El Pollo Campero, Guatemalan Fried Chicken

[BackwardsHat]

Anyone know why there is always a 1-2 hour wait for this fast-food joint? I mean, they even have police directing traffic and controlling the crowds/lines that flow outside of the restaurant...

From what I heard it's El Salvadorian fried chicken or something... I'm dying to try it but everytime I go there are 75-100 people in line

[Mark Sommelier]

Wow! What an amazing diversion this thread has become from the original posit. So many palates and egos clashing. The other day, one of my co-workers (most of whom are Central American) brought me the little box from Pollo Campero . I had told them last week that "all the gringos on the internet are talking about Pollo Campero!". The box contained one drumstick, one thigh and one breast. The side dish was stewed beans with chicken parts. Dang! was this stuff tasty. The skin was perfectly browned and crispy; no fat was apparent. The birds are small. Perfectly fried, no heavy breading or flour. Apparently, among El Salvadorian people, going there is like a party. The line is part of it.

[BackwardsHat]

Wow! What an amazing diversion this thread has become from the original posit. So many palates and egos clashing. The other day, one of my co-workers (most of whom are Central American) brought me the little box from Pollo Campero . I had told them last week that "all the gringos on the internet are talking about Pollo Campero!". The box contained one drumstick, one thigh and one breast. The side dish was stewed beans with chicken parts. Dang! was this stuff tasty. The skin was perfectly browned and crispy; no fat was apparent. The birds are small. Perfectly fried, no heavy breading or flour. Apparently, among El Salvadorian people, going there is like a party. The line is part of it.

I've yet to go, but yes, it definitely seems to be a cultural thing and they enjoy the ENTIRE experience... From struggling to find a parking space, to standing in line for 2+ hours like an amusement park ride, to finally getting the food and talking about whether it's as good as "back home" or not... They love it all... I am definitely going to try it... I'll take a nice Saturday or Sunday afternoon off and stand in line for some tasty chicken... I'm glad I checked this forum and got confirmation that the chicken there is more than just hype... Gracias!

[JennyUptown]

MAAAANNNN, I must have overlooked this thread last fall.

[hannnah]

As far as the line goes, there really isn't much of one at the Herndon location on weeknights anymore, if you just want to try the chicken. The last couple of times I've gone in for takeout after work (7pm-ish), the only wait has been for more chicken to come out of the fryer, which is totally acceptable.

[BackwardsHat]

As far as the line goes, there really isn't much of one at the Herndon location on weeknights anymore, if you just want to try the chicken. The last couple of times I've gone in for takeout after work (7pm-ish), the only wait has been for more chicken to come out of the fryer, which is totally acceptable.

Thanks for the tip, but Herndon is a little far for me, since I'm in Arlington, so the bailey's x-roads location is MUCH closer to me, but then again, the hispanic popuation here is proabably 10X in Herdon... so who knows, maybe it'll still be quicker with the 1 hour round trip commute to Herndon!

[Malawry]

Expect the line to continue to shorten as additional Pollos Camperos open around the DC region. Langley Park, MD (close to my neck of the woods) is slated to get one, and there will probably be more opening considering how quickly the chicken sells.

[silentbob]

Where is the news about a Langley Park location? Pollo Campero's website seems to suggest that they aren't offering franchising opportunities in MD. I'd love to be wrong, though.

[Malawry]

Silentbob, I think it was covered in the original Washington Post story. I know I saw it in print somewhere from a reliable source, I'm not just talking out of my ass. (Though I have been known to do that on occasion )

[DonRocks]

Finally went to El Pollo Campero today, and I agree with everyone that it's great chain fried chicken (I hesitate to call it "fast food fried chicken," because it isn't fast). At 1 PM on a Saturday at the Falls Church location, there was only about a ten-minute wait. The fries were quite good for frozen. However, the cole slaw managed to look like pure mayonnaise while at the same time being salty - can you imagine how much salt they must dump in there to pull that one off?

Terribly thirsty right now,

Rocks.

[BackwardsHat]

Finally went to El Pollo Campero today, and I agree with everyone that it's great chain (I hesitate to call it "fast food," because it isn't fast) fried chicken. At 1 PM on a Saturday at the Falls Church location, there was only about a ten-minute wait. The fries were quite good for frozen. However, the cole slaw managed to look like pure mayonnaise while at the same time being salty - can you imagine how much salt they must dump in there to pull that one off?

Terribly thirsty right now,

Rocks.

Everything there is pretty salty...

[Joe H]

I got in a lot of trouble on this board because I thought tthis was reasonably good fast food fried chicken, not quite as good as Popeye's best and certainly not on par with what could be done in a cast iron skillet and a bit of time. Now that the lines have died down and, frankly, disappeared, Pollo Campero is still very good. but it is also fast food fried chicken and not on the same level as what can be done totally from scratch with a bit of time. For all of those who swore that it was great, it is not. But it is very good; still, this is/was a social event. Now, months after the lines have disappeared, where are all of those who swore that it was the best fried chicken they have ever had? It's not.

