Happy Fry-Day! - CtrCity Anaheim

Every healthy diet deserves a cheat day, but indulging doesn’t mean you have to skip out on quality. Think beyond the fair fare. A giant fried oreo may be fun once a year, but once a year is about all your stomach might be able to handle. Luckily, many of our Ctr City foodie outposts have the fried category covered and in the most delectable ways—so you can indulge in more fry-days and experience fewer recovery days.

The American deep South is credited with the innovation of many deep-fried delicacies, most famously, perhaps is fried chicken. Sweetbird, the southern comfort food outpost in the Packing House has the American staple covered. Its original fried chicken sandwich is stuffed with slaw, aioli, butter pickles and topped with a buttery bun.

A visit to Promenade Pub elevates fried tater tots from a humble bar appetizer to gourmet goodness. Their crispy Pub Tots are smothered in prime rib, melted gruyere, and cheddar cheese, green onions and stout BBQ sauce. Pair it with one of the twenty tasty local craft beers on tap from breweries like The Bruery, Bottle Logic, Anaheim Brewery, and Noble Ale works (happy hour has $5 beers). The Promenade, located on Center Street Promenade at the corner of Anaheim and Center street, often features live local acts—this Sunday features acoustic soul singer/songwriter Roderick Chambers.

Around the world, fried foods are an indelible street/casual food staple. The Chippy Fish and Grill (Packing House) takes the quintessential British bar pairing of fish and chips (fries) and elevates it by using proprietary family recipes that promise that the tasty battered morsels are cooked using healthier methods. And Chippy Fish is the real deal; their first restaurants opened in Chelmsford, England in the 1980s.

Coming to Anaheim by way of Syria, Mangal is the Packing House offshoot of popular Aleppo’s Kitchen located on Brookhurst St. near Disneyland. Mangal, which means barbecue in Arabic, serves up a fried Kibbeh pita. Kibbeh is made of whole-grain bulgur wheat stuffed with different types of meat and spices. It can be baked or grilled, but when fried it offers a delicious crispy coating.

The American south doesn’t have the last word on fried chicken. At Pour Vida Latin Flavor, the twist is in the taco. Buttermilk fried chicken receives an extra kick with paprika sauce, and kale slaw replaces the traditional raw cabbage coleslaw. Their nacho fries are another standout. Think truffle fries topped with queso fresco and pico de gallo.

Here’s to many more Fry-days!