KC Wing Men Score:
5.0
I think we still smell like smoke.
Parking outside El Pollo Rey in Kansas City, Kan., you can see it. The smoke billowing out of this small restaurant’s chimneys lures lunch crowds from around the city. Walking in, the magic of the place hits you in the face.
There are mountains of chicken piled high on the grill that stretches across an entire wall. The blackening chicken cooks just feet from where hungry visitors salivate and wait. All five senses are activated in this place. I’m drooling now as I remember our visit.
The restaurant offers a simple menu: Chicken, chicken and more chicken. Get a half or whole grilled chicken served with rice, beans and delicious fresh tortillas, or opt for the wings. You know what we came for, but we also had to try a half chicken. The wings have a great reputation and we were ready to experience the hype for the first time.
However, hype is too often followed by disappointment. Like a great movie that gets ruined by too many people telling you it’s the best they’ve seen, we could’ve waited until this one gets released on Netflix.
The wings are presented in a tin foil wrap and are swimming in sauce. The sauce has a hint of traditional buffalo sauce, but also something very different. The main disappointment came in the lack of spice in the sauce. It had a great smokey, sweet flavor, but no hint of heat. As expected at a restaurant that only serves chicken, the meat quality was the highlight of the show. The size of the wings are medium to medium-small but get lost in the waterfall of sauce. The sauce doesn’t do the skin of the wings any favors and everything in the tin foil wrap becomes soggy.
Experiencing the half chicken shows that the place knows how to create great crispy chicken skin while maintaining perfectly cooked meet. We wished their wings had the same qualities.
We recommend El Pollo Rey for a workday lunch, even though you’ll smell like smoke the rest of the day/week. It’s quick, service is great and you get mountains of food for pennies. You can get a whole chicken for under $13. A half for $7 and 10 wings for $10. Those prices are enough to get people in the door. But the chicken, oh man that chicken, that will keep us coming back.
KC Wing Men 