EDIT: This spot is closed, but obviously Chick-fil-A and its bigotry against beef continues to thrive.

Other than having hyphenated names, In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A have some other eerie parallels. For a long time, Chick-fil-A kept itself to the south, but has since expanded. In-N-Out, on the other hand, has kept itself to the west and has hardly expanded outside of California. Both still carry an air of mystery, as they are not readily available like McDonald’s or Burger King. They are also pretty religious, with Chick-fil-A closing on Sundays and In-N-Out printing bible quotes on their packaging. And finally, their menus are both incredibly simple. Yet, their simple menus are what makes them such opposites. In-N-Out only has burgers, while Chick-fil-A only has chicken.

I didn’t even realize Chick-fil-A existed in LA until a friend told me about one in the South Bay Galleria Mall in Redondo Beach. One day for lunch, we headed over there so I could see what Chick-fil-A was all about. The menu was quite basic, with only a couple sandwiches. Apparently with their recent expansion, Chick-fil-A has decided to mix things up a bit on their menus and now offer a spicy chicken sandwich in addition to their usual. I decided to try this new one out. Each sandwich was available in two ways, with only a pickle or with a pickle, lettuce and tomato. I went with the simpler one and ordered it without the gnarly pickle. It also came with the choice of many sauces for free. This included sauces like barbecue, the special Chick-fil-A sauce and more. I chose the Chick-fil-A sauce, ranch and honey roasted BBQ so I could try each of them out.

When my name was called, I grabbed my food and joined the table my friends had chosen. Then I whipped out my meal and tried it out. The chicken was only slightly spicy, but the meat itself tasted pretty good. The bun was nice and buttery and went well with the breast of chicken. My waffle fries were actually a little disappointing, with some of them being totally uncrispy and bordering sogginess. They probably would have been a lot better if they were well-done, which is also how I have to order my fries at In-N-Out.

My experience with Chick-fil-A was actually quite underwhelming. The sandwich definitely needed more spice, but I could see how people would really like their regular chicken sandwiches. The waffle fries could use some work, too. I’ll be back because I’m sure I’ll find myself near a Chick-fil-A again, but for now I feel they could have done better.

Captain Kidd’s in Redondo Beach is kind of a combination of a fish market and a restaurant. I typically wouldn’t find myself in a place like this, but unforeseen circumstances led me there.

I am typically not the biggest fan of fish, and some of my fans may have noticed the lack of seafood in almost all of my posts. The big reason for this is the smell of fish. I have heard that if fish smells and tastes “fishy,” it means it’s bad. I don’t like taking that sort of risk with my food and usually prefer to eat more meaty and less smelly animals.

The menu at Captain Kidd’s did offer a steak sandwich and some form of chicken, but I figured since I was in a place surrounded by tanks of crustaceans and fish on ice, I should do as the Romans do. I ordered one of the cheapest (at $10!) and least intimidating items on the menu, the fish tacos. I asked the guy at the counter what came with the tacos and he said it was just pan-seared fish, with fries and rice. At least there were no veggies.

It took quite a while for my meal to be prepared. Usually this isn’t a problem, except

that I had to wait around in a restaurant reeking of fish while I waited. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant aroma to be hanging around. Finally, my tacos were ready and brought them to the table to eat.

I bit in and was pretty disappointed. The scraps that they had used to make the tacos just tasted fishy. And nothing else. There wasn’t any added flavor or anything. In fact, the tacos may not have tasted fishy at all, but just being surrounded with the scent made them taste that way to me.

If you are a fish-loving unvegan, this may be the perfect place for you. It is certainly a fun concept. But for anyone who doesn’t like the smell of fish, you’ll be better-suited finding a restaurant that keeps the good in the back room.