As a pleasant surprise, my girlfriend decided to pick me up some dinner from the California Chicken Cafe. They were supposed to have some great rotisserie chicken, so before she picked up, I took a look at the menu to figure out what to order. Since just about everything on the menu began with the word “chicken,” I was pretty happy. I decided to go with the 1/4 chicken (breast and wing) plus one side. Picking out a side was probably the easiest thing I’ve done since graduating elementary school. Of the 12 sides, only two were unvegan-friendly. These were the mashed potatoes and the fresh fruit salad. Feeling in a strongly savory mood, I decided on the mashed potatoes.

After not-too-long, my girlfriend arrived with my food in hand. I opened the styrofoam lid and was surprised to find such a small amount of food. It was nice to see no vegetables present, but I was amazed by the amount of empty space. I remember a time when ordering 1/4 chicken meant you were getting a lot of food, but not in this case. Size aside, the chicken looked pretty tasty. The skin was glistening and looked crispy, so I started eating. It tasted pretty good and wasn’t too salty like a lot of rotisserie chicken can be. Underneath the chicken, I found a quarter of a pita. I wasn’t totally sure what it was doing there, as this chicken didn’t exactly seem ready to be sliced up and put into a pita. Due to the lack of lots of food, I still ate the pita in whatever way I could. The mashed potatoes were pretty good, but nothing really special. Next time, I may have to grab the fruit salad instead.

Ultimately, the California Chicken Cafe wasn’t a disappointing meal. I should have guessed by the price that I wouldn’t be getting a lot of food and the chicken did taste pretty good. In the end, though, I was still hungry and that was a damn shame.