We were driving on the 605 earlier today. We had an appointment in the City of Industry and were deciding on what to eat. Suddenly it came to me; "it's Monday, right? How about Chicken Box?" Not knowing if the place still had the "Monday Special", 10 pieces of broasted chicken and potatoes, the Missus found the number and called….and sure enough they did. After our appointment, I placed a call and we headed over to the Chicken Box.
Located in La Habra on Whittier Boulevard, next to the bowling alley, Monday nights often meant the "Monday Special" when we lived right over the hill. We both loved the broasted chicken. After moving to San Diego, I visited just about every broasted chicken joint and none even came close.
It was nice to see not much had changed….the simple take-out set-up, the food was still cooked to order so you had to tell them when you'd be picking things up. It was usually a 20-30 minute lead time. There was still the little kitschy display with chicken-country themed knick-knacks for sale…..
As much as I've lavished praise on the Chicken Box; for some strange contradictory reason, it has to be on a Monday…..perhaps it's nostalgia, or heck, maybe we're being cheap, but we'd always get it on a Monday.
We were surprised to see the Monday Special was only $11.89….you can get it on any day, but it'll cost you $16.99. You're limited to two specials per order. Broasted chicken, made by a patented and trademarked process of pressure frying chicken, ain't cheap stuff. From what I recall, the equipment is only available to food service, so you can only get this eating out. You can read more on the Broaster website.
They were doing a pretty steady business, folks coming in and picking up, one or two trays of the special. We finally got ours……we couldn't wait and headed over to one of the outdoor tables to see if the chicken had changed over the years. We were happy to note it had not; it was still as good as ever.
Man, this was good. These folks know how to use the Broaster. Nothing I've had in San Diego; even if they all use the same equipment and possibly the same marinade and process compares. The flavor of the coating was very simple and straight forward. This wasn't greasy in the least. The skin and coating was thin and crisp and much of the fat had rendered off. Also, each piece, regardless of size was cooked perfectly. It is claimed that broasted chicken is 44% more moist than fried chicken. It's easy to believe…..
The broasted potatoes weren't nearly as good as before; I think it used to be seasoned much more aggressively. But heck; this is the Chicken Box, not the Potato Shack.
This really made our day and brought back memories of our time in Rowland Heights. There aren't many of our old haunts that are still great after over a decade. We're glad the Chicken Box still is……it's also still better than Pittsburgh Chicken and Subs in Los Alamitos as well!
Chicken Box
330 E Whittier Blvd
La Habra, CA 90631