Howlin’ Ray’s Review — Bringing
Nashville to Los Angeles

By Leryl Joseph

Repeat after me: Howlin’ Ray’s. This magnificent operation is cruising the streets of Los Angeles, serving up Nashville-style Hot Chicken, and making my appetite very happy. If you don’t know about Hot Chicken, it’s okay. Johnny will gladly bring you up to speed, but you can also get the info from their site. Long story short, it’s delicious, and they keep it as authentic as possible—from the bread on the bottom, to the pickles at the top.

I followed the truck to their weekend brunch stop outside of Rudy’s Barbershop in Silverlake. The menu is simple: you choose your meat—a quarter of white meat or a quarter of dark meat, and you choose your heat—no heat, mild, medium, hot, or howlin’ (careful with this one, alright?). If you want a little more to eat, they have four light but flavorful sides to choose from as well. I ordered one medium-heat quarter-white, potato salad, mild nuggets, and extra pickles. You may think that’s a lot of food. It is. You may wonder if I have any regrets. I don’t.

When it comes to chicken, white meat gets a bad rap. Some think that it’s too dry, and most times they’re right. Ordering a deep-fried chicken breast typically means that you won’t be getting the juiciest piece of meat. This is not the case with Howlin’ Ray’s. You don’t only get a delicious, flavor-packed piece of chicken, but it is so fresh and juicy that it literally oozes when you cut into it. The heat level on this one was medium, which makes up in flavor what it’s missing in heat, but it’s not missing that much. You might break a little sweat, but that’s where the slice of white bread on the bottom comes in handy. Overall, It is brilliant. The flavor is powerful, the batter is airy and crispy, and the last bite is heart-breaking.

For an extra relief from the heat, The Mustardy Potato Salad does the trick, and it compliments the chicken well. It’s lighter than most potato salads, and there is a tartness to it that I really enjoyed. However, the chicken is so good that the side feels like a distraction.

Howlin’ Ray’s Hot Nuggets are divine. On the standard slice of white bread with pickles on top, you have deep fried, boneless dark meat, coated with the heat of your choice, not quite bite-sized, but you’ll wish they were. These nuggets are perfect if you have a case of the seconds, but you aren’t fit to go all the way in for round two. Pro tip: These aren’t on the menu. The nuggets are 100% made-to-order. They’re not always available, so keep this intel on the down-low to make sure you can get yours.

If you are ever in Los Angeles, I implore you to locate the whereabouts of Howlin’ Ray’s. Thankfully, they don’t make it too hard, so really you don’t have an excuse. And trust me, it’s worth it. I’m not positive about what goes on inside of the truck, but what I do know is what comes out of that window is perfection.

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