Sardi's Pollo a la Brasa: Charcoal Broiled Chicken

We're back, chicken fans! D and I apologize for the hiatus. A late summer vacation and getting ready for another school year took time away from our rotisserie adventures. There are still plenty of places to check out, and we're getting started again with a big, efficiently run spot on University Boulevard in Takoma Park, Sardi's Pollo a la Brasa. It was a gorgeous, sunny, fall-like Sunday afternoon when we showed up and grabbed our chow, ready to take it back and eat it outside on the porch. It's just west of New Hampshire Avenue in the same shopping center as Chuck E. Cheese. Sardi's is worth the trip.

We ordered our usual array of items: chicken, fries, plantains, coleslaw, and rice with beans.

The chicken is cooked very well: juicy and only a little bit dry in the breast meat. The skin was good, burned a bit in some spots, but that didn't stop me. The chicken has a subtle charcoal flavor and a strong pepper and salt flavor, with undertones of herbs, perhaps oregano. The herb flavors could be more pronounced for a more interesting chicken. The sides were good. The fries were typically boring, but hot. The coleslaw was better than it is at most places, decent-sized pieces of cabbage and not too much mayonnaise. The rice and beans were just fine, well cooked, the beans with just the right amount of give. The server poured the black beans over the white rice, and I think the fact that they’re stored separately until serving helps keep the rice at a good texture. The plantains were the best side, sweet, creamy, and delicious. The green sauce is spicy and herby and, for a change from most spots, the white sauce has more herbs and a little sweetness.

Overall, Sardi's is a good spot, with chicken among the best of the places we’ve tried so far.

D has a few words about Sardi's, too:

The chicken was a bit overseasoned. But I still liked it.

The plantains were delicous and not too mushy.They were crisp and caramelized on the outside.

The coleslaw was way too sweet for me.

The beans and rice were the second best I’ve had so far. They were the perfect amount salty and very delicous.

The french fries were good but they were unevenly cooked [some too mushy and some too crispy].

I loved the white sauce so much. It had the perfect amount of seasoning and it

wasn’t too thick or too thin.

Altogether it was good, but not my all-time favorite.