pico rico: say it ain't so... [Que Padre! ]

Bottom Line:

We went to Pico Rico tonight for our usual chicken and a 1/2 plus sides. We were turned away at the door. They were closed for a private party.

We learned that Pico Rico is now under new ownership with their re-opening set for next Tuesday. The new owners are expanding the menu. They claim the chicken will remain the same.

We will see...

Apparently I just pulled this info from the ether, since I can't find mention of it anywhere on the internet or any of my usual sources, but I could swear that I heard that the son of the Pico Rico owner has taken over the business, and is going to maintain the current style/quality of the chicken. So hopefully keeping Pico Rico in the family will keep it delicious.

Maybe I'm crazy, though, so take this info with a grain or three of salt.

geli wrote:...and is going to maintain the current style/quality of the chicken. So hopefully keeping Pico Rico in the family will keep it delicious.

Maybe I'm crazy, though, so take this info with a grain or three of salt.

geli,

I've been told that if you're sane enough to question your sanity then you're not crazy. So, I think you're ok for now

If this is true, I hope he keeps the same house-made aji as well. It's one of my favorite Pico Rico features.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:

geli wrote:...and is going to maintain the current style/quality of the chicken. So hopefully keeping Pico Rico in the family will keep it delicious.

Maybe I'm crazy, though, so take this info with a grain or three of salt.

geli,

I've been told that if you're sane enough to question your sanity then you're not crazy. So, I think you're ok for now

If this is true, I hope he keeps the same house-made aji as well. It's one of my favorite Pico Rico features.

I had suspected that something was up when I was served a red/orange table salsa instead of the usual green.

I was also suspicious when I was served (crap) tortilla chips instead of toasted bread rounds.

And, the faces in the kitchen were unknown to me.

Now, I know.

E.M.

I actually seem to remember reading about this in Time Out a while ago. If memory serves, it was a summary of all of restaurants featured in the "save this restaurant" column, updating readers on how the various restaurants were doing.

It said (I think) that Pico Rico had been taken over by a family from Mexico, and were planning to keep the menu similar, but add some Mexican items as well. Don't remember any thing else.

This was a couple of months ago, at least. I was going to post something about it LTH, asking if anyone else had any more information. But then I was offline for a few days and totally forgot about it

Erik - apart from the tortilla chips, how was the rest of your food?

LionRock wrote:Erik - apart from the tortilla chips, how was the rest of your food?

I am not going to hold it against them, as it was a singular experience, but the chicken and the yuca were disappointing.

And, the biggest disappointment wasn't something I ate, but instead something I didn't eat...

... It appeared that they were no longer offering the whole stewed pinto beans.



Regards,
E.M.

Today- I had a nice chat with "Luis"- the new owner, an Ecquadorian. He has some plans for the "new place"-cleaning it up/painting,etc. He plans on keeping the Pollo al Carbon (yeah!), deleting the breakfast menu (boooo!- it had many of Wishbones breakfast items there/partially 'cause Antonio/the previous owner-had worked for Joel Nickson for 10 years)-thinning the side (I voted to keep the Yucca Frito cona Ajo!) menu, and removing the hotdogs,fried food items. He will also keep the Jibarito and other sandwiches- but wants to get a liquor license, add more seafood, and shimp dishes (I smell a price increase!)
Luis said he officially will be re-opened on Wednesday,5 July'06.
I will sadly miss Antonio's salsas- especially an really thick one made w/ a whole bag of dried Arbol's...killer!
Let's hope for the best- it was a real "find"
(BTW- after lurking/stalking /enjoying lthforum.com for a year/or so- this is my first actual post)

hello. just wanted to post quickly and say that we went to the former pico rico tonight (not knowing it had changed hands). and although we were surprised by the change, the new owner is VERY pleasant and we found the food to be really good. he had us try several different salsas, one of which was a mango-habanero that was really good (although he does still have the crummy tortilla chips mentioned above). we had half chickens (which were extremely juicy and tasty), arroz con gandules, yucca and plantains. he also had us sample a beverage that he said is from the amazon - corn, pineapple, egg...does anyone know the name of this drink? and the bill was $30 for the three of us.

the owner said that his new menu is going to be officially ready on august 4th.

our experience was excellent, and we'll definitely go back to try some more off the new menu on the 4th.

Driving home from a late lunch at Podhalanka after spending some time at 'Around the Coyote' art fest I decided to stop by Pico Rico to grab a chicken for a cold late dinner (and movie) later in the evening and discovered there was a new name for the restaurant...



Stopped inside, didn't smell any smoke, asked about the time and price and the 15 to 20 minutes and $12.50 made me take a pass.

The place was nice and clean and the owner very friendly and I will return soon when I can sit and eat fresh. Stay tuned...

Que Padre! (inc.) Restaurant
Formerly Pico Rico
4107 W North Ave.
(773) 252-7426

If I recall, the Pico Rico whole chicken was $13. Not cheap. But, awfully good (and huge).

YourPalWill wrote:If I recall, the Pico Rico whole chicken was $13. Not cheap. But, awfully good (and huge).

Will,

Que Padre!'s Pollo al Carbon is $9.50 for 1/2-chicken w/rice and lettuce, the rice being white rice, not the Arroz con Gandules (rice and pigeon peas) Pico Rico offered. Another difference between the two chickens is Pico Rico marinated the chicken before charcoal roasting, resulting in a deep full flavor. While Que Padre's chicken has potential last week it was a bit dry, my guess is had been held and reheated from the day before.

Frankly, I think that is Que Padre's main problem, the owner seems to know how to cook, and cook well, is personable, likes what he is doing, but the volume of business (slow) necessitates carrying over chicken and other items from the previous day. For example our crab meat empanada may very well be tasty hot from the oven, unevenly reheated, not-so-much.

We tried 4 entree items, the previously mentioned chicken, good flavored, but dry rabbit, tender, well prepared lamb shank and a daily special of NY Strip steak w/mole compound butter. It was the strip steak that gave me hope for Que Padre, perfectly prepared good quality steak with a deliciously innovative touch in the form of mole compound butter, which I intend to add to my repertoire of compound butters.

Enjoy,
Gary