Down the street from my halfway home in Echo Park is a little spot called Trencher, serving a variety of sandwiches and salads. Normally this would sound boring, but Trencher actually has some pretty interesting options, like the Consigliere and a Fried Chicken Banh Mi. I, however, had my sights set on a different fried chicken sandwich.
It’s called The Coupe and consists of a gluten-free fried chicken breast, spicy pickle slaw, sriracha aioli and a kaiser roll. The kaiser roll is, of course, fully glutenous, leading me to wonder why the chicken would not be, but with all the madness in this world I decided to save my questioning for another day. I ordered without the slaw and was happy to have the house-made chips as my side.
Despite the gluten-free breast, the fried chicken was actually pretty good. Not amazing, but certainly unique in flavor. The sriracha aioli was a nice touch, adding some extra flavor, moisture and a slight kick. And the roll was, well, rolly. I should say that in two feedings at Trencher eating The Coupe both times, one experience was far better than the other. Why? You ask. Well one time they clearly accidentally threw on the slaw and removed it, leaving the awful tangy flavor of pickle behind.
So while a perfectly executed Coupe is something to write home about, the quality control is not quite there.
