Man Behind Umami Burger Brings You Chocolate Fried Chicken

(ChocoChicken Sampler Menu)

I’d like an order of Chocolate Fried Chicken with a side of White Chocolate Mashed Potatoes, please! Did that pique your interest? Adam Fleischman, the man behind the widely successful Umami Burger, has a new restaurant in the works with the hopes of changing people’s perceptions about taste. Fleischman partnered with culinary personality Keith Previte and television producer Sean Robins to open ChocoChicken, aiming to challenge one’s taste buds by mixing elements that are seemingly so different from one another, yet come together perfectly in a delicious harmony.

If you’re one of those people who still haven’t made up their mind whether to gag in disgust or drool in anticipation, I can assure you that chocolate infused foods are not something to shy away from. I was lucky to enough to be invited for a preview tasting of some of their signature menu items that will be making their debut when ChocoChicken officially opens its doors for business in June. If you’re one of those people who still haven’t made up their mind whether to gag in disgust or drool in anticipation, I can assure you that chocolate infused foods are not something to shy away from. I was lucky to enough to be invited for a preview tasting of some of their signature menu items that will be making their debut when ChocoChicken officially opens its doors for business in June. (Here's a look inside. Look how juicy the chicken is!)

A part of me was skeptical about trying the chicken because I was expecting fried chicken drenched in a chocolate gravy-esque sauce. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was terribly wrong. The fried chicken ended up being my favorite dish of the entire meal. The quality organic Jidori Chicken meat was soft and juicy. The chocolate was not overly sweet either. In fact, it actually enhanced the chicken’s flavor and added more complexity to the taste. Patrons will have the choice between chocolate chicken thighs, breasts, drumsticks, or wings. The White Chocolate Mashed Potatoes infused with white chocolate chive butter were extremely creamy. The white chocolate was more of a light aftertaste as opposed to a strong rich white chocolate flavor that overpowered the dish. ChocoChicken is so confident in their Flakey Butter Biscuit that their menu challenges that, “If you think your Grandma can make better biscuit, ask if she wants a job.” The biscuits are made of 70 percent butter. I love a good biscuit as much as the next person, but by the time I was able to sample the biscuit, it was no longer hot. With that said, the biscuit was still good at room temperature.

Do you love bacon? Who doesn’t love bacon? ChocoChicken also has a Caramelized Bacon Biscuit. And just to make sure we are eating our veggies, even at a Fried Chocolate Chicken establishment, there is the Cup of Raw Crudite. Fresh cut air loom vegetables seasoned with Choco spice, and paired with their spicy and creamy Miso sauce. Next up for the tasting were the Duck Fat Fries. The Duck Fat French Fries were flavored with chocolate seasoning and then dipped in your sauce of choice. I tried the Chocolate Ketchup, which gave the fries a slight sweet kick and the Bee Sting, which was a honey infused with hot sauce. The fries made for good finger food. I especially liked how I could still distinctly taste the ketchup flavor in the Chocolate Ketchup sauce and how the chocolate did not overpower it.The dessert of the night was Chocolate S’mores Whoppie Pies from Cake Monkey made exclusively for ChocoChicken. The S’mores were melt-in-your-mouth soft. ChocoChicken will soon have a full bar with a plethora of chocolate inspired cocktails, wine, and beer as well as some chocolate-less favorites as well.

Although the official menu has not been set in stone, the ChocoChicken Facebook and Instagram pages do update the pictures from their test kitchen such as their latest creation: chicken meatballs filled with molten chocolate.

https://www.facebook.com/eatchocochicken

http://instagram.com/eatchocochicken

Menu uncertainty aside, they are already planning to open a second ChocoChicken restaurant in Santa Monica this fall. A little birdie did mention that a Chocolate Mac n Cheese will be hitting the menu soon so watch out for that! ChocoChicken has yet to have a set grand opening date. It will be open sometime in June 2014. You can follow them on Twitter leading up to their opening. Here's my ChocoChocolate article on the LAist Food section.

Will you be trying ChocoChicken when they open?

Happy Eatings!