StreetCar Merchants of Fried Chicken, Doughnuts & Coffee

Reviews 5

PA

Paul Chintawat

I want to like this place. Everything about it is something that I like. Doughnuts. Coffee. Especially Intelligentsia. And fried chicken. I had high hopes. Showing up pre-lunch rush, I was hoping to avoid a wait and get my food and experience what they have to offer. We ordered about 1145am and sat down. The seating area is small. Only four tables with bench seats. A little bar seating area. And patio area with no tables or chairs. Our food came out at different times. Even though we ordered the same thing. Quarter dark, fried chicken, K-town (Korea town) style. We were expecting it to take longer as it is double fried. It took about 20 minutes for the first order to come out. Waited about 10 minutes more for the second order. Then kept waiting for my order. And waited. Asked about it, they said it was coming. Waited longer. Until we couldnt wait any longer and I had to have them box it up. From order to getting my food, it took 45 minutes. I wasnt the only one who had an extended wait. There were other customers who were waiting for their orders also. But there were people who ordered after me that received their food. So it seems like an obvious case of forgetting my order. I can deal with that. But there was no sense of customer service. There was no apologetic tone when the person handed me my food. I finally was able to eat my lunch when I got back to my office. The chicken was still warm and juicy, but they forgot my fire sauce that I was looking forward to try. According to my friends, they said the chicken was too hot when they were eating at the restaurant, because it is double fried. The fries were not great, they became soggy from the 20 min drive. But I tried some when they are fresh and they are nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with some sprinkled seasoning. All in all, the chicken was good and juicy. The fries are good, just make sure to eat them while they are hot. But the long wait and customer service left a bad taste. I understand there are some kinks that need to be worked out with any new business. But for this visit, I think two stars is worthy. For me, I judge customer service, wait time, food quality; all aspects equally. So going 1 for 3 this visit, I was disappointed. I will come again and give them a second chance, then Ill probably change the rating. Ill just have to make sure my schedule is clear for the day. Or maybe Ill just have a coffee and a doughnut, those are already made and the wait shouldnt be too long.

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SA

Sabrina Paul

Coffee 5 stars (and I am not a coffee drinker!) Donuts 3 stars. I am a donut eater ;) and the donuts looked delicious in the glass case, but when I got it, it was COLD. Cold and dry. Like when you remember there is a piece of left over birthday cake in the fridge, take it out, looks yummy still, but then you bite it and it is dry and icky, and the whole cake experience is ruined... This was me eating my cinnamon sugar donut. Why? Why so cold? Room temp would have probably been much better. Chicken = 3.5 stars. Hot, juicy, awesome favor, did I mention HOT? Perhaps the donut was intended to help offset the heat of the smokin hot chicken? I cannot give a full 5 stars for two reasons. Bones. I HATE chicken bones! How hard can it be to have strips? :( I understand that chicken skin brings on the flavor, but I cant deal. The lovely lady taking my order offered to have the chicken removed from the bone AFTER it was cooked. Weird. Second reason for -1.5 stars is: the PRICE. Overpriced for the product. (But serve boneless and I would pay double!!) Service/ambiance = 4. Would be a 5 because I love the decor, but at first I was unsure of the order process. There was nothing directing customers to the counter to order. There were no menus while waiting in line. Didnt get one until I was standing in front of the line with the girl asking me what I want. It was a packed night, so I invited myself to share a table with a few people already eating... Lastly, I must add that the gorgeous man (perhaps manager/supervisor/owner?) behind the counter in the suit, is tall, dark, and suuuuper HOT = 5+ stars. Made my donut not so bad ;)

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DO

Douglas LeClair

This review is just for the house drip coffee. Im a coffee connoisseur. Ive worked in the industry. I home roast my own beans. Ive tried most of the pour-over and fancy coffee places from here to LA to NY. My wife wanted Calabria, I wanted to give this place a shot despite its recent low ratings. Got to say for $3.50 for a 16 oz house blend Intelligentsia it was worth it. Peering over the counter I could see they have all new top-of-the-line equipment - Mazzer grinders, Fetco drip brewers, Luxus coffee urns, and the piece de resistance the gorgeous La Marzocco espresso machine. I can see how they are trying to do too much (the wall is lined with tons of craft soda choices, the condiment bar has odd varieties of hot sauces and ketchups, when I purchased my coffee I was offered premium milks - coconut, soy, etc., the menu looks too long at first glance) But from a coffee perspective, it was brewed well, and Id go back to try the pour over or espresso drinks. The donuts did look expensive for the price, which many other reviews highlighted. Id rank it just below places like Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, or Cafe Virtuoso who obviously roast their own, and slightly below Intelligentsia Silver Lake, which is super hipster in its own right. Great location, spacious seating. Very industrial/hipster/retro modern décor (faucet parts, roll up garage door, Edison type lights, etc.)

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CA

Cammy Lupinacci

WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! God I wanted to love you. I wanted to curl up with you and eat myself into oblivion and diabetic shock with your sugar infused deliciousness and moist chicken concept... I really really really did... you let me down. You let me SOOO down. I think I jumped the gun and attempted your goodies a little too early. The morning of the first day of your soft opening... I mean you had a guy outside still painting your sign... No chicken yet... super sad... All the workers were very nice... we ended up walking out with 4 donuts to go and a coffee... Dutch Apple, breakfast, Horchata and Vanilla Bean... It was like $16... holy crap for 4 donuts and A coffee... I mean I expected to have a little inflation for the gourmet(ness) of your items... but holy jeeze... So down to the food... your donuts... while beautiful to look at were greasy and flavorless... I felt like I was biting into a grease soaked paper towel sprinkled in a dab of powder sugar. It made me even more sad... :( I will come back and give you a chance for redemption... you look so pretty on the inside and I can tell you take a lot of time with making sure you look good... I just wish you would take a little more time on your flava

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PH

Phoebe Lau

Delicious chicken and waffle place. Chicken wings were crunchy and seasoned. Chicken leg wasnt as seasoned. I went to the infamous roscoes chicken and waffle place recently and was so disappointed, which made me miss this place. So I had to come back here to satisfy my cravings. What I like about this place is the food. What I dont like is how long it takes. They fry it when you order it so it takes more than 30 mins to make. This can be improved. When I got my food it wasnt hot it was just warm. So it had been sitting out for at least 5 mins. It could had been better timed. And I must point out this is not a family friendly place. My friend had a stroller with a baby and we had no where to put it. We sat at a table next to the register so there was no room to leave the stroller. No other table was available. So we went off to the side to talk while we wait for our food. Once in a while people would come ask if were in line to order we just politely say no were just waiting for the food. There was no issue, everyone was fine. But the worker had to come ask us to go sit down so were not blocking the line. Us being considerate of not blocking the register had backfired at us.

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