Reviews

Free Grilled Chicken War at El Pollo Loco

April 30th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit Comment (2)
It doesn't look like much, but free goes a long way.

It doesn't look like much, but free goes a long way.

Not to be outdone by the free grilled chicken giveaway at KFC, El Pollo Loco decided they were going to give away some free chicken of their own on April 28th.  Rather than simply giving away a free drumstick, El Pollo Loco jumped to the next level by giving away a drummie, a thigh, two tortillas and, of course, salsa from the salsa bar was included.  There was a catch, however, that you had to say “I wanna taste the fire” when you ordered.  Being my shameless self, I had no trouble proclaiming my desire for fire when I reached the front of the long line.

Within a few minutes, I had received my food.  They were working like an assembly line in the back of that restaurant, giving them the edge on KFC for timeliness.  When I opened my styrofoam box, I have to say I had low expectations.  Although I had never had chicken from El Pollo Loco, I did have a disappointing experience with their regular Mexican food.

I sliced off the pieces of chicken from the thigh and put them in the tortilla.  Then I took my two sauce choices, spicy avocado and salsa de arbol and poured them on top to make a sort makeshift hobo burrito.  I bit in and was pretty happy with what I got.  The chicken tasted a lot better than KFC’s grilled chicken, and it was great that El Pollo Loco really went all out with their free chicken offer.  If I’m ever in the mood for grilled chicken from a fast-food restaurant, my choice will have to be El Pollo Loco.

PS:  The Free Food Rating is different from my regular rating, since I went to El Pollo Loco solely for the free option and all food tastes better when it’s free.

, , , , , , , ,

2 Responses to “Free Grilled Chicken War at El Pollo Loco”

  1. Becs says:
    May 1, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    Love El Pollo Loco! The chicken is way tasty, even without all the sauces.

  2. Melanie says:
    May 3, 2009 at 7:50 am

    Don’t get grilled. Fried is best.

Leave a Reply

Unvegan Top 20 for 2011

‘Tis the season for “Best of the Year” lists, so I thought I would join the party and put in my top 20 new restaurants from 2011.  By the way, this means the restaurants were new to me, not new to LA.  Please note that I am only including meals in the Los Angeles area.  As much as I loved the food on my travels, you can check any of those places out pretty quickly by clicking here.  So, without further caveat, here’s the best that 2011 had to offer for the unvegan:

20.  Cobras and Matadors

This tapas place in Mid-City is everything tapas should be.  From bacon-wrapped dates to a variety of cheeses, there is really something for anyone looking for a delicious meal.  Just beware, while tapas can be kept to a moderate price, when you throw a big group in with small plates, there are bound to be some people who don’t get their money’s worth.  But keep the group small and Cobras and Matadors will send you home full and happy.

19.  Steingarten

Dishing out delicious sausages, including a few of the exotic variety, Steingarten also offers up a pretty stellar beer selection.  If you’ve ever wanted to eat alligator in sausage form, Steingarten won’t disappoint, but they also serve a wider range of foods, including some pretty delicious burgers.  Their sausage execution, though, could use a bit of improvement, which pushed another sausage joint further up on the list. Continue Reading»