Fried Chicken: From the south to los Angeles
Fried chicken has become something of a craze in Los Angeles (LA) over the past few years, with multiple restaurants popping up rapidly and big chains sprinkling locations around the city. While cities in the Southeastern United States are most commonly recognized as the centers for fried chicken, such as Nashville, Tennessee, LA has made a market of its own on the West Coast. But behind all of this, there’s a rich history behind how fried chicken got to this point in LA, a city with deep roots in Southern cuisine.
The tradition of frying chicken in oil dates back to the 18th century, but it reached what would be the modern-day United States when Scottish immigrants brought the practice to the American South, where it was embraced and perfected by the enslaved African community. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, fried chicken shifted to a food for entrepreneurship. Many black women made money from selling fried chicken and became the primary sellers in the South.
The introduction of fried chicken into LA began with the Second Great Migration (1940-’70), a mass exodus of African Americans who left the Deep South in search of better opportunities within urban areas in the North and West of the United States. Many African Americans saw opportunity in the growing manufacturing industry on the West Coast, specifically in California and decided to settle. This mass migration brought the transfer of Southern food traditions, according to an article by Eater LA regarding Southern food influence on LA. Additionally, this is when the first traditional black soul food restaurants began to pop up around LA. Some of these restaurants remain open to this day, including Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles and Dulan’s.
Fried chicken has also made an impact here at Samo, with some students, such as Kaden Friedman (’28), expressing their love for the food.
“I just love how the flavor burns your mouth a little bit, but it's in a good way,” Friedman said. “I saw it on Uber Eats one day, and it looked good. I also saw people on social media eating it, so it motivated me to get some.”
After years of predominantly traditional fried chicken in LA, a new version began to emerge in the Koreatown neighborhood. Brought over to LA by immigrants from Korea, Korean fried chicken didn’t blow up immediately but remained relatively un-hyped for some time, leading up to the 1992 LA Riots, which caused a major reconstruction in K-Town nightlife. However, the major factor that helped propel Korean fried chicken into the spotlight was the opening of prominent Korean fried chicken brands, such as Kyochon (2004), Bonchon (2006) and BBQ Chicken (2008). From there, social media and Gen Z helped spread its popularity, cementing Korean fried chicken as a major branch of the fried chicken industry in Los Angeles.
In 2015, a Nashville chef named Johnny Ray Zone opened a food truck that specialized in Nashville Hot Chicken called Howlin’ Rays in the LA area. This was followed by massive lines and incredible hype behind it, so much that it caused the opening of a location in Chinatown, LA, where wait times are notoriously long during peak hours. This reaction also caused the pop-ups and expansion of other Nashville fried chicken restaurants in LA, which grew into big companies themselves, like Dave’s Hot Chicken (2017).
From the South to its modern-day reinventions in Los Angeles, fried chicken is one of the foods that has continuously adapted while preserving its original traditions. What began as a survival food for African Americans has turned into a comfort food staple that bridges different cultures and communities here in Los Angeles. From Korean Fried, to Traditional Soul, to Nashville Hot, each interpretation of this food will continue to shape LA’s culinary landscape.