Dave's Hot Chicken Moving Into the Crowded OC Chicken Market

 Dave's Hot Chicken

10832 Warner Avenue 

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

The 1920s were all about flappers, raccoon coats, jazz bands, and bootleggers. When we look back on the 20202s, these years will be remembered for the pandemic, hoarding of toilet paper, sports with no fans, bread making, and chicken. Yes, this feels like the 23rd straight review that I've written about chicken in various forms over the last year. 

There's a reason for all the chicken posts. Chicken is hot right now. Whether it is fried, wings, hot chicken, sandwiches, or tenders, it seems like there is an endless amount of chicken restaurants opening up in OC. I have not eaten at all of them, but as of now my Mount Rushmore of chicken spots in OC are Crack Shack, Cluck Kitchen, Gus's World Famous Chicken, and Buttermilk Fried Chicken. 

I was recently invited to try out a new competitor to the OC chicken market, Dave's Hot Chicken, which opened their first location in Orange County right across from Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. Dave's started out at a pop-up spot in East Hollywood four years ago, opened their first restaurant a year later, and now they are operating eight spots, including one north of the border in Toronto, Canada. 

The menu at Dave's Hot Chicken is pretty straight forward. They offer chicken in the form of tenders and sliders. They have three combo meals available to go along with their four sides; mac and cheese, fries, cheese fries, and kale slaw. There are seven heat levels to the chicken ranging from no spice to reaper, which requires a waiver for the brave souls who like things crazy spicy. I was not that brave but was excited to give Dave's Hot Chicken a try. Let's see how it all worked out for me. 

The first of my plates was Combo #2, which featured 2 Sliders and Fries ($12.99). My first impression of this was that these were bigger than what I envisioned when I heard they were sliders. They were full-sized sandwiches that came dressed with kale slaw, pickles, and their signature Dave's sauce. The chicken was moist and juicy, and the sauce and kale slaw was a good companion to the chicken. I went with the hot heat level for these, which is fifth out of seven on their heat scale. It had a good amount of spice to it but did not overpower the chicken. I took the pickle off after my initial bite, as I'm not a really big fan of pickles on sandwiches, opting to eat them on their own instead. The sauce was reminiscent of the one from Raising Cane's but less peppery. It had a good balance to it with tangy and sweet notes being prevalent in most bites. They also give you plenty of sauce, which is a nice departure from other chicken spots that charge extra for sauces. The bun was good, soft, and pliable and did its job of keeping everything together. I'm always partial to crinkle-cut fries, and these were good, with a little of their seasoning sprinkled on top to give them a tinge of flavor.   

Combo #1 ($10.99) came next. This is comprised of two tenders, fries, sliced bread, and pickles. The tenders were also good-sized, did not come overly breaded, and were just as well done as the chicken used on the sliders. I went up a heat level with these to extra hot, which had a good amount of heat. It was just at the point where the heat kind of overpowered, so I'd probably say the hot level is the right choice for me at Dave's. The fries in this combo meal seemed to get hit with their seasoning a bit more, which I kind of like better. I discarded the sliced white bread, but for those of you that want to make sandwiches, I guess it could work.  

I finished off my meal with a side of their Mac and Cheese ($3.50). The first few bites I liked, but then I grew bored with it. It needed something to keep me interested, like maybe some of their fry seasoning or some breadcrumbs on top to change up the texture in some forkfuls. Not awful, but I'd skip it next time. 

All in all, it was a good trip to Dave's Hot Chicken, but I'd have to rank them outside of my Mount Rushmore of OC chicken spots that I've been to so far. With that said, I'd definitely recommend Dave's if you are in the area, or are at Mile Square Park and are craving hot chicken while picnicking. I felt the chicken here was good and I liked the sauce, but it just did not have that wow factor that blew me away. I felt the prices for the combo meals were more than fair, and the portion size of the chicken was generous. With all that's gone on in the world lately, it could never hurt having another chicken spot to choose from. Welcome to OC Dave.  

I'd like to thank everyone at Dave's Hot Chicken for the opportunity to try their chicken during this special preview before they opened up right before Christmas. Also, special thanks to Josh Levitt for reaching out with this invite, it's much appreciated. 

For more information about Dave's Hot Chicken, head to their website here: https://www.daveshotchicken.com/