Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Dino's Chicken and Burgers

Okay, so I live in Koreatown and I admit I haven't sampled much (if any) Korean restaurants in the area. I had a roommate senior year who had spent some time in Korea, and she stored a jar of Kimchi in the fridge. The odor of fermented vegetables is very particular, and seems a good accompaniment to fishy-smelling fish. So that's out.
I have eaten Pho, and tacos and burritos from the truck around the corner from my apartment. Muy bueno! Last night I even drew up the nerve to order in Spanish. Un burrito de pollo y un horchata. Para llevar. Ay yi yi! They make a cool cilantro-avocado sauce. Pile on the fresh lime and munch on some peppery sliced radishes and you're good to go.

We found Dino's Chicken and Burgers.
2575 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, A 90006
Neighborhood: South Los Angeles

American-sounding. Mexican-run. Highly rated.

For $5.50 you get half a chicken on a bed of French Fries, a side of coleslaw, and a few fresh flour tortillas. So juicy, so spicy, and the fries are completely soggy, but who gives a crap. There's a small white plastic fork in the box, but I'm convinced it's just for show. You'd be a fool not to piece the chicken directly from the bone. I had a regular Coke, perfectly syrupy sweet for lunch on a late summer day.

This place totally looks like a dump of a burger joint, built in dusty maroon tile and linoleum tables. While ordering I see the grill man, turning some 15 chickens at once, covered in their red sauce, sizzling. A guitarist walks in wearing a rasta beanie for a 5-minute serenade; a few Mexican folk songs for our lunchtime entertainment. He seems like a familiar face. My favorite part is throwing the trash into a aluminum door built into the wall. It is clandestine, out of the way, perhaps a huge room full of styrofoam, soggy fries and chicken bones. Charming in it's no-nonsense.

Delicious, cheap, and quick. I will go back, after other conquests in the effort to eat at new places in my neighborhood. Korean BBQ still looming.


felicious