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With the exception of chicken tacos, chicken is rarely associated with the Tijuana dining scene, yet if you get out and hike around town, like I do, you'll see diners, taquerias and restaurants that specialize in chicken practically everywhere. Ed note: Check out my reviews of other Tijuana neighborhoods for chicken places. In Tijuana restaurants that specialize in chicken, the bird is either deep fried or grilled... in my humble opinion, unless you burn the chicken, or add too much salt, any chicken is good chicken. Tijuana chicken restaurants generally provide lots of chicken at very reasonable prices, and Mi Pollo is no exception.
Photo: Mi Pollo is located in a very sturdy and attractive building, on Blvd. Agua Caliente. Check out the large smokestacks on the roof of the building! Tuesday afternoon, December 29, 2009 found me hiking in the Col. Maderos neighborhood, always on the prowl for another small restaurant or diner to sample, and I spotted Mi Pollo, and noticed smoke coming from a large chimney, and smelled the delicious smell of chicken, grilling over charcoal. I knew where I'd be enjoying my next meal... Mi Pollo is a small taqueria, open to the street, staffed by two guys, that specializes in grilled chicken. The restaurant is located in the Col. Juarez neighborhood on Blvd. Agua Caliente, about two blocks north of Calle Ramos Milan, in the vicinity of the Tijuana Tower. The restaurant is clean, attractive, and staffed by two guys who know how to grill chicken from a compact kitchen, facing the street, providing the cook with a good view of the goings-on of busy Blvd. Agua Caliente. Mi Pollo features a very limited menu of grilled chicken, salad, tortillas, beans and salsa plainly posted on a attractively illustrated menu board in the restaurant. The menu features several combinations of the house specialty; the item caught my eye was one half chicken, grilled, salad, tortillas, beans, salsa and a soda for MEX $55.00 - what a deal! However, I wasn't in the mood for a soda, so I asked one of the guys if he could leave out the soda and drop the price, and he readily agreed to provide me the half chicken and fxin's for only MEX $45.00; which translates to less than four U.S. dollars. Such a sweet deal!
Photo: If you love grilled chicken, you've come to the right place. This is the restaurant's menu, in it's entirety.
Photo: Cooking chicken and jalapeno peppers on the grill, with an excellent view of the street. They already had chicken cooking over charcoal on the grill, so as I sat down, the guy that wasn't cooking placed a bowl of salsa and a bowl of pasta salad in front of me. Pasta salad is a very common side dish in Tijuana at many small chicken restaurants; again, pasta is not commonly associated with Mexico. Naturally, I whipped out my trusty digital camera, but the guys weren't overly friendly and really didn't seem to encourage photos or conversation. The guy cooking the chicken asked me where I was from, and asked the usual question of "Why are you taking photos?" I gave him my standard answer and a business card, as he was familiar with the Internet, as there are many Internet cafes in Tijuana. I noted that the chicken cooking on the grill was butterflied, flattened, and with most of the bones removed. They also season the grill by rubbing an onion on it, which seasons the grill, cleans it, and implants a delicious aroma. Jalapeno peppers were cooking alongside the grill as well, which added to the delicious smell.
Photo: Check out the flattened, butterflied chicken, and note the attractive grill marks. That's a real charcoal fire.
Photo: I talked one of the guys into taking my photo, as I dig into my delicious lunch of grilled chicken. I was just starting to nibble on the pasta salad when the guy working the grill placed the remainder of my meal on the table. The one half grilled chicken arrived on a styrafoam plate, which wasn't exactly the most attractive presentation, but it was perfectly grilled, and featured a grilled, jalapeno pepper tucked under the chicken. The guy profusely apologized for lack of beans; I didn't fully get the reason why beans were absent, but he give me a dozen corn tortillas and told me that refills on the pasta salad and corn tortillas were on the house. For me, Mi Pollo was a first, as I've never had a dozen tortillas placed before me with the offer for more.
Photo: My delicious lunch at a bargain price. Yes, that's a dozen tortillas, and they offered to serve me more tortillas and salad if I was still hungry. It was all I could do to finish the food placed in front of me... I left stuffed. The chicken was grilled perfectly, the was fresh and tasty, the pasta salad was made just right, and the corn tortillas were heated on the griddle, and cooked perfectly. Mi Pollo cooks delicious chicken, serves great sides, and you just can't beat the price. The restaurant is very clean, comfortable, and offers a great view of busy Blvd. Augua Calliente. By any yardstick that you employ to measure a restaurant, Mi Pollo is a winner! Mi
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