Rojo's Pop-Up at McFadden Public Market
515 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Hot chicken is something I have yet to really embrace, and I'm not entirely sure why. I love chicken sandwiches, as it's my favorite way to eat chicken. I'm also very partial to spicy things. I've had several hot chicken sandwich places on my restaurant wishlist forever. It's a little perplexing why I haven't jumped on the latest trend of the last few years.
Maybe it's a geographic thing. My restaurant wishlist includes Howlin Ray's, Dave's Hot Chicken, and Firebird Nashville Hot Chicken, all located in LA County. My two favorite OC chicken sandwich spots, Crack Shack and Two Birds, both offer hot chicken sandwiches, but I usually end up getting something else while I'm at these chicken restaurants that you definitely need to try.
Recently, thanks to my good friend Anne Marie of the OC Weekly, Saute Magazine, and everything else food-related going on in OC, she messaged me about Rojo's Hot Chicken. Rojo is brought to us by her good friend, Chef Roland Rubalcava. His resume is pretty impressive. He started out in the food business at his family's Rubalcava's Bakery in Placentia, and then he did a sous chef stint at the multi-award-winning Taco Maria before landing at Playa Mesa as their Executive Chef.
From what I can gather, Rojo's Hot Chicken is Chef Roland's side hustle, which he does as frequently as possible. This pop-up event was held early in July at McFadden Public Market. He subsequently held other pop-ups at Irena in Santa Ana and one in Fallbrook. This was our first visit to McFadden Public Market, which has a good vibe. There's Mission Control, a cool 80's arcade on the second floor, a ramen restaurant, a vegan diner, and a tiki bar inhabiting the first floor. It appears that Rojo's was taking over the abandoned Rooster Republic space, which seemed poetic since they slipped chicken sandwiches from there until last year.
We arrived just before 6pm on a Saturday, and the place was packed with people already enjoying their chicken sandwiches at picnic tables in front of the Rojo's booth. The menu was simple, with three chicken sandwiches of varying hotness offered, a dirty version which meant that it was topped with queso, mac and cheese, and coleslaw for sides, and three kinds of fries, regular, spicy, and topped with queso Also, for those in the know, a secret menu item was offered that you will find out about as you scroll downward. There was also a red velvet cupcake for dessert, but we planned to pick up something sweet at the nearby 4th Street Market after this, so we skipped it. Our food took about ten minutes to come out, and here is how everything turned out for us.
Starting things off was the Naked Chicken Sandwich ($12) that Katie wanted. This sandwich contained no spiciness, which is unsurprising since Katie is a wimp in spicy things. It runs in her family, as regular black pepper can make her sisters run for a glass of milk to cool down their mouths. Ugh. Back to this sandwich, though, it came with coleslaw and a grilled nopal. The chicken was nice and crunchy, tender and juicy inside. This usually comes with cheese, but Katie opted to have it without it. The torta-like roll was a solid choice for this sandwich, as it holds everything together perfectly. Katie gave this sandwich a thumbs up.
I went a little spicier than Katie by getting the Rojo Chicken Sandwich ($12). This was listed on the menu as medium-hot, which was a fair description of the heat level here, according to my palette. I could have gone up a heat level, but this medium-hot allowed me to enjoy this sandwich more. Again, the breading had a nice crunch, and a tender and good-sized chicken was underneath. My sandwich came with coleslaw, pickles, a grilled nopal, and a slice of what appeared to be American cheese. I took the pickles off and ate them by themselves, something that I do with all my sandwiches and burgers. The nopal was not slimy like it could sometimes be and added a significant textural element. I'd ditch the American cheese next time, as it added nothing here. The bread was nice and soft and kept everything together structurally. This is right up there with some of the best chicken sandwiches we've experienced in OC.
Remember a few paragraphs ago when I mentioned a special hidden item on their menu? For fans of their Instagram account, they usually add a special item; this evening, it was a Pork Cutlet Sandwich ($12). I admit I liked this better than the chicken sandwich. The pork came breaded using the same breading as the chicken, so it had the same great crunch, but pork has a richness that chicken just can not match. This also differed in the marinade. It tasted like an excellent chili verde. The best thing I ate this evening and was one of the best sandwiches I've had in 2019.
We rounded out our meal at Rojo's with their Mac and Cheese ($6) and the Coleslaw ($4). I'm still stuck as to which one was better. The mac and cheese comprised a combination of parmesan, jack cheese, and scallions. The result was creamy but not in your face with cheese overload. The coleslaw was elevated to more than your usual humdrum coleslaw. The base was a chipotle mayo, which added a tinge of spice, while the cabbage, carrots, onions, and crushed-up tortilla chips added some nice crunch. Katie was a big fan of this one.
We both left this particular pop-up pleased with everything we had this evening. The chicken sandwiches here are number three on my list of OC chicken sandwiches I have had, with only Crack Shack and Two Birds being better so far. If the pork sandwich is available when you are here, you definitely need to ask for it. Keep an eye on their Instagram. The service was amicable, as it was staffed by many of Chef Roland's family members, and you can sense their pride in his food. This visit has gotten me psyched up to visit those LA hot chicken spots that have been sitting on my restaurant wishlist forever. Stay tuned.
Out of five pinball machines (because after eating, we went upstairs and played some pinball in the Mission Control Arcade), five being best to zero being worst, Rojo's Hot Chicken gets 3 pinball machines.
For more information about upcoming pop-ups and other Rojo-related events, it's probably best to follow their Instagram feed here: @rojoshotchicken.
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