Main Chick Hot Chicken (Clairemont)

Main Chick, a chain from LA opened two locations in San Diego during the winter of 2020, yet another entry feeding the Nashville Chicken fad. I thought of doing takeout, but hesitated thinking that the chicken sandwich might not hold up well, even with the short 12 minute drive home from Clairemont Town Square. But, after I had the Chicken Sandwich from Bay Hill Tavern (all the way back in April of this year), which held up pretty well as takeout, on one of the days I was working from home, I decided to do takeout.

 I arrived just as the place was opening at 11am. The young lady manning the counter was quite friendly and I placed an order for Combo #1 ($14), which consisted of 1 chicken sandwich, which I decided to get naked as a first try, thinking that sauce would probably contribute negatively to the integrity of whatever bread product was used, 1 chicken tender, fries, pickles, and MC sauce.......ahem...yet another "secret sauce-ish" concoction.

The wait was fairly short and I got my order and headed home.

Here's what things looked like when I opened the combo box.

To get a better look at things I placed everything on a plate.

Man, look at all those fries! I liked the "dust" used for seasoning, but the fries were quite dry, though the MS sauce helped things out a bit.

As for how the chicken sandwich handled the short trip home, well.....

I think you can see that it really didn't do well. The bottom bun was mush - can you imagine if I had gotten sauce, the batter for the chicken was no longer crisp, and this being breast meat, it was dry. I also thought the seasoning was way too mild.

And I quickly noticed something about the chicken tender.

What the heck are all those black spots? They had just opened.....did they need to reheat this on the flat top? Was this leftover from the previous day? Of course those black bits were quite bitter and the chicken super dry.

This was quite terrible overall. I made up my mind to just call it quits and forget about Main Chick.....so since only one visit; there'd be no post.

Then back in July I did a post on Boss Bird, which was 17 months in the making. FOY "ChrisR" was quick to send me an email telling me:

"(Boss Bird) has been a huge to medium disappointment in the three times I went.
Main Chick in Clairemont Mesa has a Nashville dark meat chicken sandwich that has been really good to great on four different visits."

I quickly sent Chris an email with photos......still thinking that I was done with Main Chick.......but then; thinking about a dark meat version. Well, I decided to give Main Chick a couple more tries (this was before the last crazy Covid-19 surge). So three days after Chris sent me that email, working from home, I got to Main Chick just as they opened and ordered a Dark Meat Chicken Sandwich $6)....and in a moment of insanity ordered it "Supreme". A quick gander at the menu reveals five flaming chickens next to "supreme".

 And while I don't think this was as all around spicy as the XHot from Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, it was pretty darn hot. My tolerance for spiciness has gone down as I get older; so this got a nice amount of sweat going. This was much better than what I'd had previously; it had a decent crunch, was more moist, though all that spice pretty much blocked out any other flavors, even with the Thousand Island Dressing...ummm MC Sauce - "Because, you know, You can't touch this....." This was fine, albeit somewhat one-dimensional in terms of flavor, which I can easily say was my fault for ordering "five flaming chicken" hotness.

And so, since I was scheduled to work from home the very next day.....guess where I ended up. This time; I just went with the Dark Meat Chicken Sandwich - Medium.

 Before I go on, a quick note....notice the size of the sandwich alongside my ancient iPhone 7....I just wanted to put that into perspective so you know. In this day, while I ate my sandwich, the guy right after me ordered a 3 chicken tender combo...which comes with that huge order of fries along with 2  chicken sandwiches...which I assumed he was taking out. But I was wrong, he sat a few tables down and proceeded to attack everything. Now, according to my calculations; this is like $27 of food for lunch!

I do say that this was nice and moist; though whatever rub they use sure seemed pretty weak as this was really "one note cayenne" being played over and over.

I will say that Chris does have one thing right; the dark meat is the way to go here in terms of some flavor and moisture. Thanks for the recommendation Chris!

It seems that having had Hot Chicken in Nashville and "down South", even all those years ago has left me somewhat jaded. Perhaps my memories are playing tricks on my palate and mind?

After having had three versions of Hot Chicken here in San Diego.......I've been less than impressed. I guess I'll need to try Dave's; though I think I'll wait until they open in Mira Mesa.

Main Chick Hot Chicken (In Clairemont Town Square)
4705 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 10pm

Check out Soo's post on Main Chick here.

Comments

[Joy]

I agree about the lack of decent hot chicken places in the area. Isn’t it a ‘technique’ that can be mastered? Why can’t places outside of TN get it right? I feel like in these parts it’s seen as a gimmick where as long as it burns your gastro-intestinal tract it’s hitting the mark. But the nuances aren’t there — the spice blend, the marinade, and the texture that make Nashville hot chicken great. Like many regional foods, there’s just a magic to it. I have such fond memories of almost dying at Prince’s, and nothing around here even comes close.

[Kirk]

I believe it can Joy. My belief is that "hot chicken" is more of a fad and "concept" in these parts. I've had decent Hot Chicken in Atlanta, circa 1997...so I know it can be done. I hope I enjoy Dave's when I check them out.

[Soo]

Thanks for the link Kirk! I enjoyed #5 combo naked .

[Kirk]

To me the naked version is kinda bland....so I'm going to give the place a rest for now Soo.

[An]

Thanks for saving me a trip, Kirk! I guess nothing in SD will quite compare to Prince's or Hattie B's.

[Kirk]

Well, I still need to try Dave's An! So far it's been kind of a futile quest.

[kat]

mushy bun, disappointing

[Derek R]

My thoughts on Main Chick are unfortunately pretty similar. I have been pleasantly surprised going to Dave and find their takeout to be quiet efficient now that they've worked out the kinks. Though if I was you, I would bring the missus or a friend so they can sit in the car while you jump out to pick up the order without having to park. My go-to order is x1 slider w/ cheese, x2 tenders + side of slaw, all "hot" or "extra hot," with extra pickles on the side. I'd skip the fries & mac n cheese. Definitely interested in what you think.

[Derek R]

Speaking of PB, have you heard of Swaygu down there? They have one of the largest selections legit Japanese Wagyu in thier butcher shop and thier cafe has a pretty killer burger as well ($18 double smash burger, no sides, just meat, cheese, sauce, & bun).

[Kirk]

It was Kat!

Hey Derek, nice to hear from you; it's been a while. I'll probably wait until Dave's opens in MM. And yes, I've heard of Swagyu.......I'm waiting until the hype dies down a bit and things slow down in that part of PB....though if I'm ever in IB I'll definitely check out the shop down there. Hope all is well!

[caninecologne]

Hmm, I never tried the "hot" chicken trend. Not sure if my stomach can handle it, ha ha.

@DerekR - There is Swagyu down south in IB and the Swagyu burger is great (same price) with their Nitro potatoes ($10)....Kirk, if you ever do try, let us know what you think.

[Kirk]

Some versions of "Hot Chicken" aren't especially hot CC! ;o) And of course; they usually have a plain fried chicken sandwich on most menus.