou withdrawal after leaving that job almost 6 years ago. I could not believe my eyes last year when I saw the coming soon sign go up in W LA just a few blocks from my home! Save the extra garlic sauce, if you have any, and add it to scrambled eggs.
And forget Honey’s, in spite of the great biscuits. It’s super greasy and, yes, the service is beyond slow, even when they are not busy. Roscoe’s is still my crack for fried chicken, but now there is Pollo Campero, too.