Passersby on Melrose Ave. starting this weekend might encounter Spartina’s new streetside cart offering its popular fried chicken sandwich, to go. Spartina’s pop-up, situated directly outside of its restaurant, is a kind of pivot to capitalize on outdoor spaces many L.A. restaurateurs are taking as the City earlier this year introduced its L.A. Al Fresco program. The pop-up launches Saturday, August 15, at 11 a.m.
“I know it’s hard for restaurants to make a profit at reduced capacity,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said when L.A. Al Fresco was first announced. “But what this allows is for you to have more people, even with that reduced capacity.” The measure, which requires a permit and lasts for 90 days, includes the right to serve alcohol if a restaurant already has those licenses in place.
“This sandwich was a special off-the-menu item prior to the pandemic,” Chef Stephen Kalt of Spartina said in a prepared statement shared with What Now Los Angeles this week. “We decided to add it permanently after we reopened for outside dining and our customers cannot seem to get enough of it. We get plenty of takeout/delivery orders but we wanted to make it available and not have the product suffer while being delivered.”
Spartina rearranged its outdoor patio to include a walkup booth where, at the moment, only the chicken sandwich is being served to go. The sandwich itself costs $12 (or $15 with fries). It is an all-white chicken breast, deep-fried with bread crumbs and topped with prosciutto di parma, fontina cheese, hot honey dressing, and sweet slaw, served on a brioche bun. As of right now, Angelenos can get this sandwich every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. right outside Spartina, at 7505 Melrose Ave.
In another notable COVID-19 pivot, KazuNori is for the first time offering its handrolls as to-go, DIY kits.
