Jim Dandy Fried Chicken

Jim Dandy Fried Chicken
11328 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles
323-779-5567

I love fried chicken. It's such a great, if unhealthy, comfort food. So whenever I see a fried chicken place, I'll stop in. But it's weird, I've passed by Jim Dandy Fried Chicken all the time when going to Mom's BBQ, but I've never stopped in.

But on a rainy night, I decided to stop in and try Jim Dandy fried chicken. WOW what a treat!!! I ordered two breast, $3.79 which also comes with fritters. They have a choice between regular and spicy. When I heard the lady tell the lady in front of me, her order of regular chicken, was going to take 15 minutes, I knew I wanted the regular. After 15 minutes the chicken was in my hands and I got into my car to find a place to eat.

When I finally found Hawkins House of Burgers, while waiting for the burger, I had the chicken. What a treat!!! So crispy, so light, so juicy, so good. What else can I say. The chicken was huge, which is always good. The chicken had a light, crispy batter and was so great, I knew I found the holy grail of fried chicken. The meat was so juicy and tender. This is the best fried chicken in LA.

Service is poor. Three people were behind the counter and I still waited a long time before I was greeted. The ladies were nice and everything but come on, at least greet me.

The other thing I don't like about Jim Dandy is their hours, or lack of. They closed on a Friday night at 8pm!!!! Why? At 10 minutes to 8pm there were about ten people in line waiting for fried chicken. Why close so early? They also are close from 2-5pm during the week. Currently they have a special, 5 pieces for $4.85, one breast, one wing, two thighs, and one leg. (Thanks Osaki, for catching my earlier mistake) A steal!!!

I will be coming back, very soon!!! I love this place.

3 Bears Bar-B-Q- Closed

3 Bears
11916 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles
323-754-7664

I thought that 3 Bears was a BBQ place. WRONG. It is a burger place. The burgers are huge and look awesome. So I may come back here for a burger. But I came here for BBQ and so of course I had their BBQ ribs dinner, $13.06 with double order of onion rings. In keeping in the Christmas spirit, they gave all meals $1 off. Very nice.

I wish I could say the same for their ribs. The ribs are cooked in an oven, very dry, not flavor, lots of fat and just plain bad. Ok they tried but really they need to stop making oven cooked ribs and just stick to the burgers.

Service is very good. A very nice older man took my order. He was friendly and helpful. Parking, all street parking, can be tough to find as there are many houses and apartments nearby. The neighborhood isn't exactly the best area but I didn't have any problems.

As I said, I will not go back to 3 Bears for the BBQ. But I will be back for the burgers.

Mom's Bar-B-Que

Mom's Bar-B-Que
1050 W Imperial Hwy.
LA
323-756-8405

Mom's Bar-B-Que is a small little shack on Imperial Hwy, just west of Vermont. I will make a stop at Mom's when taking the 105 freeway. I love this place. Mom's is take out only. At the corner of Vermont and Imperial Hwy there is a Louisiana Fried Chicken that you maybe able to sit down and eat. The BBQ travels well since I only eat the BBQ about 45 minutes after I ordered.

I ordered the lunch order of pork ribs for $8.50. The ribs are smoked over hickory wood. As you're driving on Imperial Hwy, you can smell and see the smoke coming out from Mom's. The lunch order has four ribs and one side. Dinner orders have five ribs and two sides. The sides aren't anything special and I usually ask for double bread and they will give it to me for no extra charge. The ribs are great. Nice smoked flavor, tender but not falling off the bone tender. There is very little fat on these ribs. This place is the Rib Nest minus the attitude.

I'm not a big fan of the BBQ sauce, too sweet, even the medium, for my tastes. But the ribs are so good you don't need BBQ sauce.

I do not believe this Mom's has anything to do with the Mom's in Van Nuys. I have never had a bad meal at mom's. They get it right every time.

Art's Chili Dogs- Closed

Art’s Chili Dogs
1410 W. Florence Ave.
LA
323-750-1313

Closed in 2020!

Somebody on the Chowhounds LA Message board mentioned Art's Chili Dogs. So I decided to try it for myself. Wow what a surprise. A very good hot dog at a low price.

The second picture is the Art's Chili Dog with mustard, onions, and chili which is $1.80. The hot dog itself isn't anything to write home about. The standard hot dog with no natural casing thus no snap. But the chili is wonderful. It has a bold flavor but not spicy.

The last picture is the Jumbo turkey chili cheese dog for $2.89. I thought the jumbo dog was all beef, but it was turkey. I'm not a big fan of turkey dogs. But this turkey dog was ok. A nice mixture of spices. The chili was great and the real cheddar cheese on top made this an outstanding hot dog. I will go back to try the all beef jumbo dog.

Art's has a nice selection of sodas by Boylan for $1.25.

Art's is located on the southwest corner of Florence and Normandie. Yes that's the corner where the riots started in 1992 after the police officers were found not guilty, even though they beat the hell out of Rodney King. No, there weren't any problems when I ate there. The owner is a very nice person. He treats everybody with respect. The people eating at Art's are just hungry people who know a good place when they see one. There is nothing to worry about eating at Art's.

If you're heading east on Florence, just past Art's is a very small road, if you drive a SUV, your car may not fit, which leads to about four parking spaces. There is a gas station next to Art's where you maybe able to park and get your order to go.

I had a very nice experience at Art's and I would gladly go back. Only one problem, they have limited hours. They close at 5:30pm and are closed on Sundays.