THE WASHINGTON POST.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019EZ14
- POLLO CAMPERO
Rallying cry: We’ve got your craving covered.
Birthplace: Guatemala.
Known for: Latin American sabor (flavor).
According to legend, before this chain opened its first stateside store in
2002, so many travelers were bringing Pollo Campero back from Central
America on the plane — filling the cabin with its intoxicating aroma — that
the El Salvador-based Grupo TACA airline inquired as to whether the
company could design an odor-free box.
Coated with a notably dark, sometimes faintly oily crust, and seasoned
with a marinade that is injected into the skin before breading, this chicken
looks and tastes like no other. You won’t find the otherwise ubiquitous
biscuits on the menu here, only meh dinner rolls, but Pollo Campero does
sell mashed potatoes. (Skip them; they’re vaguely grainy and with an odd
aftertaste. Stick with fried yucas.)
This isn’t American Southern-fried chicken, unless you mean south of
the border. Pollo Campero is a zesty, nicely crispy — if sometimes also a bit
chewy — addition to the fried chicken landscape.
Pair with: Horchata (a sweet, cinnamon-scented rice milk concoction),
plantains. Food hack: The corn salad — a colorful mix of roasted corn,
peppers, cherry tomatoes, pepitas and cotija cheese — is one of the best sides
you’ll find in any fried-chicken joint. But it’s served with too much slippery,
sweet dressing that tastes little of the advertised cilantro. Drain some of it off,
and you’ll be a lot happier. - KFC
Rallying cry: Finger lickin’ good.
Birthplace: Corbin, Kent.
Known for: Eleven herbs and spices.
The legacy of Harland Sanders, who in 1939 adapted the pressure
cooker to quick-fry the chicken he had been slinging out of his filling
station/cafe, seems somewhat diminished eight decades later, and not
just because KFC — the giant chain whose breezy initialism replaced the
name Kentucky Fr ied Chicken in 1991 — often shares space with its sister
restaurant Taco Bell. (Along with Pizza Hut, it’s one of several fast-food
business owned by parent company Yum Brands).
It’s just that the chicken itself seems a bit out of step with modern
tastes, with a thin, parchment-like crust that is often slightly damp and
limp. Yes, there’s an extra crispy option, for those who want more contrast
between tender meat and robust, flaky skin, but it’s s urprisingly flavorless.
The Colonel’s “original recipe” of 11 herbs and spices is what you want.
Theorized by sleuths to contain a blend of salt, black pepper, white
pepper, thyme, basil, oregano, celery salt, dried mustard, paprika, garlic
salt and ground ginger, it’s still among the best-seasoned fried chicken
out there. But that critical mouthfeel — just the right amount of breading
giving way, after stiff resistance, to the treasure inside — is lacking.
Pair with: Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning (a sweet tea-esque KFC
exclusive), mac and cheese. Food hack: Order something off the Taco Bell
menu, like a side of black beans and rice. Go crazy. - BOJANGLES’
Rallying cry: Gotta wanna needa getta hava.
Birthplace: Charlotte.
Known for: “Legendary” iced tea.
Biscuits are called out in this chain’s full name: Bojangles’ Famous
Chicken ’n Biscuits. So it’s no surprise that Bo’s version of the biscuit — a
floury staple of the fried chicken side game — was among the best of those
I sampled: tall and fluffy yet substantial, and nicely buttery.
But the southeastern franchise’s chicken itself, a more mildly spiced
answer to Popeyes’s spiciest option, was frustratingly inconsistent from
visit to visit, and from store to store. At one meal, I’d find a lightly breaded,
beautifully blistered skin that broke, with a quiet but audible crackle — a
pleasing counterpoint to the thickly crusted kee-runch of Popeyes — to
reveal traces of the marinade still clinging to moist and flavorful flesh.
Subsequent visits were met with pieces of breaded bird that were
sometimes only partially coated, disappointingly soggy and/or bland.
The iced tea may not be literally legendary (as advertised), but it’s
bracing and sweet without being cloying, evoking summertime in the
South. As for the Cajun pinto beans? They make for a hearty complement
to the main course, delivering a gentle, but needed kick of heat.
Pair with: Sweet tea, Cajun pintos. Food hack: Spice things up with a jar of
the chain’s french fry seasoning. It’s not offered as a regular condiment, but
they’ll sell it to you if you ask. Keep it on hand at home for the next time you do
carryout.
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