California Kitchen

Diego Jimenez

2 months ago

★★★★★

The chicken tenders were very hot and crispy, yet juicy. I liked the Cajun ranch fries but the voodoo fires were my favorite. The baklava and cheescake was also good. The workers are very nice and generous with the portions. I can't wait to go back to try the shawarma and eat more voodoo fries!

Alien Dog

4 months ago

★★★★★

I was suprisingly disappointed. I haven't been able to eat at California Kitchen since they moved to a bigger, cleaner location with a parking lot. Service was nothing like I had come to enjoy from the old location. When I pulled up to the drive-up ordering, I was unable to read most of the menu items because of the pictures of food behind the words which were not done in high-contrast coloring. I've been wanting chicken livers and I did see they offered them in combo with other items. I asked if I could just get the livers with nothing else. She said large was $13 something and what drink did I want. I said I didn't want anything except the livers. Then she asked if I did want the fries. I said just the livers, no fries, no drink. She said that the large was $11 something. I agreed I wanted the large livers with nothing else. Then she asked if I wanted the lemon seasoning. I said, no. No seasoning, just the livers, please. I pull to the window where I'm asked if I want the lemon seasoning. I said no. Then he wanted to know if I wanted large or small. I said large. What drink did I want? I said I just want chicken livers with nothing else. He charged me $13 something, but by then, I wasn't sure I was even getting what I ordered, so I didn't argue, took my bag and left. I pulled across to the next parking lot and I did find the bag had a box full of just chicken livers, along with several napkins and 2 plastic forks. My first bite was extremely hot and delicious. Nice and crispy on the outside and a medium pinkish brown inside which was so soft. The next liver was completely opposite. It was hard and black inside showing it was badly overcooked. It was also slightly warm, which I figured indicated it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours instead of fresh like my first one. Most of the remaining livers were like the 2nd - old, tough, and overcooked. I ate the few good livers and placed the others in the fridge, hoping they would soften up in the humidity. The next day, they were at least chewable, but not at all delicious. And they are a bit overly salty. If this had been my first exposure to livers or to California Kitchen, I would likely never experience either one again. Because I used to love the food at the old building across the street, I will try California Kitchen again, but they will need to do a lot of work to get back to the competency level for which they were once known.

C C

5 months ago

★★★★★

Arrived at the drive thru for California Kitchen starving hungry and left spiritually renewed. The food came out piping hot—like “careful or you’ll lose your fingerprints” hot—and every bite tasted fresher than my New Year’s resolutions. They put a unique twist on family favorites, which I normally fear (I’ve seen what happens when people “reinvent” mac and cheese), but these folks actually know what they’re doing. The Chicago dog? Exceptional. I don’t know what kind of signature pepper relish they’ve got going on—magic? sorcery?—but it was the perfect level of spicy. My tongue tingled, my soul ascended, and I briefly considered proposing to the chef. The fried green tomatoes had breading so good it deserves its own sitcom. Crispy, flavorful, and not that sad soggy stuff you get at places that claim they know Southern cooking. Food came out surprisingly fast too—like, “did they already know what I was going to order?” fast. And the menu is huge. I’ve seen shorter novels. You could eat here every day for a month and still have options left. Overall? California Kitchen is a delicious adventure wrapped in hot plates and mild chaos. Highly recommend.