Some restaurants do everything decently, others do a few things well and a small number do one thing spectacularly. Just as Ben’s Chili Bowl is all about the chili, El Pollo Rico earns its customers by serving delicious chicken. Unfortunately, everything else that comes with the meal suffers a little from the chicken taking all the attention.
Like an increasing number of pollo a la brasa establishments in the D.C. area, El Pollo Rico centers its menu on the Peruvian rotisserie chicken tradition. Five large ovens—visible upon walking in the door—slowly roast the rotating chickens, which are marinated with a unique blend of spices and peppers. It’s this marinade that separates El Pollo Rico from lesser rotisserie options, such as Boston Market.
One pollo a la brasa menu explains that barbequed chicken “isn’t a Peruvian invention, but only has any meaning or flavor when it’s Peruvian.” The constant rotation means the chicken is tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. It comes with a spicy crushed jalapeno spread and a milder mayonnaise that create a tangy dipping sauce when mixed together.
El Pollo Rico emphasizes speed as well as taste in putting a meal together. One cook gives you a quarter, half or whole chicken as the next asks if you would like todo, meaning steak fries and coleslaw, while the cashier tallies up your bill. The whole process is over in less than a minute—and the speed is a necessity, as the line can stretch out the door. To further speed things up, El Pollo Rico only accepts cash, but I was able to get a whole meal for the $7 I had on me.
Although many customers stop by for quick take-out, El Pollo Rico also has a clean, well-lit dining area. There’s not much to it—white plaster walls, simple black tables and fluorescent lighting—but it’s hard to expect an ambiance when you pay $4 for a tasty quarter of a rotisserie chicken.
After getting over the mouth-watering perfection of the main dish, which one patron described as tasting “like crack in chicken form,” the sides leave quite a bit to be desired. Unlike other pollerías that serve the more traditional yuca fries, plantains or garbanzo beans, El Pollo Rico sticks with bland, soggy steak fries and what tastes like pre-packaged cole slaw. When mixed with the side sauces and chicken, the fries are tolerable, but it’s best to leave the slaw out of the equation. The only other items on the menu are drinks and simple desserts made at a local bakery. Milhojas are the best choice for a sweet fix at the end of the meal, with a nice blend of flaky pastry and chocolate icing, but beware that the intriguing soft drink Inca Kola is full of bubble-gum-like sucrose doesn’t mix well with the chicken.
There are at least three other pollo a la brasa restaurants within walking distance of El Pollo Rico, which means it has to be good to stay in business. Customers develop a patriotic allegiance to their pollería of choice, creating a friendly atmosphere in the restaurant. Amidst the abdunant options, El Pollo Rico is a great place to get an introduction to savory, inexpensive Peruvian rotisserie chicken.
El Pollo Rico is located at 932 N Kenmore St Arlington, VA 22201, two blocks East of the Virginia Square Metro Station on the Orange Line.
