Circling Back to Main Chick Hot Chicken (Clairemont) and Golden City

I often say that I would not still be posting if not for all the folks who comment of our posts. The same can be said for all the great emails and recommendations I get. There's a whole group of folks who don't comment on our posts, but are thoughtful enough to send me emails with recommendations, observations, and really great comments. One of these folks is "ChrisR" who often has some pretty interesting and sometimes funny observations and recommendations. I look forward to his emails.

Hailing from the Big Island, Chris will often have the most interesting "Subject Lines" to his emails. Here are two of them and my subsequent revisits to those places.

"The last pretty good food bargain in San Diego?"

Actually, ChrisR was the reason that I visited Main Chick in the first place....I'm not one to follow fads and at that time it seemed that all these Hot Chicken shops were popping up everywhere. Having had some good Hot Chicken in Nashville during my consulting days; all of these shops fell short. Main Chick was no exception.

But, moving away from the Hot Chicken Sandwich; Chris had this to say about Main Chick:

"But there is still one bargain left: The leg-thigh quarter at Main Chick"

"Very juicy. Comes with the same spicy aioli as the dark meat sandwich. Gotten it several times in recent months."

Well, this location of Hot Chicken is less than three miles from our house, so why not try it out, right?

The young lady working was a joy and I liked that they have outdoor seating. I ordered it "Spicy" this time, instead of "Supreme" like I did last time. My heat tolerance has gone down in my old age.....

I was asked if I needed a "fork and knife"? Huh? This is still chicken, right? And I raised up my left hand and said "fork"; then my right saying "knife". The young lady cracked up. I did pay a small price for this as I will note later on.

I sat outside and opened my container and I have to say; in contrast to what I'd had before; chicken with burnt spots on it and such, this looked quite nice.

   Turning things over was a different story as it was pretty greasy. The meat was very moist, tender, and it had that flavor of dark meat chicken that I prefer. The batter was quite crunchy but the seasoning dust is pretty gritty, though quite spicy; but there's a lack of other flavors....at Hatties, I remember the chicken being very spicy, but it still had some smokiness, most likely from Paprika and even a hint of garlic tones.

Maybe I just need to order this with no spice next time? Though I recall the "naked version" being quite bland.

But, at least it was moist and tender. And at $5.75, Chris is right, these days it's a bargain.

And the chicken had the last laugh as I had a nice thrill when I removed my contact lenses that evening.

Main Chick Hot Chicken (In Clairemont Town Square)
4705 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117

Subject: Did Golden City hire a chef from Royal Mandarin?

Whoa, let's talk about how to get my attention!

"While I waited, a waitress (one who in the good old days automatically brought me a fork for years despite my never using it) brought out salt-and-pepper chicken wings twice that looked crisp and dry and had a good portion size for $13.

So the next weekend, I got the wings. I have had them two more times since.

As good as the Royal Mandarin, IMO".

Okay! Sold!

I went and did a takeout order from Golden City. To cover myself, I also ordered the Kwai Fei Chicken, which has been a favorite of mine for years. 

It did smell quite good in the car, better than a "new car fragrance" for sure. And I made the fifteen minute drive back to the office wondering if the wings would be looking like this:

Opening things up, the wings looked like this.

    Unfortunately, the batter of the wings didn't hold up well, much of it getting a bit mushy and flaking off. So, if you're ordering this, it's probably in your best interest to eat them ASAP....maybe even in the parking lot! Lot's of burnt garlic which was on the bitter side, though I enjoyed the spice. The flesh of the wings were nice and moist.

And to be perfectly honest; these were light years better than what I'd had from Golden City years back. So it does look like the wings have improved over time.

On a sad note; it seems like the Kwai Fei Chicken has gone downhill as well.

 The chicken really just tasted boiled lacking in the mild hints of anise-wine and devoid of any salt or mild ginger tones....just plain bland. The sauce provided had brown specks in it and tasted a bit rancid and off. The chicken while cooked nicely, just didn't taste right.

Man, what a bummer......where do I get my Kwai Fei Chicken from now? Maybe I need to revisit Eastern Dynasty?

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Regardless of my opinions, I want to make it clear that I really enjoy and treasure these emails. It gets me "out there" checking things out and keeps it "fresh". It's always fun hearing from all of you and I'm flattered that you would think of me when you have an interesting or enjoyable meal.

Thanks again ChrisR!

Comments

[kat]

bummer

[Kirk]

Well, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be Kat!

[MrZ]

"And the chicken had the last laugh as I had a nice thrill when I removed my contact lenses that evening."

I knew that was coming, I would have taken the knife and the fork. After that one time cutting hot peppers without a glove and the "fun" putting in contacts the next morning, I'm extremely careful about touching spicy things!

Golden City, what a blast from the past. I still remember taking coworkers there to eat.

[Junichi]

Rancid and food should never be in the same sentence. Unless we're talking about the punk band!

[Soo]

You might like the mild version: https://www.hungryones.com/2020/11/main-chick-hot-chicken/

I'll have to try the wings at Golden City. It's alot closer than Royal Mandarin.

[Kirk]

I should have "seen" that coming MrZ! It looks like Golden City is going strong. Nice to hear form you and hope all is well.

Lol Junichi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rancid_(band)#:~:text=Rancid%20is%20an%20American%20punk,States%20during%20the%20mid%2D1990s.

I'm not sure that there's enough overall flavor with regards to the chicken Soo.

[Derek R]

It may be worth checking out Dave's Hot Chicken in PB. Although I tend to avoid PB like the plague, picking up Dave's isn't too bad. I think their hot level is the perfect balance of heat and flavor, and it's worth ordering both a slider with cheese and a tender on toast with a side of honey.

[Stephanie]

I’m with you on almost all of your posts, but I must say I love Main Chick! I live in Bay Ho and eat here regularly and am always happy with the food.

[Kirk]

Hi Derek - I've been meaning to check out Dave's Mira Mesa location....just haven't been driving to that area much! Thanks for the recommendation.

Glad you enjoy Main Chick Stephanie! I do think the execution is getting better...it was much better on this visit then my first couple of visits. There's something about the seasoning that I don't much care for....but of course that's all subjective.