It has become clear that every corner you turn in the Glendale area you will see a Hot Chicken restaurant. The craze started back in the summer of 2017 with a small business located in North Hollywood called Dave’s Hot Chicken. Soon after, most of North Hollywood and Glendale were filled with their hot chicken restaurants. Most were even located in parking lots of other buildings. Each hot chicken place is a small family- or friend-owned business and gained a lot of popularity with the youth. 

Even though these restaurants are small in size, they have many customers. Due to the small size of the restaurant, it is very common to see customers standing in line for hours on end, me being one of them. Once standing in an hour-and-a-half line, you have to order one of the few options on the menu. The menus of the restaurants are all closely similar. They include chicken sandwiches with flavors ranging from mild to fire. They also have intense flavors such as the “Reaper.” In addition, there are also fries, mac and cheese and side salads. Each restaurant has different types of flavors that range from different levels of heat, which makes each restaurant different. Each restaurant has a variety of their own sauces like the thousand island and secret house sauces. Honey is also a common sauce to place on top to help with the spice. 

The top three restaurants include Dave’s Hot Chicken, Bangin’ Buns and Hells. All three locations are in different cities. I visited all three establishments and personally love Dave’s Hot Chicken the most. For all three I had the same order of the basic chicken sandwich with mild spice and fries. My friends and I also shared mac and cheese. I enjoyed the sandwich with a lot of drizzled honey on top because it added sweetness. 

Dave’s Hot Chicken, along with the rest, does have limited seating, and parking is hard to find. When going there you must set time aside to look for parking and for standing in line. During the weekends, you can find yourself standing in a line that wraps all along the sidewalk of the entire street. 

Even though it is not the most convenient area for a restaurant with such popularity, I highly recommend it. The prices are fairly low for the amount of food, and there is always fun, lively music. It makes the line worthwhile and is great for a late-night bite.

Dave’s Hot Chicken 

5166 Lankershim Blvd., Ste. D, North Hollywood, CA 91606

(323) 213-8090

https://www.daveshotchicken.com

Hours: Sunday – Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.