Happies Hand Made

The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week: July 28 | Eater LA

"By now, the word on Joshua Skenes’ Happies Hand Made has shown up on multiple social media accounts touting the fried chicken, like Hungry in LA’s Eddie Sanchez saying it is his new favorite fried chicken in Los Angeles. While declaring chicken tenders — the least-interesting part of the bird — as the best fried chicken in town can seem suspect, at least initially, Skenes does make a really delicious chicken strip coated in a salsa macha and dried chile seasoning. The chef quietly rolled out his double-fried cherrywood smoke chicken wings last week, served over a golden-brown waffle that he once topped with caviar at his temporarily closed Leopardo on La Brea Avenue. The wings are juicy and sweet with smoke flavor, cracker-like on the outside, and incredibly satisfying to eat. Skenes himself is often mixing drinks or prepping orders up front, with the line of customers not realizing the former chef of a three-Michelin-star restaurant (Saison) is making some of the best comfort food in Los Angeles right now. Or maybe they do realize that Skenes has poured so much energy into simple, reasonably priced food, and that’s why they’re willing to wait." - Eater Staff