Hot Chicken Sandwich Worth Trying in San Diego - Main Chick

If you are looking for a new hot chicken sandwich place that is worth trying, Main Chick is the place for you. Main Chick is a hot chicken sandwich chain that has locations in various areas including Pasadena, West LA, Koreatown, Long Beach, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Carlsbad, Clairemont, and Linda Vista. Their menu is quite simple, with a strong focus on what they do best, chicken sandwiches. Their hotness scales from mild to some of the hottest peppers in the world so you definitely get the heat if that is what you are looking for.

On top of the classic chicken sandwich that you might be familiar with, what makes Main Chick stand out to me is their dark meat chicken sandwich that features the juiciest chicken you could ever imagine in a delicious batter and fried to perfection between two tasty Hawaiian sweet buns and a flavorful sauce. Their classic chicken sandwich is great as well, it has all the flavor you could ever want with their fluffy Hawaiian sweet buns, but as a dark meat chicken lover, the dark meat chicken sandwich really wins my heart with its juiciness and tenderness.

main chick

I am so sorry, but as someone who can not take any spice whatsoever (and can not enjoy anything with even the slightest amount of spice), I really do appreciate a hot chicken sandwich place that offers the "naked" option as one of their spice levels. "Naked" is obviously the lowest option on the hotness scale and features no spice, it sounds bad, but I swear it actually is good and I do not miss the spice at all. Sometimes when you order something that is meant to be spicy but you take out all the spice from it, it can taste extremely bland (ahem - any spicy Korean soup), but this is not the case at all. The sandwich has enough flavors to begin with to stand on its own without the spiciness added to it, and you do not understand how much I appreciate and respect that. It makes for an extremely tasty sandwich without any pain and suffering (on my part because I am weak) so it is a very pleasant experience to me and one of the best chicken sandwiches I have had to date.

In addition to their chicken sandwiches, they also have a leg quarter (kind of like a drumstick but plus all the thigh too) and tenders. And let me just say, the leg quarter is like my dream come true because, like I said, I am a dark meat person so this is like heaven to me. And as for their tenders, no shade to Raising Canes, but why would anyone choose to go to Raising Canes when you can just get tenders at Main Chick and have it be so much better with more flavor? I understand maybe strong flavors are not for everyone, but these tenders are so tasty you definitely won't regret it and you can choose how spicy you want it as well.

main chick

main chick

The highest level of spice offered here is called their "supreme" level and I believe you need to sign a waiver when you order it. I have tried this, I don't know why I would do that to myself, but I did. The spice is definitely up there, some of the spiciest in a chicken sandwich that I have seen. But it is one of the spiciest but also one of the most flavorful and enjoyable at that level of spice. A lot of times when spice is the priority, they just throw flavor out the door, but that is not the case at Main Chick at all. It is still an extremely flavorful bite that is considerably enjoyable, once you get past all pain and suffering. If you love a challenge or you just love spicy things, I think this is the chicken sandwich for you. With this sandwich, you get all the heat as well as the flavors and deliciousness, which is not a guarantee for some places.

Lastly, I want to mention the price of the items on the menu. It is quite a small menu, but usually the smaller the menu, the better the things they do have, right? I think the prices are not only very reasonable but also quite affordable with the dark meat sandwich only being six dollars a sandwich (which is the same price as their regular Main Chick chicken sandwich). To be completely fair, it is quite a small sandwich and probably won't fill up the average person, but if you get two sandwiches and you pay 12 dollars, that is a pretty filling meal and for quite a low price. They also have sides of course, like their crinkle cut fries, mac and cheese, coleslaw, etc. But I actually think it is weird that a side order of mac and cheese is already seven dollars, which is more than the price of their dark meat chicken sandwich, but maybe the sides are exceptionally big.

Overall, this is the spot to try and I think they deserve all the hype!

Follow me on Instagram @sanfoodiego for more food related content and recommendations!

main chick