Happies Hand Made
Permanently Closed
Sichuan-inflected fried chicken tenders & waffles
Sichuan-inflected fried chicken tenders & waffles
"Temporarily closed at the end of October, Josh Skenes’ Arts District fried chicken joint Happies Hand Made posted on Instagram, “We are working behind the scenes on something and hope to be back in action soon,” and there is no reopening date yet." - Rebecca Roland
"The chef behind Leopardo and SF’s Angler is dipping into fast-casual with this Arts District spot, where spiced chicken tenders are served with milk bread and waffles. The food menu seems slightly limited at the moment (there’s also tallow fries and soft serve), but there are plenty of drinks to pick from, including passionfruit sodas, honey oolong teas, iced coffees with a whole donut on top, and frozen cocktails flavored with coconut or grape." - cathy park
"Social media might be right about Joshua Skenes’s shift from burgers to spicy fried chicken: the unnaturally large tenders, coated in dried chiles with ultra-crisp breading, are unreasonably delicious. Depending on the day, there are also double-fried cherrywood-smoked chicken wings served over golden-brown waffles—juicy, sweet, lightly smoky, and cracker-like on the outside—and maybe those burgers will show up eventually, but for now the comfort food hits hard. Must-try dishes: waffles, chicken tenders, chicken wings." - Rebecca Roland
"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
"Remember the incredible soft serve at the now-closed Leopardo? Because we certainly do. Well, it's back, this time in a more fast-casual form. The chef now runs a spicy chicken tender and waffle concept in the Arts District, and much like Leopardo, the thick-but-airy swirls of sweet milk ice cream are the highlight of the menu. The $8 treat resembles a fancied-up McD's sundae cup, with five topping options to choose from—the biggest winners so far are fragrant strawberry jam or rich butterscotch with honey-roasted peanuts." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
