Honey's Kettle

I'm from the south, no naturally, I enjoy some fried chicken and biscuits (i.e. love that chicken from Popeye's!). Now I haven't had much fried chicken out here with the California health craze, but Honey Kettle is probably the best fried chicken I've had ever. Period. Their secret? They use waffle batter to fry their chicken, and it's just perfect. I was lucky enough to get Honey Kettle today (for the second time) in honor of a coworker's birthday, and it wasn't just me who was excited, but everyone's been talking all week about how they can't wait for some Honey Kettle. Both times I've been here I've had the fried chicken, but I think I pretty much covered that in the above. Their biscuits are also quite scrumptious. The buttery flakiness just melts in your mouth (though I still think Popeye's has the best biscuits, except for maybe Bubba's in Dallas). I also partook in the corn on the cob (at least I got one vegetable) and it was decent. I prefer my corn grilled and this could have been cooked a little more. I also tried a hushpuppy, or a little fried cornbread ball, which are pretty hard to come by in LA, much like the rest of their Cajun cuisine family. To my delight, there were no jalapenos in the hushpuppies. Others tried the fried fish and said it was pretty good, but it didn't sound like it was much better than fried fish you'd find elsewhere. Honey Kettle is also known for their hotcakes, which come in the plain and blueberry varieties. It pretty much looks and tastes like a pancake, but if anyone knows what the difference is between the two, if one exists at all, please tell me because I'm curious to know. Prices are pretty reasonable here. Twelve of us ate on $80 or so, which breaks down to $6-7 a person. Obviously you get a better deal when you buy in bulk, but it's doubtful you'll spend more than $10 a person if you patronize the shop. The restaurant itself is certainly not ultra-chic and looks pretty much like your run of the mill fast food joint, but they do have some outside tables where they rival neighbor Ford's Filling Station for the loudest music. One of the best parts of going to Culver City is the ample free parking. For those unfamiliar, CC has several free parking lots, for the first 2 hours at least, that require no validation.

http://honeyskettle.com/