I’ve heard it called Peruvian chicken, roasted chicken or chicken ala brasa. However you name it, it’s delicious. That spit-roasted chicken with spiced, crispy skin is served with standard potato or yucca fries. And maybe a salad of iceburg lettuce too, if you are lucky. Cooked chickens are hacked into quarters — as you watch — by a man with a meat cleaver and served on a Styrofoam plate.
I always took Peruvian chicken for granted (it is both the cheapest and closest carry out to my house ). That was until celeb chef Anthony Bourdain’s show, No Reservations, made a particular point of visiting Arlington chicken joint Pollo Rico on its DC episode.
Anyhow, with winter dragging on and too much time on my hands, I’ve sampled several different pollo places. They are nearly identical in price — a 1/4 chicken plate costs about $6 and a 1/2 chick about $8. But, to the attentive taste buds, there are substantial differences. Here’s how they measure up:
Crisp and Juicy: (4540 Lee Hwy. Arlington, VA) With this carry out a two minute walk from my house, this is where I head when my fridge is empty. While some on Yelp whine that it’s sauce is non-authentic, it’s my highlight of this chicken place.
Pros: The sauce. It’s creamy with a nice bite of spice.
Cons: The fries are soggy. One Yelper suggested Crisp and Juicy learn something from Five Guys. I think that is sage advice. Also, there is no indoor seating. During the winter, carryout is mandatory.
Super Pollo: The McDoland’s of the Peruvian chicken chains, Super Pollos are everywhere in NoVa. This chicken place stands out for actually having side dishes. For a dollar extra, you don’t have to settle for the tradition potato/yucca fries. You can choose from (chicken, of course!) friend rice, that beats any Chinese carry out, plantains and several others.
Pros: Choices!
Cons: The chicken is mediocre, and only yuppies like myself seem to eat here. No authentic South Americans in site.
El Pollo Rico: In contrast to the flashy — realitively speaking of course — Super Pollo, El Pollo Rico is just the basics. This place is just chickens and tables, but it’s popular. On a recent Sunday evening, the line extended out the door, and the place ran out of chickens about 5 mins after I grabbed mine.
Pros: Excellent chicken, colorful crowd.
Cons: They charge for extra sauce, need I say more.
The Chicken Place: With everyone, even Anthony Bourdain, hoping on the El Pollo Rico bandwagon, I feel I need a Peruvian chicken place of my own. At the recommendation of one of my Peruvian students, I hit up The Chicken Place. This is my new favorite.
Pros: The chicken’s skin was deliciously crunchy, and the fries were actually good. The sauce vies with Crisp and Juicy’s for top spot. This place has it all.
Cons: It’s on Columbia Pike. Brace yourself for the traffic.
One Comment
My wife and I are also fans of the Peruvian Chicken. The best we have had is in a tiny hole in the wall in Bethesda, Chicken on the Run (http://www.chickenbethesda.com/) They have a few tables, but the chicken is better than any I have had, and the sauce is also top notch.
One Trackback
[...] this blog’s history of Anthony Bourdain stalking (see here and here), I want to say that I came up with the idea of visiting Flushing, Queens, all on my own. Not true. [...]