El Pollo Rico

For those of you who don't speak Spanish, El Pollo Rico means 'the rich chicken.' However, I would just call El Pollo Rico really delicious chicken which would be Pollo muy Saboroso. We have frequented El Pollo Rico since we moved to Arlington.

Dave first discovered the restuarant last year when he interned at a building next door to it. El Pollo Rico serves Peruvian style chicken. The chicken is covered in spices and cooked rotisserie style over a charcoal fire. You can order a quarter, half or whole chicken. If you choose one of the first two your meal will be hacked with a cleaver in front of you. The chicken comes with coleslaw, french fries and two dipping sauces.

The chicken is always very moist and hot and it has great flavor. The coleslaw is on the runny side, but it still tastes good. Although they are just frozen fries, EPR really knows how to fry them. They always come out perfectly crisp and golden. They are some of my favorite fries anywhere. One dip is a garlic mayo and the other is a hot green pepper sauce. They are good on their own, but are especially good mixed together.

Everytime I have been to EPR it has been very crowded with a diverse clientele. There are always several large Peruvian families at the restaurant, but they often account for less than half of the customers. The decor of the restaurant is extremely plain: almost like a wharehouse. Yet the delicious food and great people watching makes up for the lack of decor.

Generally there is plenty of time for people watching as you have to wait in line to park in the parking lot and then wait in line some more inside. The last time we went we had to take ours home because there were literally no tables for us to sit and eat. However, the food is good enough (and cheap enough, 2 can eat with drinks for $12) to keep people coming back for more despite a 20 minute wait.