El Pollo Giro

This place deserves its own thread now.

We originally found it on the Aurora Taqueria Crawl, at which point it was really a roadside grill cooking up wonderful chicken over lump charcoal, along with bulb onions and jalapenos. The next time I went back they were still there, but told me the city of Aurora was shutting them down (probably the health code did not quite accept roadside grills), and so they were fixing up the storefront behind the grill and would be moving indoors in a few months.

I had doubts about whether they really would be able to afford to fix up the storefront and pretty much forgot about it from October until April, when I was in the neighborhood looking for some dinner and decided to give it a shot.

Simple report - great meal, excellent deal.

As before, they make Pollo al Carbon estilo sinaloa. It is a marinated chicken with good herbal, citrus and a little chile flavor, grilled to a crispy, charcoaled perfection. For $12 you gat a full chicken, a little foil packet full of grilled bulb onions and jalapenos, 6 tortillas, a great salsa fresca, a mostly boring iceberg and tomato salad slightly enlivened by red, pickled onions and a whole lime to squeeze (maybe better on the chicken, but it is the only dressing for the salad, too).

So what you get is the steal of a meal that also happens to be just about a perfect grilled chicken.

The messy storefront with a couple of booths, a TV showing Univision and some miscellaneous fliers is not as charming as when the big grill was outdoors under a tent in the fresh air, but whether you are eating there or taking the chicken with you - don't miss it.

It is off route 25 between Indian Trail and downtown Aurora in the Plaza del Sol.

El Pollo Giro
991 N Aurora Ave (rte 25)
Aurora
630-896-0755

Most often they only speak Spanish, so be warned if you want to call. Normal hours are something like 11-8, Tues-Sun (I think, but am not sure). Chicken is usually ready in a couple of minutes, so there is no need to call.

David,

I went again last fall and ordered a whole chicken and was not disappointed. The guy is still cooking over charcoal inside and the chicken is flavorfull from the skin to the bone. Agreed on the pickled red onions. I mixed some of those with the salsa over the lettuce and added a little salt, lime juice and oil to make a decent salad. Thanks for reminding me I need to go back and patronize. The cook definitely has skill with marinading and grilling, it makes you wonder how he might prepare a nice outer cut of skirt steak, some fat shell on shrimp or a whole snapper. I'm just sayin...

Dickson,

It's times like this that I really miss my dining options from before the move. I remember this place vividly. It was the highlight of the taco crawl, and it is good to konw that they were able to open up the storefront.

Flip

Thanks for the posts - they motivated me to finally try this place.

Outstanding chicken! As noted above, the charcoal fired chicken is tender and juicy and the size of the bird was impressive. Flavoring was spot-on and the included salsa was simple, but had a nice kick and was quite tasty.

I also ordered a side of beans and was pleasantly surprised. Instead of the requisite refried variety, I was given a container of brothy pintos. They were mild and simply seasoned, yet very refreshing compared to the usual glop of mashed frijoles.

I'll be back often!

Glad you found it as good as I have ldub. I think I will try to get out there again next week, maybe take some pix. Worth a trip, fellow LTH'ers.

It is always nice to find someone who does one thing only and does it well. Great tip-I love this place.

EPG was a bit thrown off by the tomato issue. Consequently no salsa or rice was available on Sunday, 6/15. Guacomole, made as you wait, also had no tomato which they painstakingly explained. Minor, temporary glitches.

As attested the chicken is great-spatchcocked to grill over charcoal exclusively, well seasoned, cleavered into parts. Beans were indeed a good side.

Service was quick 10-15 minutes even though the place was packed with as many as 10 chickens delivered or ordered while we were there.

El Pollo Giro is a regular stop for me during the spring and fall soccer seasons these days. I referee a good number of soccer games in Aurora, with the six high schools within 3 miles of EPG, and it is irresistible to stop for a chicken or three before or after the game. Business seems good. When I was there last week, the kitchen and counter were being pulled apart and measured it seemed. Things were a bit of a mess, so I could not get the good picture of the grill that I wanted. Will add that later.

