There are a load of Peruvian chicken joints in the area. Two of the more popular are El Pollo Rico and Crisp & Juicy. Within the last few weeks I had the opportunity to taste both. Both are excellent, but some people have their own preferences. See my comparison after the jump.
We rolled out to El Pollo Rico in Wheaton on a Friday night. There was a pretty long line, but it moved quickly. We ordered two whole chickens, fries and slaw. It came with a flavored mayo and a spicy cilantro sauce. The chickens were chargrilled, and had a slightly burnt aspect to them. The white meat was reasonably juicy and quite tasty. I loved the cilantro sauce and dipped my chicken. The fries were of the steak fry/chips cut variety – perfect for dipping in mayonnaise – and overall not bad tasting. The coleslaw was nice and creamy. The accoutrements were the highlight for me.
For Crisp & Juicy, we hit up the one in Wheaton Mall. It was immaculate and empty, quite a change from the usual ethnic joints. The emptiness, however, was not a real indication of the food. My friend and I shared half a chicken with an order of fried yucca. I ate the white meat; she ate the dark. I had a few mouthfuls of the dark and it was really moist and tasty. The white meat was also quite reasonable. It was accompanied by two mayonnaise-like condiments. The seasonings were a lot more flavorful on Crisp & Juicy's chicken skin. Yucca is pretty similar to potato in its starchiness. The texture is slightly different, a little bit lighter than potato. Don't bother with the roll they give you, it's pretty school cafeteria style.
Does anyone have any preferences?
Dang. Now I am craving me some chicken.
you should try don pollo on twinbrook(rockville)
is really tasty.
their mayo sauce is creamy and their green sauce is really hot.
crisp and juicy is by far the best peruvian chicken i’ve ever had. I usually go to the one on Rockville Pike. Their chicken is the juiciest, with really flavorful skin. They yuca is crispy and falls apart in a certain way that no other yuca frita i’ve had does… (no idea). Finally, their sauces… incredible. They stray from the typical verde sauce of tomatillos etc… and use a mayonnaise based which is one of the best things ever. So much so that every time we go we get a container to use it for other dipping applications!