I Eat Chicken

Growing up in a frugal Chinese-American home, I have always been told that eating out is a special thing, reserved for special occasions.  The other 360 days of the year, we cook and eat at home.  Well, that changed drastically after I started living on my own.  My family often tells me, "Don't spend so much money eating out! Save your money!"  While I understand the wisdom of this, I have a very real reason for my dining out habit. 

I AM SINGLE! If a guy is not going to treat me to a nice meal, I will treat myself! Plus, eating out with friends is this extrovert's main source of social time. 

So, this blog is not just about the fru-fru uppity dining scene. It's really just about my experiences with the local eateries, be they fast food, haute cuisine, and everything in between.

So we'll start off with my current local obsession: Pollo Tropical on Fruitville Road.

Sure it's a chain, but it's decent food at a poor man's price. Like, you could get a whole chicken and a couple sides for $16.  That's fantastic!

While the level of excellence in each dish varies from experience to experience (I mean, how much can you expect from fast food), the chicken itself has been consistently delicious. It's never been dry, and the fire-grilled flavor just sets it apart from anything I could do at home without a lot of time or effort.  

But the cherry on top is the sauces.  My favorite sauces for chicken are the Cilantro Garlic Sauce and the Pineapple Rum.  If we are talking about the Fried Yucca (all day every day), then the only sauce worthy of gracing their fluffy-on-the-the-inside-yet-crispy-on-the-outside bodies is the Curry Mustard.  

The ribs are good. Just good. Not bad, not great, but good.  Don't go to Pollo Tropical if you're looking for melt-in-your-mouth, falling-off-the-bone, succulent ribs, but if you're just in the mood for not-chicken, go ahead and give it a try.  The Mojo Pork, however, is muy deliciosa.  It is full of flavor and great with the Pineapple Rum sauce.

If you want real Bang for your Buck get a Tropichop Bowl. It's like Pollo Tropical's version of a Chipotle bowl, but less expensive. It's the only way I can get completely full on food with real ingredients for $5 and some change. I am a girl, so it may take a little more to fill up a big guy, but this will definitely put a decent dent in your hunger.

I have yet to try a bunch of the sides, but honestly I probably won't because why try other sides when I will always only want the yellow rice with veggies, the fried yucca, and the plantains?

So long story short, it's fast-food dining with REAL food.  That's a win in my book.

Ambience: 6/10

Service: 9/10 

(The service is not perfect, but if they make a mistake they are great at making amends)

Food: 8/10

Good for: Cost-effective meals for lunch or dinner

http://pollotropical.com/home-page