Right now, there is nothing hotter than fried chicken in LA and one such popular restaurant is Lucky Bird in downtown LA. Grilled cheese vendor, Cheezus recently partnered with Lucky Bird and together they produced a cheezy fried chicken sandwich named the Juicy Lucy. This special sandwich is available at Lucky Bird and at Smorgasburg LA through Sunday, August 11.
Lucky Bird opened one year ago in downtown’s Grand Central Market and resides on the southwest corner of the market just off of Broadway. Cheezus LA is a gourmet grilled cheese vendor that operates on Sundays at Smorgasburg LA.
Chef and co-owner Chris Dane cut his chops at two of Jonathan Gold’s Top 101 Restaurants, Providence and Connie and Ted’s. After this experience, he developed a citrus-brined chicken recipe which he is closely guarding as his secret recipe. This recipe became the foundation of what was to become Lucky Bird.
Cheezus delivers high quality, great-tasting “Sandwiches Inspired By The Love Of Cheese”. They use the finest ingredients and combine them so that it creates a special flavor experience. It was only natural that the two vendors collaborate to create this special offering.
The Juicy Lucy is a hefty chicken sandwich which combines the best of both worlds. The citrus brine retains the moisture of the chicken breast. Cheese lovers will appreciate that the sandwich is stuffed with gooey mozzarella cheese. The chicken is topped with caramelized onions and enclosed in a grilled cheese sandwich made with emmenthaler and garnished with jalapeno relish jam. The gooey cheese and the relish jam nicely elevated the flavor profile.
What makes this collaboration special is the use of superior ingredients. Emmenthaler has a low melting point and is suitable for grilled cheese. It is slightly buttery and has a mild nutty taste. Dane sources the chicken from Mary’s Free Range Organic. The result is a chicken that is extremely moist and flavorful. He also makes the mozzarella fresh in-house.
While my wife and I were there, we had a chance to speak with Chris’ wife, co-owner Christine Dane. She graduated from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and is the person in charge of running the business. I also discovered that she developed the branding for Lucky Bird. She was excited to tell us that Lucky Bird will be doing a pop-up at the Line Hotel in Austin later this month. The delicious Juicy Lucy is only available until next weekend.
Saturday, Aug 3 – 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Lucky Bird in Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Sunday, Aug 4 – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Smorgasburg LA, 777 S. Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90021
Saturday, Aug 10
Lucky Bird in Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Sunday, Aug 11
Smorgasburg LA, 777 S. Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90021