“One taste and you’ll know”: Breaking Bad’s money-laundering fast-food chain, Los Pollos Hermanos, is back in L.A.
Fans of the fictional, New Mexico-based chicken shack—which also appeared in the prequel series, Better Call Saul—might remember a pop-up restaurant in 2017 that featured plenty of fried chicken (and lengthy lines), and a short reprise in 2018. This year it’s back again, and fans can get a taste thanks to a new partnership—and thankfully, owner and meth kingpin Gustavo Fring is finally out of the picture. (OK, it’s been years, you should’ve watched the show by now.)
Starting on Thursday, the “Albuquerque-style” hot chicken shack is hitting Los Angeles with all the discreetness and professionalism that Gus always prided himself on: The “virtual restaurant” is delivery-only, meaning with a few taps in UberEats, you can get a buttermilk-battered bird sent to your door.
The chili-powder–heavy dusting on the Los Pollos fried chicken gives the sandwich some heat, though it’s not as spicy as, say, the higher echelons at Howlin’ Ray’s or David Chang’s new off-menu hot (cold) chicken at Fuku. It comes served with curly fries that’ve also been heavily seasoned—really, is there any other way?—plus some BBQ sauce and a creamy remoulade, as well as a side of “Slaw Goodman,” which you’re directed to place atop the chicken.
Not to be confused with the Breaking Bad Experience, the brick-and-mortar pop-up restaurant and bar that just launched in West Hollywood, our latest Los Pollos Hermanos comes by way of partnership between Sony and Family Style Inc., a collection of 20-plus delivery-only commissary kitchens that also happens to be the force behind Pizzaoki, Steve Aioki's pizza delivery service.
“I’m relieved to report that the folks at Family Style got it right,” Vince Gilligan, the shows’ creator, says in a new release. “Their chicken sandwich is big and crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and it rests on one of the better brioche buns I’ve come across. It doesn’t skimp on the spices, either. Don’t worry, it won’t set your mouth on fire, but it’s got a good kick to it. I think Gus would approve.”
If a new hot chicken option isn’t incentive enough, UberEats is running a free-delivery deal for the first week of the pop-up. The latest entry into L.A.'s hot-chicken wave will stick around “for the foreseeable future,” a representative tells Time Out Los Angeles, and after the first six months, will be available on other delivery services.
In a few months it will expand north to San Francisco and Oakland, south to San Diego, and east to Las Vegas and Chicago.
Los Pollos Hermanos launches via UberEats in L.A. on Thursday, October 24.
Correction: This story originally reported that Pollos Hermanos would run for six months in Los Angeles, when in fact it is running for six months through UberEats, then expanding to other delivery apps; the copy has been updated to reflect this.