Pollo Campero
508 Hamilton Avenue Trenton, NJ 08609
609-571-9263
Cash and Major Credit Cards accepted
As a rule, I stay away from franchise and chain restaurants. The Muncher’s preference is to support local businesses with my dollars. I want to savor and explore the individualized expressions of food as opposed to something that comes from a commissary or is prepared by a strict, corporate process.
Rules, as they say, are made to be broken. So we recently sampled the goods from this Latin American chain with over 300 restaurants world-wide.
The Trenton store took over the location of the former Eddie’s Donuts on Hamilton Avenue. I admit that my basic aversion to fast food franchises was amplified by the large, brightly colored signage on the building. I was wrong to feel that way.
The décor is typical fast food. Light, clean but welcoming if in a slightly institutional way. The menu board displays a fairly extensive list of offerings based on the signature fried chicken. There is a grilled chicken alternative to most of the menu items.
Sides reflect both Latin and American favorites. French Fries or Yuca fries; Cole Slaw or Sweet Plantains; beans and rice or mashed potatoes and gravy. A regular serving is $1.79 each or $3.79 for a family-size portion. The yuca comes with a rather bland, pink sauce reminiscent of a typical fast food “special sauce.” Skip it and go with one of the salsas. The cole slaw is crisp, fresh and just slightly sweet.
Personal (fried) chicken meals come in either two or three piece versions each includes a side, tortillas or dinner roll. The three piece, breast/wing/thigh meal was $6.59 and I got the black beans and rice to go with it.
The chicken has a flavorful, batter-like coating that is just thick enough to seal in the natural juiciness of the meat but not so heavy as to overpower. The key thing noted about the chicken was that it was perfectly done, not dry on the inside or greasy on the outside.
A grilled chicken sandwich ($4.99) was a boneless breast, flavored with the house seasonings and, again, cooked perfectly. The bun was sized just right for the chicken and of similar in texture to the “Portuguese” rolls you find in many bakeries and groceries. The sandwich came with a side, we chose Yuca fries, and was dressed with pale green sauce similar to a herb flavored mayonnaise.
The chicken burrito ($4.59) was huge! Stuffed with our choice of fried chicken, diced and mixed with pico de gallo, rice and beans. It was more than enough for two people to share.
Other options include 8, 12, 16 or 20-piece meals of fried chicken with or without family-sized sides. Prices range from $11.99 for eight pieces of chicken only to $38,99 for 20 pieces of chicken and four sides.
There is even a “fixings bar” where patrons can grab extra pico de gallo, chopped onions and cilantro, sliced jalapenos, and two salsas. A green tomatillo salsa and a molcajete salsa roja.
Both have just a nice amount of heat and the latter has a very nice flavor form the fire roasted tomatoes.
Whole grilled chicken can be purchased for $12.99 or $18.99 with two large sides.
Keeping with the Latin American origin of the chain, the dessert menu features caramel flan or tres leches cake. Tamarindo, Horchata and Jamaica beverages are available along with Coca Cola products.
Pollo Campero offers a very good product, decent portions and a fair price. It is enough to make one reconsider a general avoidance of “fast food” franchises. And as for that stately gentleman in the white suit and string tie: ¡el Coronel no se puede comparar con Pollo Campero!
Pollo Campero offers a range of menu items including fried chicken
