Best of Los Angeles Food & Drink: F

Best Fried Chicken Sandwich: Preux & Proper

L.A. has become the hotbed of fried chicken sandwiches from sweet to spicy, but nothing beats the extensive Southern fried menu from South City Fried Chicken, which has moved from the Corporation Food Hall to its permanent home in the scratch kitchen at Preux & Proper.

There are six versions, representing the Southern states, made from the juicy base of an overnight buttermilk-brined Georgia chicken breast served on a buttered bun. Try chef Sammy Monsour’s favorite, the Austin, a sculpture of rojo bean hummus, burrata, hot sauce, pickled radish, blue corn tortilla crumble and an heirloom tomato. The New Orleans combines creole remoulade, plenty of Cajun spice, pickled collards, ginger miso BBQ sauce and a fried egg. Wash it all down with a king-sized, artisan Preux Palmer mocktail.

There are plenty of other southern favorites, like a fried Mississippi catfish basket, fried chicken plates and housemade pimento cheese, as well as their famous beignets and banana pudding with vanilla wafers.

Preux & Proper maintains a strong focus on sustainability and is working to become a carbon neutral restaurant by the end of the year. They’re already a zero-landfill operation and are working on becoming zero-waste with their own compost container on site. –Michele Stueven

840 S. Spring St., downtown; (213) 896-0090, preuxandproper.com.