Free Dinah's Fried Chicken and a Trim - Restaurant Review

Dinah's Fried Chicken is free for local residents through August! Just show your California drivers' license or local I.D. for a free 2-piece dinner, and be sure to say you are a "new customer." Family-owned and operated since 1967, this Chef ranks their bird among the best.

You get this deal one time only. If you are near San Fernando Boulevard in Glendale swing by and get one. You have a choice of a side with a dinner roll. Mashed potatoes, macaroni salad, mac and cheese, and pineapple coleslaw are some side selections. 

You can't go wrong with the coleslaw. Pineapple adds a sweetness to typical sour mayonnaise slaw. The dinner role is standard store-bought fare. But it is all about the chicken at Dinah's.

Dinah's fried chicken has a subtle citrus-flavored crust like orange marinated El Pollo Loco grilled chicken, a crispy dark brown fried batter that is less greasy than Kentucky Fried Chicken, and its white meat is as moist as roasted Zankou Chicken. 

The 99 Cent Chef lived near Dinah's Fried Chicken in Glendale, Ca. for many years. I cannot count the number of times I've had the pleasure of their poultry. I don't know why, but I like to order a two-piece dinner to go and sit in my car in the parking lot and eat. Am I too cheap to dine in and tip the waiter? Or is Public Radio playing a program on my car stereo too involving to walk away from?

Actually, they do not sell beer but the market across from the parking lot does, and a perfect accompaniment to fried chicken is iced tea or beer. You can probably figure out which I prefer.

I no longer live near Dinah's but my Armenian barber does. I have been going to him for over a decade now. When you find one you like, as with a woman or a car mechanic, you stay with them forever. Garoon Barber Shop is in a mini-mall like Dinah's. 

There are two barbers, Garoon and Kachik. Both are excellent and speak very little English. I walk in, grab a magazine -- Garoon asks "short or medium," I shake my head yes and let him decide.



Guys do not need to converse with their hairdressers; just give me a couple of barbershop men's magazines and I am happy (I am more of a Gourmet Magazine and The New Yorker subscriber, so reading GQ is a nice change of pace). 

And the price of a haircut is $10 including tip! They are quick and efficient, and local Armenian cable programs on the overhead TV give you an exotic ambiance. Women's hair is done next door at Kristine's Beauty Salon. They are open 7 days a week 9 AM - 7PM, and I always drop by Dinah's for fried chicken after my haircut.

Hey guys, how many cooking blogs recommend dining and a haircut! You only have through this weekend for free chicken, but you have plenty of time to visit my friends Garoon and Kachik for a cheap shave and a trim.

Dinah's Fried Chicken - Free through August for local new customers: two-piece dinner or substitutions of equal value. Dine-in or take-out.
Address: 4106 San Fernando Rd. Glendale, Ca. 91204 phone: 818) 244-4188
Hours: 11am - 9pm (dining room until 8:30pm).

Dinah's - original location: 6521 Sepulveda Blvd. L.A., Ca. phone: 310) 645-0456
Hours: 6am - 10pm

Garoon Barber Shop - 1015 1/2 E. Chevy Chase Dr. Glendale, Ca. 91205
phone: 818) 247-7210. Haircuts are $8 for adults, $7 for children.

99 Thanks to Paul and Danit at L.A. Decostified for the free chicken meal heads-up!