The Crack Shack

Way back in 2016, Viv and I traveled down to San Diego so we could board our cruise to Mexico.  We dined at Juniper & Ivy, which was delicious and lived up to expectations.  Right next door sat The Crack Shack with its fried chicken staring me in the face.  I didn't have enough appetite to give it a try, but promised myself to do so eventually. We all know that something happened in between then and now, so we have finally made it back to San Diego (with the kids this time).

We ended up going for the Small Flock Meal with 5-piece bone-in jidori fried chicken, 12 nuggets, large fry, classic slaw, 6 biscuits & 2 cookies.  They advertise all-natural chicken without any additives or dyes.  Hence it was quite "natural-tasting".  Chicken was generally juicy and moist with a very crunchy coating.  It had enough seasoning, but the sauce bar helped add even more flavor (more on that later).  Nuggets were all white meat chunks with a thin layer of batter.  They were not juicy, but they weren't dry either.  Fries were crispy and nicely salted.  Didn't like the slaw as it as too wet and dressed.  Veggies were crunchy though with good tang especially from the pickles.  Biscuits were money being buttery and crispy with a soft, fluffy center.  Maple butter was delicious too.  Cookies were light and airy with a crunchy exterior.  It was purposefully sweet.

At the Sauce Bar, one can help themselves from Honey BBQ, Pineapple Mustard, Ranch, Ketchup, Baja Hot Sauce and Sriracha 1000 Islands.  I really enjoyed the mustard as the sweetness from the pineapple balanced the tanginess.  BBQ sauce was pretty sweet.  I personally like the smokier sauces.  That hot sauce was pretty darn spicy where it definitely lingered.  1000 islands did have nice kick from the sriracha but it wasn't too spicy.

We also got the Fried Chicken Oysters which were not oysters if you already know.  These were made popular by the movie Amelie where the father would pick out the chicken "oyster" for his daughter.  It is the small nugget of meat on the back on the chicken attached to the thigh.  These were fried very crispy.  The meat was tender and juicy due to the nature of the meat.  Loved the tartar that went with it.  Creamy and tangy.

Lastly and predictably, I got the Firebird Chicken Sammie which was quite good.  It featured a really large deboned chicken thigh which was super juicy and moist.  The batter was also crunchy and stayed as such even after being sauced.  About that sauce, it had spice, but was flavorful in a smoky kind-of-way.  Loved the ample pickles that added crunch and tang.  Bun was soft, but held up to the wet ingredients.  Loved the sandwich and also thought the fried chicken was pretty good.  Nuggets were a bit stiff due to the use of whole chunks of chicken breast.  Overall a good meal and a really cool spot to hang out.

The Good:
- Crunchy fried chicken
- Loved the firebird sammie
- Plenty of sauces

The Bad:
- Nuggets were a bit stiff and dense