Local eatery gains following with great chicken

Victor+Jiminez+prepares+loaded+fries+for+customers+on+Rumrill+Street+at+a+pop-up+location+of+Loaded+Chickn+on+Oct.+5.

Cindy Pantoja / The Advocate

Victor Jiminez prepares loaded fries for customers on Rumrill Street at a pop-up location of Loaded Chickn on Oct. 5.

By Janet Lira, Advocate Staff

An all-time favorite, fried chicken, takes a new spin with trendy ingredients and recipes at a locally owned pop up diner — Loaded Chickn.

Delivering fresh made-to-order dishes, the new eatery has progressively gone up the charts in popularity and uniqueness for East Bay foodies.

Usually the establishment is located in the parking lot of The Plug tattoo parlor at 12592 San Pablo Avenue in Richmond.

Some of the most popular items featured on its menu are the loaded fries and loaded burrito. Both items generally have the same ingredients with the main difference being one is an open-faced meal and the other is a wrap.

All the ingredients were well-balanced, which made flavor in the dishes meld instead of coming off too heavy. Platters perfectly combine pickled cucumber, salad and hearty chicken. More importantly, customers can add hot Cheetos by request — a beloved choice of chips by younger people. The eatery also has refreshing choices of drinks, like handmade peach and strawberry water.

However, flavored waters may vary during seasons.

Overall, the chicken has great texture and crispiness to it, is slightly on the dry side, but the added special sauce makes the dryness from the chicken an acceptable drawback.

The seasoning was great as all the spices used to coat the chicken worked well with their special sauce. Currently, there is no ingredient list for the sauce, so there will be no home-replication of the recipe.

If you are feeling hungry, then this is the spot.

Hefty portions are served for each item so diners should make sure to bring their appetites.

Pricing is reasonable for the portion size.

Overall, the customer service is excellent. Each worker memorizes the customer’s name and order, and they asked questions to provide the best service possible.

Employees wear proper gloves and keep everything clean and organized.

One downfall of the experience is access.

Parking for Loaded Chickn is complicated and minimal.

Time to deliver each dish takes about 20 minutes unless there is a line or if someone orders multiple dishes. Generally, service is quite fast — however, since all food is made by order, wait time may be extended.

My experience there was great. I visited the eatery in over 90 degree weather and observed that they kept all food items in proper cooling conditions. Shaded seating for patrons choosing to dine in was also provided.

For those who would like to try Loaded Chickn, they can follow their Instagram page @Loadedchickn to know if they will be open that day since hours vary and there is no set schedule. Location also varies, but a set location will be announced soon on their Instagram page.