Village Chicken, Pollo a la Brasa in Springfield - Across the Parking Lot From Its Old Location

[Escoffier]

On 10/8/2008 at 5:59 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

Peruvian roasted chicken is becoming the ubiquitous Springfield dish. I usually try it at Delia's (they bought Tumi next door)

And now with Village Chicken open at the southern end of the shopping center (4 doors down from Delia's) it's becoming a chicken's worst nightmare .

[Kibbee Nayee]

I have now eaten at both of the Village Chicken places, the one behind Whole Foods and the one on Backlick that shares its space with El Sabor Boliviano. These are very good lunch counter and carry out meals, with rotisserie chicken starring on the menu, but also with nice gyro meats and and a menu that blends the meats into sandwiches, tops salads with them and mixes them in Village Check specialty bowls with rice and chickpeas or various other sides. It's hard to go wrong here -- for about a $7 lunch today I had a Cuban sub, with ham and pork and cheese on a small sub roll, with a side of fries (nicely tossed in a stainless steel bowl with a salt and cayenne spice blend) and a fountain drink.

The people behind the counter are clearly Hispanic, but the fare has tinges of Mediterranean all over. The sides are on display in the glass counter, and they looked very good.

I still can't quite figure out the sharing of space with El Sabor Boliviano on Backlick, but I'm OK with it because it doubles the pleasure and doubles the fun....and doubles the requirement to pay at the two separate cash registers.

[vickie]

I used to live in Springfield and Burke and went to Village Chicken often. I agree I always thought they were greek or mediterranean.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I used to live in Springfield and Burke and went to Village Chicken often. I agree I always thought they were greek or mediterranean.

I'm honored to be in agreement with you, Vickie. Tom Sietsema had some extremely positive things to say about you this past weekend in the Dining Guide, and I for one can't wait to try the pictured roasted chicken from your kitchen.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Village Chicken behind Whole Foods is now closed. Big loss for the Springfield food scene...

[Kibbee Nayee]

Not so fast. In what used to be the Village Chicken restaurant behind Whole Foods, there is now a Boardwalk Fries. However, across the parking lot, in the same plaza as Asian Grill, is a new Village Chicken. It's baaaaack!

[Kibbee Nayee]

Took carry out from Village Chicken today. Turns out they had a problem with the lease across the way, or the landlord wanted Boardwalk Fries in there, or something like that. Anyway, this is truly good chicken with a nice assortment of sides and mains, with a Mediterranean flair. You'll notice the vertical slab of lamb for gyros and there's hummus and pita all over the menu. The owner is from New York, and I pressed the help today on his ethnicity and they claim he's just trying to serve good food with an assortment of international dishes. But the heart and soul of the menu is the chicken, and on Mondays and Saturdays, the best deal in Springfield is their $10.99 chicken special -- one whole chicken with two sides, plus pita and hummus.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Village Chicken was disappointing at lunch today.

I arrived at 12:40, ordered the pulled chicken bowl to eat in, and because I had to get on a conference call at 1:00, I went back to the counter at 12:55 and asked that it be made to go. The place was mostly empty at the time, and they had not yet started making my order! The lady behind the counter threw on a prep glove and filled the to-go bowl with rice, beans, day-old chicken, lettuce, onions, and yogurt sauce. I had to eat it in my car while on my conference call, and it wasn't very good at all.

Shaking my head at this curious disappointment....not sure what they were thinking today.