I’ll never forget the first time I had Krispy Krunchy Chicken. I was at the George Washington Grove picnic area in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park with a group of friends. We were sitting on a blanket, playing Uno, when all of a sudden, I smelled it: a spicy, garlicky aroma swirling around me.
I looked up to find the source. A tardy friend was walking over to us carrying a box of the famous Cajun-spiced fried chicken. Uno stopped immediately as we devoured the wings, drumsticks and plump chicken tenders. We all wiped our hands so as not to get too much grease on the cards, but my mind had left the trivial game — I was only thinking about Krispy Krunchy Chicken and how, in my opinion, it was officially better than KFC or even Popeyes.
Krispy Krunchy Chicken, the Louisiana-style fried chicken chain, is known for operating mostly out of gas stations and convenience stores. The San Francisco location at 17th and South Van Ness Avenue is the most central in the city and operates out of Gas & Shop, a deli, grocery store, liquor store, gas station and fried-chicken haven all wrapped in one. I frequented the Sunset location multiple times in close succession after that fateful park day, but unfortunately, it has since closed…