Cafe gives KFC a run for its money

  PRIYA SHARMA/Daily Bruin California Chicken Cafe offers a
healthy alternative to fried chicken outlets. RESTAURANT
REVIEW California Chicken Cafe
Address: 2005 Westwood Blvd. West Los Angeles
(near Pico Boulevard) Hours: Weekdays 11 a.m. – 10
p.m. Saturdays noon – 10 p.m. Closed Sundays Phone
Number: (310) 446-1933 Price Range:
$5-$10

By Sharon Hori
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Colonel Sanders would need to add more than 11 herbs and spices
to his secret chicken recipe to compete with this rival on Westwood
Boulevard.

California Chicken Cafe, bustling with the popularity of a
fast-food atmosphere ““ minus the grease, cheapness and random
animal parts ““ has no competition when it comes to serving
food fast and tasty. Customers want the efficiency and
affordability of a drive-thru restaurant. They arrive hungry and
anxious to eat; they expect to leave promptly, with wallets intact
and stomachs satiated.

And California Chicken Cafe, with locations in Santa Monica,
West Los Angeles and Encino, knows how to cater to its
customers’ demands.

The chicken dishes, wraps and salads are freshly prepared and
low in fat, appealing to vegetarians and health food fanatics
alike.

Best known for its rotisserie, California Chicken Cafe adds a
healthy kick to the Colonel’s fried version. The restaurant
serves chicken just as finger lickin’ good ““ whether
you order dark meat ($5.25), white meat ($5.75), half a chicken
($6.75) or the whole bird ($7.75), the rotisserie is moist and
still steaming. Each rotisserie chicken arrives with pita bread
(make your own chicken burrito!) and your choice of side dish.

And if you’re not in the mood for a lunch that is entirely
devoted to chicken, the cafe adds chicken and vegetarian wraps to
their menu. All wraps begin with the cafe’s popular pitas,
densely packed with blends of chicken, rice and dressing in large
pita bread. The popular combo wrap ($7.25) sets the standard for
the cafe’s stuffed pitas ““ chicken, vegetables,
avocado, jack cheese and sprouts, which promises to be filling.
From there, the other wraps differ by only one or two ingredients.
The rice wrap ($7) adds rice, the primavera wrap ($7) adds carrots,
and the vegetarian wraps and vegetarian rice wraps (both $6.25)
subtract the chicken.

With so many wraps all so similar, you’d think that
California Chicken Cafe would lose points for originality. But the
restaurant’s diversity appears in the menu’s side
dishes. Both rotisserie and wraps come with a choice of (at least)
one of about a dozen sides, ranging from the lighter soups and
salads to the carbohydrate-boosting rice and potatoes.

The wholesome vegetable soup, with carrots, potatoes, onions and
celery, becomes a hearty welcome on a rainy day. The fruit salad, a
dish better suited for summer, mixes strawberries, watermelon,
honeydew and grapes, depending on the season. The all-time classic
mashed potatoes and gravy are the natural complement to any chicken
dish. The list continues with butternut squash, hot potatoes and
vegetarian rice primavera.

Health-conscious eaters will be delighted with the cafe’s
fat-free mayo and low-cal caesar dressings. The restaurant offers
five different salads ““ among the highlights are the popular
chinese chicken salad ($7.25) and low-cal vegetable salad ““
and nine dressings to appeal to the connoisseur.

Newcomers should dabble in several dishes before settling on a
favorite, since the cafe offers a medley of healthy choices. By the
fourth or fifth visit, they’ll already have their
preference.

Novice or veteran, California Chicken Cafe offers homestyle
meals for everyone ““ office workers, joggers, students,
families and vegetarians alike. Whether you come in sweatpants or
dress pants, you won’t feel out of place. All California
Chicken Cafe patrons have the same expectation ““ a hearty
homestyle meal for a reasonable price.

RESTAURANT: For California Chicken Cafe’s
store locations or catering menus fax (800) 576-1420 or go to
www.californiachickencafe.com.