At the very western edge of Burbank, Hades Hot Chicken serves up some very tasty fried chicken and delicious sides from a nondescript strip mall near West Victory Boulevard and North Clybourn Avenue.
The spice level is easily customizable, from no spice, mild, medium, medium-hot and Hades Hot, which registers between one and two million on the Scoville scale. A dry spice rub is added before each piece is cooked, so diners can get the amount of heat they want, on a scale from no burn to eye-watering and mouth-scorching.
I dragged the Burger Dude to a chicken place, even though they don’t have burgers because I thought Burger Dude might like it. We wanted to check out Hades Hot Chicken, which has come up many times via word-of-mouth, and test out their menu. We tried a little bit of almost everything available. Spoiler alert, Burger Dude liked it a lot.
While we opted for the chicken sandwiches with added cheese, Hades Hot Chicken also offers nuggets and strips of breaded chicken, all made to order.
Burger Dude does not like spicy, so he tried out the no-heat option of the chicken sandwich box with well-done fries and coleslaw as sides and two sauces – the house-made (which reminded us of Thousand Island) and the ranch. True to test, the sandwich was flavorful but without any heat.
I opted for the medium spicy chicken sandwich box. The chicken was juicy and tender, the breading was decent and not too thick and the spice level was just right for me – a fair amount of heat but not overwhelming.
The fries were seasoned with an herby and slightly salty mix that was terrific. Whether regular-done or well-done, we appreciated those fries. The coleslaw side was also very, very good. Burger Dude and I are very picky about coleslaw, and we both were happy with this taste. Not too vinegary, not too sweet, the coleslaw was a nice mix of purple and green cabbages with a mild, slightly creamy dressing.
My way to eat the chicken sandwich was to put the chilled dill pickles, coleslaw and house-made sauce on the bun and cheesy chicken breast for a very delicious bite of savory and complex flavors.
We also had to taste the mac and cheese and the fried pickles. Both were excellent. The mac and cheese was very cheesy and had excellent flavor and consistency. The dill pickle chips, battered and fried, were fabulous. Dip those in some ranch or house sauce for a whirl.
Hades Hot Chicken doesn’t have a lot of sauces but they do make some excellent standards – ranch, bbq and house-made.
After all that decadence, we had to have something sweet for a finish. Hades Hot Chicken has these Ube Oreos that are Oreo cookies dipped in sweet purple taro batter, deep fried and served hot. Talk about decadence and intense sweetness!
How hot is Hades Hot? I had to know, so I tried a small bite of a nugget prepared with the Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Pepper mix. It’s really, really hot, definitely Hades-Hot. The restaurant chefs recommended cold pickles or milk to alleviate the burn and the cold pickles worked well but it took some time to recover from the experience.
Burger Dude had to get some nuggets to go for his Dodger dog, and by all reports, they were welcomed with gusto.
I ordered a gyro sandwich to go, and wondered how it would hold up for dinner.
The gyro is legit; the sandwich heated up very well and thoroughly. The bread was still soft and the garden topping – lettuce, tomato and onion – packaged separately from the bread was still very crisp and fresh, and the tzatziki dressing was on point, for a perfect dinner.
For cleanliness, friendliness, ease of ordering, quick service and delicious food, Hades Hot Chicken earns a Tops in Town.
There is plenty of street parking and parking spaces available in the strip mall lot. Bathrooms are clean. Lots of tables and booths for in-person dining are available. Whether customers are eating in or ordering to go, the food is hot, fresh and tasty.
Restaurant Info: Hades Hot Chicken is located at 4414 W. Victory Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505. (818) 616-6565. Hades Hot Chicken is open Monday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Closed Sunday.
Hades Hot Chicken receives: Tops In Town
myBurbank Ratings:
Tops In Town (Outstanding)
On The Marquee (Really Good)
Could Use A Rewrite (Average or Slightly Below)
Don’t Quit Your Day Job (Poor)
