Great food went well highly recommended Great quality of…read morefood Great customer service

I visited Carlitos for the first time after seeing several posts on social media. We were greeted…read morepromptly upon arrival, and I appreciated that the menu was small and straightforward. When we asked about the spice level, the staff clearly explained what to expect. The drink selection was a pleasant surprise, offering a variety of sodas including Jarritos and Jamaica. I ordered the chicken sandwich with jalapeños, mac and cheese, and a Jamaica, while my husband chose a sandwich with fries. The food exceeded our expectations. The chicken was extremely crispy and flavorful, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive an extra small chicken strip on the side. The house sauce was delicious, and the staff generously provided plenty of it along with honey and ranch without us needing to ask, an appreciated touch. The mac and cheese was creamy and felt like my mom's homemade one. The fries are more like cross cut fries and come extra crispy as well, which I like. Service was friendly and efficient, and the staff even shared the story behind how they decided to specialize in chicken sandwiches. While the restaurant itself appears a bit run down and parking was somewhat confusing for first time visitors, the quality of the food and the welcoming service more than made up for it. Overall, I would definitely return. In my opinion, these are the best chicken sandwiches in Salinas.

And now to take a short break from finishing a jillion review drafts from the vacation we took in…read moreJanuary I'm still catching up from... to finish a review draft I started last *December*, on my way to visit my parents for Christmas in NorCal. (Conveniently, too, given we're driving the same route in a couple weeks - might well stop here again. It's definitely way better than the usual big-name fast food options that are your only choice for *most* of the drive.) I'd just try to make sure to get there before 1 PM - last time, we learned, we made it accidentally *just* in time for their breakfast menu, which not only means you can get a fried chicken sandwich with a fried egg, clearly making it better, but it's also several dollars *cheaper*. For 9 bucks with fries - compared to 14 for the dinner version - that's probably *cheaper* than the average fast food chicken stop, separate from the fast that it was about a thousand times tastier. Though, while the vibe of this place is very much fast food, the food *itself* isn't fast food - it took exactly as long as you'd expect, given they're making everything fresh to order, but not any longer than that. (I didn't have any complaints about the speed, but it isn't Burger King.) Anyway, we figured since they had two breakfast items (the sandwich and a breakfast burrito) and there were two of us, we'd split both of them, which I wouldn't recommend as much. The breakfast burrito was by no means bad, but it was a bit floppier and not quite as filling - great chicken obviously, being the same chicken, but we agreed, we'd had way better breakfast burritos. The breakfast chicken sandwich was absolutely bomb, though. (Though their "medium" spicy was only a *hint* spicy, in my opinion - I never go straight for the "hot", cause sometimes at hot chicken places it's *stupid* hot, that and I was sharing them with my pepper-averse spouse, but if I went back, I'd just get my own sandwich and make it a little spicier.) Is it the best hot chicken sandwich in California? Probably not... but it *is* probably the best hot chicken sandwich you can get while driving from SoCal to NorCal, so I'm glad it's there.) Also, as far as value... they give you a *lot* of fries. Possibly too many fries. The fries were good, but there was nothing particularly special about them, other than the quantity. We could absolutely have shared an amount of fries *each* of our orders came from, for the two of us. (We didn't finish all the fries.) Only minor complaint, their drinks are all super sugary, and a little pricey at $4 for fountain soda - but at least it's a more premium brand of soda... still probably more than your daily sugar per cup, but at least it *is* sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. It does feel like they're missing out by not having a license to sell beer, though. That sandwich would go *really* well with a craft beer.

We visited Nate's because I was in my anything but McDonald's mood. Nate's was a wonderful…read moresurprise for me. We ordered 2 of their Nate's sandwiches with fries. The Nashville hot chicken sandwich was good. I ordered the chicken medium since their lowest level was naked. The medium had a pretty good kick to it. The chicken sandwich was topped with cole slaw and pickles. Both my wife and I enjoyed the sandwiches. The fries that came with our sandwich were delicious. It is one of my favorites fries. The two meals came with so much fries that we eventually threw most of them away. It would be nice if Nate's could sell their sandwiches without fries. Nate's was a good choice for us to stop at.

