A millennial trio’s take on the
soul food flavor of the moment
By Rosie Parker
Photography by Patrick Tregenza
With a deep fat fryer, a waffle iron and night owl inclinations, Kickin Chicken, a late night fried chicken and waffle delivery service, is adding something salty and sweet to the Santa Cruz food scene.
Started in August 2014 out of the home kitchen of 20-somethings Justin Williams, Candice Mendoza and her brother, Daniel Mendoza, Kickin Chicken grew out of a simple passion for home-cooked meals and playing in the kitchen.
“Cooking has always been a sentimental thing to me, a hobby to share with my friends and family,” says Williams, who has amassed a tool set that goes well beyond that of a typical hobbyist, including a sous vide cooker that you’d find at a fine dining restaurant, a deep fryer, and a Searzall.
So when the Kickin Chicken team members, who each work multiple part-time jobs, decided to turn Williams’ obsession into a business and move part of the operation to the commercial kitchen at Midtown Café, keeping it playful was part of the plan.
Kickin Chicken delivers just four nights a week, Tuesday through Friday, 10pm–2am, in a limited radius in downtown Santa Cruz. And the team allows itself plenty of time for creative experimentation, toying with everything from cornmeal content in the waffles—to make sure they still taste delicious cold—to creating desserts like lime Jell-O with Pop Rocks and frozen raspberry seeds.
“The menu comes out of what we ourselves want to be eating,” Candice Mendoza says. “We get to satisfy all of our bizarre cravings.”
The combination of fried chicken and waffles, a soul food tradition, was popularized among jazz club players in Harlem in the 1930s, and has since spread all over the country as chefs put their own spin on the pairing. Here in the Monterey Bay region, you can find some novel riffs on them in such brick-and-mortar restaurants as Montrio Bistro in Monterey, which serves chicken-stuffed waffles topped with kale and poached eggs.
For Williams and the Mendozas, who hail from the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, their relationship with the dish began with the iconic Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. “We grew up with the legend of Roscoe’s in our backyard,” says Williams. “It’s a concept that we were always aware of.”
With its downtown Santa Cruz home base, hours that suit the young and hungry, and a price point of about $8.50 per hearty meal, Kickin Chicken has acquired an especially strong following among college students.
“People don’t take younger kids seriously as diners,” Williams explains, “but if you make something delicious that’s in their price range, they will stay loyal to you.”
The business model appears to have paid off: By the time Kickin Chicken opens shop at 10pm, there’s a long line of orders waiting to be filled. Their success has also allowed for quick expansion into catering and pop-up events.
The food, in all of its unapologetically fatty and deep-fried glory, is truly finger-lickin’ good. The chicken, both crispy and juicy, gets some kick from a Crystal Hot Sauce buttermilk batter. If fried chicken isn’t for you, opt for the equally coma-inducing sides like mac ’n’ cheese or a chicken tender biscuit sandwich. Tip: Use the maple cayenne beurre blanc sauce generously.
“I love being surprised by our food,” Mendoza says. “The heart of the food is something we’re always looking for, and I love how often I find it here.”
Kickin Chicken
818.458.8552 • facebook.com/kicknchickenSC
orderstart.com/kickinchicken
Rosie Parker is a writer, farmer and beer lover living in the mountains of Santa Cruz. A native New Englander, she misses snow days but is happy she can now grow lettuce in the winter.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
