Los Angeles Chicken Wings Worth Seeking

Just about any sports bar in the city has serviceable chicken wings on the menu, but why settle for passable when Los Angeles has so many inspired, globally diverse versions to choose from? Learn about some of my favorite chicken wings in Los Angeles.

Subtractions: Izakaya Bincho (Closed), Mexikosher (Closed), OB Bear (Closed), Short Order (Closed), Sunny Spot (Closed

Establishments appear in alphabetical order instead of in order of preference.

The Black Cat Fried Chicken Wings


Chicken Wings Los Angeles

Formerly in Barcito and Sunset Coin-Op Laundry, from The Village Idiot crew of Lindsay Kennedy, Charles Conrad, and Dean Malouf expanded to Silver Lake, taking over Barcito and installing green banquettes and booths, and a rounded wood bar, plus mismatched paintings and photos. As part of their dineLA Restaurant Week lunch menu, they featured Fried Chicken Wings ($9), juicy, lightly dredged white meat dressed with a savory, fire red blend of soy sauce, sake, ginger, fried chile oil, and lemon juice.

Grill ‘Em All Hawk Wings

Chicken Wings Los Angeles

Heavy metal food truckers Ryan Harkins and Matthew Chernus planted a permanent flag in a downtown Alhambra movie theater plaza. A particle board proclaims “Death to False Burgers,” a gang of menacing cartoon characters greet diners by the door, and crazy themed burger options consist of the Dee Snider and Metallica tribute Jump in the Fryer. On Sundays, Grill ‘Em All deep fries chicken wings in duck fat and toss the rich, juicy Hawk Wings ($8.50) in spicy honey chipotle sauce. Dip the batch in thick blue cheese dipping sauce.

Library Alehouse Sweet & Spicy Wings

Chicken Wings Los Angeles

Library Alehouse has been known for craft beer since opening in 2005, and Certified Cicerone Alex P. Davis has certainly kept that program on track. Now, it’s the food that’s seen an upgrade, with chef Tom Hugenberger taking over the establishment in 2012. The one-time culinary school valedictorian worked at 410 Boyd and at Melisse and now produces interesting pub far like Sweet and Spicy Wings ($4.50 during happy hour). He marinates the wings in a 12-spice blend, including garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander and allspice, coats the deep-fried results in a sauce of Sriracha, onion, Frank’s hot sauce and malt vinegar, and serves the wings with creamy ranch and blue cheese dressing with crunchy celery and carrots.

NIGHT + MARKET Hey-Ha Wings

Chicken Wings Los Angeles

When Chef Kris Yenbamroong introduced his Thai wings during the summer 2013 dineLA Restaurant Week, he wrote, “Hey-Ha is a Thai onomatopoeia meant to describe the sound of partying. For example, if someone asked you what you did last night, you might say ‘hey-ha, sangsan, kin lao,’ meaning ‘partying, socializing, boozing.’ These wings are meant to facilitate that, hence the name,” party wings. He treats the wings with savory fish sauce, sugar, chiles and scallions, producing a sticky, “kind of sweet, kind of spicy” result. Squeeze on lime juice for a sour hit, which helps round out the flavor profile.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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