In a very Mexican part of town in Seaside near Monterey. I don't live in this area but I knew, as…read morewhen I was driving looking for this storefront, most of the surrounding businesses were all Hispanic based. I kinda had a feeling I was gonna like the digs here. They grill here. Over this massive open charcoal/wood grill. 2 cooks back there, engulfed in a waft of smoke and fire. They must have put a fresh batch of meat on that grill as that grill top was covered every square inch. They only grill 2 meats: chicken on the bone and carne asada. They also grill whole red onions and serrano peppers to go with those char grilled meats. 1/2 Chicken Combo ($15/4*) Upon receiving, it almost looks burnt. But upon tasting no bitter burnt notes just extremely well manufactured char. The chicken is marinated in something. Probably a seasoning salt and maybe a touch of lime. Nothing is spicy or peppery just a salty, charred chicken flavor. I liked it but I think I like El Pollo Locos version a tad more. As that is more slowly rendered where the skin gets crisp and there's more of a buttery nuance in El Pollo Locos version. I hate saying I'm siding with a big corporate but chicken-wise they've got the edge. Now where this place beats any chain are in the sides and details. First the freshly charred onions and serranos that go with most meat orders are damn perfect. Soft and easy to break apart, inherent flavors intensified from the grilling and the char-y notes that you can control cuz you can add as much of the burnt layer or as little. And the rice, beans and salsas here are real Mexican cooking, nothing fast and ready made. Fresh from scratch with ethnic soul. Carne Asada Combo ($27/5*) This is a full pound of freshly grilled Carne Asada (thin and marinaded meat), no rice or beans just warm corn tortillas, salsas, pickled onions and those charred onions and peppers. Upon receiving I felt like a kid who got his first gift from Santa. First they gave me the warm tortilla holder and all the condiments. I could have made a meal with those alone. Then the biggest pile of freshly grilled steak I've ever seen get served to me at one time. The aroma was intoxicating and was superseded by getting a taste. A little heavy handed on the seasoning but damn did that grilled meat flavor hit you like a bat. Slightly smoky with charred hits and THE most juicy and tender carne asada I've ever had. Usually the preparation can yield tough and overcooked meat but not here, there is some wizardry involved. I was putting whole pieces of meat in a rustic cowboy taco and you could still bite through the taco effortlessly. That's some serious mojo they are messin' with. I actually found a combo for the perfect steak taco here. Warm tortilla base; cut up and throw some charred peppers and onions; throw enough carne asada on there to your heart's intent; a few dabs of their tomato salsa with the charred flecks; then finally a generous sprinkling of their pickled red onions to gild the lily. THE BEST carne asada taco I've ever had. And I've had hundreds if not thousands. Trust. We just finished a substantial hike and was on route to a camping weekend. Had enough leftovers that we didn't have to cook on the first night, just heated things in foil over camp fire. They conveniently catered and we relished and feasted. A fiver relationship if I ever heard of one.

Food was excellent and fresh. The service was quick as it…read moretakes for you to order. Ambiance was a clean place with a few tables. The take out orders were many. We will be back.

I loved every bite of food at the hatch, especially the pork belly and chocolate cream pie. would…read morecome again

We ate there Friday 7/17. The service was outstanding and the food was excellent!!…read more We started with the Burrata appetizer which was delicious. I had the Shrimp and Grits and my husband had the Braised Pork Shoulder. We shared but just for a few bites. Each plate was well worth it. We took dessert back to our hotel. It was the butterscotch pie. Equally delicious. It had a graham cracker/coconut Crust. We will definitely go back when we visit Paso again. Kathy & Karl

This place is no longer serving fried chicken. Store clerk stated there was less and less people…read morebuying chicken so it was discontinued. Shame, chicken was really good

Found this little spot inside a convenience store while searching on the map near Chevron. It made…read moreme curious because there's only 1 review for this store with 5 stars so I was like why not try. 1st ever review can already make an impact lol. So we got 6 pcs of chicken tenders, 3 pcs of chicken wings, mac n cheese and 2 blueberry biscuits. Everything was good and crunchy! I had left overs and took me 2 days to reheat the tenders at the same store and taste were still great!!! Yes! Same store.. because the hotel we're staying at doesn't have a microwave Thank God the owner was nice and let us heat up our left overs. So definitely 5 stars for me.

Love this spot when we go to Monterey!…read more Simple little place, bright and fun. Always have some good music and/or music videos playing. The KFC is on point! Perfectly cooked, and perfectly seasoned chicken - or sauced, depending on what you're going for. The breading is so crispy you get that good crunch when you bite into a wing or drumstick! Service is always friendly and prompt! Top all this off with a good beer and you are good to go for a casual dining experience.

