I can’t justify standing in line for things, even food.

I have a hard time rationalizing a wait for food when I know that I won’t even have to wait to get into heaven. Sure someone else may have to discuss entry with management, better known as Christ, but that’s not my issue. Heaven aside, I try not to wait in any line for any reason, but my friend and I somehow could be found standing behind a single-file arrangement of people just the other day. It was my second time at Dave’s Hot Chicken in Hollywood and I was waiting to place my order. You may not see it at first, unsure exactly where it is, but the pop-up shop that serves Nashville hot chicken sits under a tent in a parking lot on Hollywood Boulevard. My first visit was thanks to an event by Varissa of @Misoo_Hungry. It was a great time discovering the extraordinary shop inside an exceedingly ordinary parking lot. I snapped a ton of photos (seen in this post) and even got to meet a few new faces. While it was a good evening eating chicken as the sun went down, I wanted to visit them again to see if it was as delicious the second time as it was the first.

Enter the treacherous line.

“It’s gonna be about 45 minutes”, the man behind the gray semi-busted cash register stated. There was no paper in the receipt slot and his face tacitly said, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll wait”. Seeing how pleased the people with food looked and recalling my previous experience, I placed my order and decided to wait. Maybe it was practice for heaven? As time slowly ticked and my anticipation increased with each moment, I finally heard my name being called throughout the crowd of people. “Out of my way, move, move please!” I politely chided as I made my way through the crowd and to the counter. In two Styrofoam containers held the order that kept my friend and I patient for close to an hour.

In my possession was a box of Sliders ($12) that came with a side of Coleslaw (not pictured) and Fries and a second box of Tenders ($10) with Double Fries.  Although my gut cried for the meat, my hands immediately went to the fries. I loved the salty seasoning that had an extremely subtle sweet aftertaste that picked up towards the end of each handful of fries. It made the fries that balanced both soft and crispy so nicely carry a taste that justified my friend having two portions of it. While I too inhaled my fries, I managed to take a moment to grab the fork and enjoy the coleslaw. Under a majority of circumstances coleslaw isn’t an item I would voluntarily order, however the style of it made at Dave’s is one that I can’t pass up. It wasn’t too wet, the slaw wasn’t limp, and it didn’t taste sour which tends to be all the reasons I skip it from other restaurants. Instead, here the duo chefs running the pop up managed to create a recipe that avoids all of that and creates a coleslaw that is the complete opposite.

Sides aside, my excitement reached its highest point once I turned to the Nashville hot chicken. As my friend enjoyed his thick pieces of chicken tenders, I was more than ready to take in my two sliders. A soft bun wrapped around pickles, coleslaw, a tangy sauce, and strips of mild hot chicken was exactly what I was craving. The pickles added such a great spark of flavor while the same coleslaw that was a side before came in the slider with a great addition of texture. But the best part which would be nothing more than obvious was the chicken. Thick seasoned, deeply fried, and full of flavor through and through the chicken was perfection. Possibly my favorite hot chicken in Los Angeles.

It should come as no surprise that the amount of time it took to finish the food was shorter than the wait to get it. While I can’t bear to stand in line for anything this was worth it. The chicken is exactly what you would hope to have and the sides are a great companion to it all. Add to that, the street-style of the restaurant makes you feel like you’re part of the city and the surrounding community instead of separate from it. All in all, Dave’s Hot Chicken is a great place to get chicken, just make sure you do so before they sell out.

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Address: 5115 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: N/A
Hours: Monday through Saturday – 7:00am to Sellout and Closed on Sunday
Social: Instagram.