GO GO BIRD
ADDRESS: 9355 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232
WEBSITE: https://www.go-go-bird.com/
It had been a while since my friend Alex and I had met to catch up and see how things were, so we decided to look around the Culver City area for a new spot to try out. There was a place called Go Go Bird, located in the Citizen Public Market food hall, that I had bookmarked after seeing it on TikTok. I made the suggestion about checking that place out, and once he heard me say fried chicken, that sealed the deal.
I had not previously been to the Citizen Public Market, but it was a cool little space, filled with a number of different vendors and cuisines to sample from. I was able to arrive a bit early and got a chance to do a quick walkthrough before Alex arrived, and there were several other spots inside the food hall that caught my eye that I’d like to try, including a hand-pulled noodle spot and Japanese handroll spot. Once he was there, we headed over to Go Go Bird and began taking a look at the menu.
They specialize in fried chicken, coming in the form of either tenders, wings, or sandwich. Their sides comprised of their hand-cut fries, baked mac & cheese, or their cheddar biscuits. It looked like they also offered orders of gyoza as well. Based on the menu offerings, there were definitely Chinese and Japanese flavor influences for sure.
I opted to go with their spicy chicken tenders, which came as an order of three, accompanied by a Japanese cheddar biscuit. Alex and I decided to split an order of their hand-cut fries, which we went with their furikake seasoning on those. We had timed our visit just right to get there right before the dinner rush, since there was immediately a line of probably 12 people that formed a little after we had placed our order. We ended up waiting probably around 5 – 7 minutes before we received our food from the counter and started looking around for a place to sit.
With the space being a food hall, there was ample seating that was located both indoors and outdoors. We opted to sit in the outdoor patio right near where Go Go Bird was located to begin digging into our food. On initial glance, I had ended up getting four tenders in my basket, so that was a small win in my book. Both the chicken as well as the fries had a slightly orange hue to them, which may have been attributed to the spices used as part of their seasoning blend.
Upon taking a bite into the chicken tenders, I found myself thinking that the texture reminded me a bit of the battered fish from fish and chips. Crispy on the outside, but a softer texture on the inside between the batter and chicken. While I thought that the flavor was pretty good, with the spice having a slight tingling effect (likely from the Szechuan peppercorns), there was still something off for me with regards to that texture.
Perhaps it’s not what I had expected initially, but with the chicken being the main focus, I’m not sure if it is something that I would return back to just for that item alone. The fries though, they were a solid hit, with them being also crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and just the right thickness. The furikake seasoning helped to add a nice subtle hint of sweetness and umami to the fries, with the sugar and nori in the seasoning working well together for that.
As far as fried chicken goes, I’m glad that I was able to give this place a try, but I don’t think that it would be something I come back to. It doesn’t have that texture of fried chicken that I typically prefer, and the ratio between the chicken and batter itself probably could have improved a little bit. But I did appreciate the flavors from the seasoning, as I’m usually a fan of Szechuan peppercorns for that numbing tingling feeling that it gives you when you eat the food. If you happen to be in the area of Citizen Public Market and this type of fried chicken suits you, perhaps consider giving Go Go Bird a shot.
Let’s now take a look at the Go Go Bird Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
Spicy Chicken Tenders
Jidori chicken battered and fried, tossed in a Go Go spice mixture. Served with a Japanese cheddar biscuit.
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** Furikake Fries **
Fresh hand-cut fries tossed in furikake and a Go Go spice mixture.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Go Go Bird:
Food: 4 / 5
The fried chicken was good, but not great. The ratio of batter to chicken could use a bit of adjustment so that more chicken was in each tender. I found the flavors themselves for both the tenders and the fries to be pretty enjoyable though.
Atmosphere: N/A
The interior of Citizen Public Market was really nice and had a slight bit of an upscale feel to it. Plenty of tables were available, with some being at the restaurants themselves and others in open spaces.
Service: 4 / 5
The food didn’t take a large amount of time to be ready, and the woman helping us out at the register was nice enough to help answer some questions that we had about the menu.
Price: 3.25 / 5
The overall plate of chicken tenders clocks in at $16, meaning that the price of each tender would be just over $5. For the amount of meat that you get with each tender, I don’t know if that has as much value there, even with the price scaling due to the location.
Overall:
11.25 / 15
(75%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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