This place was definitely a hidden gem!!…read more The service was excellent and super friendly. We only had 4 people--so when our server brought out the food and noticed we ordered a lot for 2 adults and 2 kids, she was kind enough to add another table so we'd be comfortable. The Food Lineup: * Chicken Fried rice for my daughter and it was so adorable because they made it into a shape of a heart. Love the attention to detail! * Sodduk Sodduk - 10/10! I'm a sucker for tteok so to have it in skewer form with mini sausages was a treat. The outside was kinda crunchy and the inside was nice and chewy. Loved it! * Dduk Bok Gi - not spicy so I absolutely loved it. The sauce I was slathering on top of my rice and dipping some of my K-Honey chicken in it. Yum! * K-Honey Chicken was so good! The chicken had a super crunchy outside and the inside was so juicy. I kept scraping up the sauce from the tray to get every bit. Definitely a 10/10! I loved this place and would definitely come back. Also thought the bathroom art work was hilarious. IYKYK.

The food is always fresh made by order! The staff is very attentive, always in and out within 15-20…read moreminutes. My favorite is the combo plate! They offer a chicken katsu plate & it comes with a drink! Definitely recommend this place!

Ohhh my god why did no one else tell me about this hidden gem. Driving from King City just to get a…read moreplate here. Worth the little extra gas. Chicken is amazing, pork katsu is amazing and their tempera is fresh AF. Service is always amazing too. 100/10

I went back for the Seaside roll & the salmon lover roll. It's so good. :)…read more The seaside roll was fried shrimp tempura with albacore , lemon and some bright orange sprinkles. It was good . The salmon roll had a lot of salmon. It was also so so good. Yay

For a cold night, hot black or green tea is available. If you can't stand the heat of soon dofu,…read morethey will water it down but that's not the same (I wish they offered to crack an egg in to dilute the spiciness instead). Their bulgogi was the dish I enjoyed the most. There was no wasabi inside the nigiri that was part of the Half and Half combo. They don't have dolsot bibimbap for dinner.

Amazing and legit Korean fried chicken!! This came highly recommended and I can see why! The…read morechicken is made fresh and tastes extremely well. I got the combo half order of the soy garlic and it disappeared so quick. Paul was the only server there and he's a one-man army!! Word of caution, their spicy levels are legit. I normally have a high spice tolerance and I got my chicken spicy (vice mild or very spicy) and I was fighting for my life for a bit! The chicken tastes so good and you're fighting the spice at the same time.

Legit Korean spot. Great service, great food. If you're looking for a quick place to stop by for…read morelunch or dinner on the way home from Monterey, this is a must try. Typical, simple restaurant seating with 10 tables or so, no frills type of restaurant. Here are some items I usually order: Garlic soy friend chicken (toddler friendly) Yang Nyum chicken Jap Chae (toddler fave) Tofu soup Minus one star for the portion size of the jap chae and there is never any AC at this place. No matter how hot it is, expect to sweat. Back to the jap chae...it's served on a traditional Korean stainless steel plate and the amount you get is literally a quarter of the plate. I actually would prefer not order this dish but my son loves it. P.S. I loveeee the pickled daikon that the fried chicken comes with. At one point it would automatically come out with your order of chicken but the the owner told me she stopped serving it with the chicken because people would not eat it. Uhm, that's crazy, extra for me please lol

For those who live in the middle of nowhere and who have to travel 45 mins north or south to find…read morecompelling cuisine this one is for you. Located in a small strip mall it's hidden in the back. Parking is adequate, with more available with a short walk. I love pizza and ai would love for something memorable to crop up without a major commute being needed. And King City pizza created interest when I noted they do pan and regular crust. I am a sucker for deep dish. But to be clear their pan is not deep dish, but then it's much more significant than regular. And unlike a lot of pizza restaurants they offered chicken as a topping. For those of us avoiding pork that is always a bonus. Service was adequate, not stellar but also not bad. The crust, sauce and toppings options were diverse enough that it feel like it had potential. I selected a medium chicken and pineapple pizza. Unfortunately it gang up at over $33. in my book that is steep for a medium. athe cooked pizza had a reasonable amount of toppings and wasn't bad, though maybe in need of a little more oven time. I was really hoping this would be a hit out of the park but I remain on the hunt for a pizza shop that is both delicious and reasonably priced.

Lovely owners, delicious food, clean restaurant, amazing salad bar, great for parties! So glad that…read moreKC has had this consistent food spot for so many years. I know it's not the newest and fanciest place in the world, but the owners are so dedicated to our community and they take amazing care of this place! We are very fortunate. Parking is a little more tight now that Wingstop is in there too, but make a few loops through the lot because spots free up very quickly here.