If you want fried chicken, get thee to Pizza Romana

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
1

Instead of exchanging perspiration with hoi polloi at Howlin Ray’s, or pretending to be eating anything but pedestrian fried birds at Gus’s, or trekking out to Honeybird only to find out they’re out fried chicken, just go to Pizza Romana.

Start with the chicken. It’s Mary’s. Then get what the menu so humbly calls “Best Fried Chicken Ever!”

And, yes, while it’s supposed to be half a chicken, there’s no dark meat, but really who cares. The crust is crunchy, salty, and with just enough spice that you’ll want to keep dipping it in the tarragon/ranch dressing that comes with the chicken. I could eat the crust just like potato chips. Better than any chicharron I’ve had in a while.

Oh, and they have pizza too. Which I’m told is pretty good. But really, go for the bird.

Pizza Romana
(former Cube space)
615 North La Brea Ave (between Clinton and Melrose)

6 Likes
2

no dark meat? pass

6 Likes
3

I may not pass but I’d be sadder cuz #darkmeatmatters.

10 Likes
4

Where o’ where are they putting the dark meat… Almost a deal breaker for me but since the restaurant is close by I suppose it shall be attended to all the same.

1 Like
5

sweat from hoi polloi only makes me stronger

3 Likes
6

Indeed, the sweat of hoi polloi is the best sauce known to mankind.

2 Likes
7

Yes, one does wonder where is the dark meat? Are they hoarding all the good stuff for themselves. I’m not sure I’m willing to make the drive for just white meat.

1 Like
8

Or they’re only buying chicken in piecemeal parts (breast only pieces).

9

paraplegic chickens?

10

Gotta have dark meat.

1 Like
11

Doesn’t seem very efficient for a commercial operation. Wouldn’t it be better to purchase whole and butcher in house?

12

Hi @Jase,

Seems that way, but I’ve seen various restaurants serve “Fried Chicken” and it be either Breast Only, or it’s Dark Meat Only (i.e., they only buy the parts for that one dish they need and don’t bother with a whole chicken). I wish they served both portions.

13

Despite the hatred of white meat, I was sort of close by and craving some fried chicken, so I stopped into Pizza Romana.

I got a pepperoni pie to start. It’s on the softer side, and a bit less bite than I would like, but for $9 this is probably the best pizza of this style in all of LA. It’s really tasty as they have got the balance of cheese/sauce/meat/crust down almost perfectly. It is really nice to see a place doing pizza on this level for something like $9. Way better than 800 degrees, Blaze, Pieology, etc… to my palate. The tomato sauce in particular seems to have really been cared for, and is just a tad spicy and fragrant with garlic. Good char on the crust as well.

1154×866 273 KB

They have an inexpensive wine list as well, which is nice. If not great, at least above average for a $9 glass of Sangiovese.

The fried chicken is… MASSIVE… are the chicken tenders just as good? I was not able to finish this behemoth off haha Shockingly huge breast.

Quality-wise, it was clear that the meat was good quality. I have eaten a lot of Mary’s and it seemed to have a familiar soft texture I associate with Mary’s chicken breasts. It was still fairly moist, maybe just a little bit drier than I would’ve liked, but not bad. The crunchy breaded has an awesome bouquet of spices that result in a pleasant slow burn on the finish. The lemon you can splash on it makes it a bit schnitzel-esque, whereas the ranch they have is intensely pickle-forward and blasts your palate in the most stupendous way possible. Their ranch is the best ranch dressing I have ever had, and is a game changer. I started dipping my pizza in it and got several containers of it to go as well. It is worth a trip just because of that sauce if nothing else honestly.

Note: could be too spicy for many; my spice tolerance = ate “very spicy” jade noodles at Luv2Eat the other night and didn’t need to drink anything, and I still could feel the spicy in this chicken, though it didn’t make me sweat or need a drink.

1154×866 179 KB

Close up after cutting:

1154×866 230 KB

Not a bad way to spend $42 (including tax + tip).

However, I almost wish they would just take your order at the table; it isn’t that annoying to have to order at the counter exactly, but just felt like the kind of place where it wouldn’t be that hard for someone to take your order at a table. Not a huge complaint, but I think if you’re spending $42 per person at a place maybe they can have table service, they bring everything to your table anyway, so why not? Is there a payment or tax issue associated with it?

Anyhow, despite the no dark meat thing, it’s a pleasant spot to get fairly cheap pizza and fried chicken, and it’s about 1,00,000 times more accessible than Howlin’ Rays.

1 Like
14

It’s the tarragon.

And the meth.

Cost issue.

No table service, no servers. No salaries, no benefits, no insurance, no etc. None of that having to deal with minimum wage for servers meme.

15

Ah, makes sense! (But for real, I am a sucker for taragon…and meth I guess)

Wait…who the fuck did I leave a tip to then??

Is there really that big of a difference if someone comes to your table to take the order versus you give them the order than they bring the food to your table? That is the weirdest part to me…it’s not like the food also comes out at a window or something…

16

[quote=“Aesthete, post:15, topic:3764, full:true”]

Ah, makes sense! (But for real, I am a sucker for taragon…and meth I guess)[/quote]

Me too. Certainly, the meth.

It is.

Having owned and currently several restaurants, labor costs are never something to be taken lightly. Ever

And someone who simply brings you your food should never be considered on par with someone who actually serves you.

17

From those pics, is it boneless chicken breast?

If it is that’s a bit disappointing.

18

A lack of dark meat and boneless pieces certainly makes me cringe when considering fried chicken but that crust looks pretty great.

19

Yes.

I don’t have money, nor do I really gamble, but I’m betting that you won’t be all that disappointed if you try it.

Not saying you should but just that if you do, disappointed be you will not.

1 Like
20

Yes the tenders are—although they are spicier due to the crust to chicken ratio. Ipse might like them since there’s much more of the crunchy crust than with the breast.

I’m not really a white meat poultry person (alway eat dark meat), but this chicken breast is excellent. The pizza is very good as well.

[quote=“Aesthete, post:13, topic:3764”]
Not a huge complaint, but I think if you’re spending $42 per person at a place maybe they can have table service, they bring everything to your table anyway, so why not? Is there a payment or tax issue associated with it?
[/quote]

That’s how they keep the prices low.