[BackwardsHat]

I got in a lot of trouble on this board because I thought tthis was reasonably good fast food fried chicken, not quite as good as Popeye's best and certainly not on par with what could be done in a cast iron skillet and a bit of time. Now that the lines have died down and, frankly, disappeared, Pollo Campero is still very good. but it is also fast food fried chicken and not on the same level as what can be done totally from scratch with a bit of time. For all of those who swore that it was great, it is not. But it is very good; still, this is/was a social event. Now, months after the lines have disappeared, where are all of those who swore that it was the best fried chicken they have ever had? It's not.

Ya, the chicken is good, but it doesn't beat home-made, nor do I think ANY fast-food chicken will ever beat homemade... BUT, I must say it's some of the tastiest restaurant fried chicken I've ever had...

[Suzanne F]

I hate to tell you guys, but we NYers will soon be able to weigh in on this, um, discussion. It was reported in the Times today that a branch of Pollo Campero will be opening soon in Queens. Might just be worth a detour, as far as I'm concerned.

But how does it compare to Peruvian roast chicken?

[hjshorter]

Now, months after the lines have disappeared, where are all of those who swore that it was the best fried chicken they have ever had? It's not.

Joe, as the one who started this thread, that was not part of the discussion. The human interest story was the goal, and I'm grateful to our intrepid Malawry and hannnah for checking it out.

[hannnah]

We still get takeout every couple of weeks. Quality now is the same as it was at the start, they're just a little faster - as I said back in March, the wait is generally for more chicken to come out of the fryer. They don't fry huge batches and let the chicken sit under a heat lamp for hours.

For at least the seventh time, no one is saying that it's the best chicken in the entire world. I just read back through the entire thread, and I don't see anyone claiming that it's the most wonderful chicken ever, just that it's very good for what it is.

[Malawry]

I told you I wasn't just daydreaming about a Pollo Campero in Langley Park.

They're going into the old Twice as Good (T as G) Pollo a la Brasa store on University Blvd, just east of the intersection with New Hampshire. This is right next to Tiffin, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the neighborhood. It doesn't look like construction has started yet but at least we have a location now.

[Malawry]

The old T as G has been fully gutted, and there's a busy crew there every morning when I drive by working on the space.

I'm almost as excited about this place as I am about Jackie's in Silver Spring.

[squids]

Malawry, has it opened yet in Langley Park? Guess what--there will now be one in Wheaton, too! They've taken over the old Roy Rogers building on Georgia Ave and have a sign out that says "now hiring." Same place that was referred to in the Pho thread as next to Eunny's Dad's Shell Station--Now he'll have to decide whether to wait in line, or just go 'cross the street to the Chicken Basket!

Not much feeback here since it opened in Virgina, and was due to open in Maryland, so I'm curious if there are still long lines?

[Malawry]

They've made significant progress in Langley Park--it looks like they're about halfway through with the interior, and they mounted the sign on the finished exterior in the last week. They've already had open-call interviews to staff the place. I'm hopeful we'll be in business by the end of the month.

[tjaehnigen]

without sifting through this thread, anyone know if there are any suburban MD places like this that have Guatemalan Fried Chicken? Specifically in Montgomery County or PG County?

[Malawry]

There's one opening very soon in Langley Park (PG county, close to the Montgomery Cty border) and one opening shortly thereafter in Wheaton (squarely in Montgomery).

I drove by the new Wheaton location the other day and they seem to be coming along nicely. There are chairs and tables in the Langley Park location already so I am optimistic they will open by the end of the month. I plan to buy some and bring it in for my girls to sample once the lines recede.

[Malawry]

The Langley Park store opened today. The line was all the way around the building, and traffic was backed up on University when I drove by on my way home from work today. (Fortunately I was driving on the other side of the street!)

[squids]

Since our recent move, Mr. Squids and I don't drive past it anymore, so I innocently suggested we make a detour to fill up the gas tank last night at our favorite Shell station in Wheaton, with the ulterior motive to check out the progess of the Pollo Campero...and it is OPEN for business. Must've opened very recently, but at 8 at night, the line was just outside the door. The problem is, there is no place to park! If the lot next door wasn't full, we probably would've swung by and stuck it out in line, but neither of us were in the mood to drive around and mess with parking after a long day of work. I hope to try to get there sometime this weekend. I checked the website for hours, but to no avail. I believe someone wrote in earlier that the Herndon hours were from 10 to 11:30, so I'll just take my chances and try to squeeze a trip out between pulling up old, ucky carpeting and toasting in the New Year!

And a safe and Happy New Year to all!

[Gastro888]

Drove by the PC last Thursday around 2pm. No line, no crowds. I guess the only time to go is during off-hours. It's great they have a branch up in Montgomery County!