Pretty good grilled chicken: Chicken Run, Logan Squar

A new restaurant opened a couple weeks ago a few blocks from my house and immediately mass-leafleted my block. Obviously it worked, since I stopped by today to grab some dinner.

Chicken Run, which doesn't appear to be a chain, takes its name and logo from the movie of the same name (written and directed by the Wallace and Gromit team), which makes them seem plenty ripe for a lawsuit.

Their menu is sparse: chicken and more chicken and standard sides. The chicken is marinated, butterflied, coated in seasoned salt, and grilled. It's served to you chopped into eighths with pita and either salsa or bbq sauce. Sides include the standard permutations of potato and fat: baked, mashed, fried, and saladed; corn; macaroni and cheese; spanish rice; and cole slaw.

There's also the Chicken Pita Sandwich, which is "diced chicken beast" (sic) with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Sounds like they need some tahini or hummus.

Anyway, the whole chicken I brought home ($8.99) was above par. The skin was crispy, the meat cooked properly (although the breast was *slightly* overcooked), and the whole thing juicy and fairly well seasoned. It was on par with the rotisserie chicken from fox and obel, to me. The pita was fine, as was the salsa (a thin salsa roja, moderately spicy but not particularly exciting).

But really, the chicken was just good and satisfying. They also had a chicken noodle soup which I did not try, but it reminded me in looks of Campbell's. I may give it a shot in the future.

I wouldn't go out of my way to get a chicken from these guys, but if you're in Logan Square, it's worth a shot for lunch or dinner.

-ed


Chicken Run
2339 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
773-272-2370
M-F 10a-9p, Sa/Su 10a-8p

I Checked this place out - thanks for the heads up. Chicken was as reported, tasty all the way through, with a wonderful skin. The hot sauce (salsa roja) that I had was fresh and fairly spicy however, and there was a milder green salsa as another option.

The Mac and Cheese was homeade and quite good. The owner kicked in a cup of soup gratis. It was pretty hearty, with lots of rice and bits of chicken. Probably an easy way to salvage leftovers at the end of the day, very tasty.

It's a good chicken joint to have nearby.

hopefully it doesn't close like the last two non-fried chicken places I've frequented (El Cache and CocoRico)

I picked up a whole chicken to go tonight and I would agree that it's a good addition to the neighborhood. It was seasoned well, very tasty and juicy. The owner also kicked in some chicken soup and mac and cheese for us, gratis. I have to disagree on the mac and cheese praise. I found it mushy and bland, tasting and smelling like it came from a box.

But the chicken was very good and I'll be back.

I stopped into Chicken Run for lunch today and was seriously underwhelmed. Chicken was overcooked and dry, apparently grilled, cooled then reheated on the grilll; chicken soup was full of soggy noodles but had a nice cilantro kick, french fries were frozen but tasty, and the corn was from a can of niblets. It compared very unfavorably to the similarly reheated chicken at Brasa Roja. I may give it another whirl, given your positive reports, but if today's any indication, it's not going to occupy the roast chicken slot in my heart.

Just finished eating some chow from Chicken Run. The chicken was pretty good, nice flavor fairly crispy outside and not too dry. A bit salty but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I ordered a half chicken and have way more than half left. Should have gotten the quarter. Got the combo with coleslaw and mac and cheese. The cole slaw was of the KFC variety and they gave me what seemed like three orders worth. The mac and cheese was pretty good not overly flavorful but not a bad cup of mush. They through in a cup of the chicken soup which it seems is the norm. It was prett bland and had one tiny little piece of chicken. Definitely on par with your basic canned soup. I wouldn't order it. I had the tomatillo sauce and the pico de gallo. Pretty decent, nice kick to the pico.

Having been in Logan Square for 10 years now, as far as I'm concerned it's a welcome addition to the neighborhood and I hope people support the place.

2 yrs later after original post...

Chicken Run is now my local pollo el carbon joint. we dig it. for $14, you get a whole chicken, 2 bowls of campbell's chicken noodle, tortillas and 4 sides. the sides were completely unimpressive except for the freshly fried platanos. they were fried almost perfectly, w/ slighly crispy exterior and not too mushy innards. perfect without any sauce or dips. chicken remains not bad w/ the breast meat still moist and tender.

Glad to hear it's still around, still hasn't gotten sued, and is still pretty good.