Happily, they seem to be doing a very good business.



The roasted jalapenos (heat varies, but the last too times they have been very, very hot) and onions, half dozen tortillas, house made salsa fresca (also with a good bite, but nothing like those jalapenos), salad with lime and pickled red onions, and that crispy, nicely seasoned, lump charcoal-grilled chicken.

Anyway, I figured we needed some pictures.

I went on Saturday around 5:00 pm for a quick chicken fix and am happy to report the chicken is as good as ever. It was nice to see they are well supported in the area and don't seem to be lacking customers. Most people were leaving with multiple chicken dinners and the line never subsided while I was waiting for my bird to go.

Haven't gone to it yet, but it looks like they have opened a second location in Montgomery. In a small strip mall across from the Phillips Park Water Park, same strip mall as Gario's Pizza.

El Pollo Giro #2
817 Montgomery Road
Montgomery, IL 60538-1827
(630) 898-5143

the wimperoo wrote:Haven't gone to it yet, but it looks like they have opened a second location in Montgomery. In a small strip mall across from the Phillips Park Water Park, same strip mall as Gario's Pizza.

El Pollo Giro #2
817 Montgomery Road
Montgomery, IL 60538-1827
(630) 898-5143

I have been to the new location and meant to post on it, so thanks for the reminder. A bigger place, more formal restaurant, it was completely empty when I visited, and the chicken was not as freshly cooked, so I will stick with original for now.

Vital Information wrote:

Amata wrote:By the way there's also a Mexican popsicle/etc place about to open on Lake Street. And a "coming soon" sign for El Pollo Giro, Sinaloa-style pollo al carbon, on Lake Street in the old location of Taqueria La Herradura.

I suppose with camp over, someone else has to do the legwork on these things.

Last night we tried both El Pollo Giro and the Mexican popsicle place on Lake which is called La Michoacana (2012 W. Lake). It was a night of mixed, if mostly satisfying experiences, and one that bears repeating.

First, El Pollo Giro, of Sinaloa style. In general, Mexican chicken places seem, by nature, inconsistent and difficult to love. As MikeG has noted, nearly all advertisements of al carbon, mean al carbon de natural gas. Still, this place met the carbon in al carbon threshold. I could see some glowing charcoals upon entrance. Still, the second problem with Mexican chicken places is the timing. The chickens are almost always either not ready or had been ready. This place went with the had been ready.

The newish Melrose Park El Pollo Giro is immediately kiddie-corner from Zaragoza, and certainly smells like a good charcoal fire. I had a very similar experience to VI, with a $13 whole chicken and fixin's that were held over from a busy lunchtime, but quite savory. The grill staffer had absolutely no English and was very apologetic about that fact, and the fact she had no cucumber for the salad (and, as related in Spanish, "wouldn't be able to slow down to put on gloves and slice the cucumber if she had one, the way the day was going"). Chicken and knob onions were quite tasty, and I'd go back for them. Tortillas were not hechas a mano as advertised (and as at Zaragoza). Salad was surprisingly crisp and fresh with lime and onions. Overall, a nice entry to know about.

El Pollo Giro
2216 West Lake Street
Melrose Park, IL 60160
(708) 615-8911

Was at IMSA for a soccer game last week and stopped by the original location to pick up dinner. As always, the chicken was delicious, good herbs, nicely marinated with a small touch of heat, and a fresh salsa to brighten things. Roasted onions and peppers remind me of the market in Oaxaca, which adds to my pleasure.

It had been a while since I had gone, and it begged the question of why. I suppose it was because of the more lackluster experience at the Montgomery Road location. Has anyone else tried that location? Curious as to whether my experience there was just a bad day, or like Katy's, that location will never have the traffic or quality of the original (and Melrose Park?). For now, I am going to stick with the original location, which has always been great.