My Favorite Fried Chicken Chain Introduced Mozzarella Sticks to Their Menu

I’m going to say something controversial and perhaps objectively wrong: Dave’s Hot Chicken makes some of the best fried chicken in Los Angeles. WAIT! DON’T GO. I know, okay, I know. They are probably B-Tier compared to your favorite chain. I’M SORRY. But I love their fried chicken and floppy toasted potato buns and cheesy seasoned crinkle fries so much. It’s consistently delicious and affordable. And now… well.

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Now Dave’s just added mozzarella sticks to their menu, permanently. And they’re available right now.

They’re called mozzarella “planks” on their menu, which I think is apt, since they look like big bookmark-shaped mozzarella sticks. These mozz sticks are fried and dusted with a spicy seasoning, which you can adjust to any of Dave’s signature seven spice levels. For reference, here’s the meal options and pricing I’m seeing at my local Dave’s: 

• Dave’s Hot 3 Piece Meal: 3-piece mozzarella planks with fries, pickles, bread, and what looks like Dave’s sauce for dipping. ($9.99)
• Dave’s Hot 5 Piece Meal ($14.99)
• Dave’s Hot Mozz Slider: served with a potato bun, kale slaw, pickles, and Dave’s sauce ($7.99 on its own, $10.99 with fries) 
• Dave’s Hot Mozz 1 Piece ($2.99)
• Dave’s Hot Mozz 3 Piece ($7.99)
• Dave’s Hot Mozz 5 Piece ($12.99)
• Dave’s Hot Mozz Box: 20 mozzarella planks ($45) 

Now. I have thoughts. First, I think those prices are fair but a little bit high. I get that this is a new Dave’s menu item, though, and they don’t want to devalue it. For the value of the fries, pickles, and sauce, the 3-piece meal seems the most fair to me. The 5-piece, however, feels like a bit of a jump in price. 

More importantly, I’d like to discuss the dipping sauce. 

Serving mozzarella sticks with what is essentially a spicy aioli feels a little questionable to me. I mean, I won’t knock it until I try it, but I can’t imagine enjoying a mozz stick without some marinara. I’ll even enjoy them with ketchup if I have to; it’s that tomato flavor that always sells it for me.

No matter what, though, you better believe I’m trying these asap. Will you? What’s your favorite fried chicken chain? Do you think I’m crazy for how much I love Dave’s? Go ahead and yell at me in the comments. It’s what I live for.