Daily dispatches on the Washington, DC area's food, restaurant and dining scene.
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Battle of the Birds: Washington's Best Peruvian Chicken
Of Washington's ubiquitous rotisserie-chicken spots, which one reigns supreme? Hint: it's not El Pollo Rico.
By
Rina Rapuano
Few foods inspire such strong loyalties as Peruvian roasted chicken. Each purveyor has its own blend of aromatic spices, which might include black pepper, aji pepper, black-mint paste, and a heavy dash of cumin. And each has you order at the counter while someone deftly hacks up the birds. Our critics tried nearly 20 chickens to find the best—not too salty, not too bitter, with moist meat and crisp skin.
What we found was a surprise. Not only was the winner not El Pollo Rico (locations in Arlington, Wheaton, and Woodbridge), a perennial favorite among aficionados, but it came from a shop owned by Koreans: El Pollo Kiki Riki (2533 Ennalls Ave., Wheaton; 301-942-0352). Regardless of the owners’ heritage, they took the top spot with juicy meat and flavor that stood out for its cedar-like smokiness. The runner-up? The chicken at Sabroso Grill (8624 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring; 301-565-5232). The seasoning was on the mild side, but a wonderful smokiness infused the meat, not just the skin. We found food-blog favorite Super Chicken to be too salty—despite tasting it from two locations (locations in Wheaton and Bladensburg). And although El Pollo Rico was very good, our tasters commented that it was unremarkable, blending in with several other chickens that we liked but didn’t love. Which brings us to what we really learned from our tasting: Even middling Peruvian chicken is pretty good.
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Comments
Please consider my favorite spot next time: Sardi’s off of Rt. 1 College Park/Beltsville
Posted by: CH, Oct 24, 2011 11:33:37 AM
I’ve got to say that I like Sabroso Grill better than El Pollo Kiki Riki. Better seasoning and smokiness
Posted by: Matthew Harding, Jun 24, 2011 01:11:48 PM
The Sabroso Grill phone number is wrong. The correct number is on their website. A simple google search is all it took...
Posted by: Um, Jun 23, 2011 11:01:05 PM
No love for Crisp and Juicy???
Posted by: Aardvark, Jun 10, 2011 12:24:10 PM
Did you try Don Pollo in Bethesda?? They have the best "peruvian" chicken bar none.
Posted by: Cameron, Jun 08, 2011 10:57:29 AM
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