Evening take out restaurant review
I have already mentioned a few times that I am a Gyro obsessive. Whilst not the height of epicurean sophistication, I could happily live off the things. It would be a relatively short yet tasty life. Wendi doesn’t share my enthusiasm, but there’s generally other treats at our local Greek take-outs that make her happy. One common failing we find though, is that the chicken we order usually doesn’t match the Gyro quality.
Much kudos to the Sense and Memory blog then for turning us on to Best Chicken and Ribs. Their vibrant red pictures of the chicken had our mouths watering. As far as we could tell Best Chicken serve Gyro’s and also what seemed to be some killer chicken. Also with a name like “Best Chicken”, you better have something up your sleeve.
We didn’t particularly feel like dining out on the night of our visit, and one of our friends recommended calling ahead for take out. Speed of service isn’t Best Chicken’s strong point we were warned. As we didn’t have a menu, and only a vague guesstimate of what they offered, we called in a stupidly big order and hoped for the best. Although, once we had a menu to look over in person, Wendi was excited by the number of vegetarian options on offer, and will definitely go for a meatless item on our next visit.
Take out was a great idea, as the evening of our visit to Best Chicken highlighted how hot you can make somewhere if you roast chickens all day in the summer heat. Air conditioning was not in evidence. The restaurant itself has a diner feel. A few basic tables and chairs dot the room, a tv plays to one side, and a large portion of the room is devoted to the chicken rotisserie. More than fine by us, since we would be enjoying our order in the comfort of home.
We introduced ourselves at the food counter, and we were told our order would be a few more minutes. It seems our friend was correct, even though we had been told to pick up after 20mins, they still needed another 10minutes to get our order ready once we arrived. That was no worry, because the people here are quite a friendly bunch. I’m going to guess they are a husband/wife owner/operator team, but I could be wrong.
Suffices to say, as we waited for our order to come up, free pens and plenty of friendly chit chat was merrily doled out. If I recall correctly, my friend who visits Best Chicken for lunch on a regular basis has mentioned that, as a regular, he is always offered a free soda while he waits for his order. That’s not surprising considering the level of friendliness we encountered. Once our meals were bagged up, we said our goodbyes and headed off eagerly to dig in.
All meals come with a few pieces of pita and a Green Salad side:
The salad was basic but it was fresh and crisp, which I find is a rarity among take-out side salads, a big thumbs up there.
The first of our three meals(!) was a Gyro with a side of the Boiled Potatoes:
As is the norm, the gyro meat was sliced and layered over onion, tomatoes, lettuce and then wrapped in a pita. The tzatziki sauce was packaged separately. The gyro was far more herby than I am accustomed to, in fact for me personally it was a little too powerfully flavoured. That said, my gyro love overcame the odds and it was soon gobbled up. The accompanying potatoes were a simple side, tossed in a butter and Best Chicken’s ubiquitous dusting of red spices (just paprika, or more?). Nothing extraordinary, but nice enough.
The next entree was the main event, a quarter of Rotisserie Chicken and side of French Fries:
The chicken looked just like the Sense and Memory blog review, a bold shimmering red. The taste did not disappoint either, wonderfully tender and flavoursome. As we eagerly tore the precious chicken from the bones, I lamented I didn’t just order a full chicken ($12.99). A quick survey of just how much we had ordered brought me back to reality. The fries were merely serviceable, I probably wouldn’t bother with them again.
Our final selection was a double order of the Chicken Kabobs and side of Rice:
The kabob chicken wasn’t up to the quality of the rotisserie chicken, but that was only to be expected. It was decent though. Wendi gave it the thumbs up. The rice was surprisingly tasty. More often than not, similar eateries’ rice can be a slightly mushy boil in the bag type affair. Best Chicken’s was still no delicate pillau, but was far less heavy and cleaner in taste than most.
The value of the meal was a huge bargain. Obviously we over ordered, we wanted to get a good feel for as many of the menu items possible. We had plenty left over the next day for lunch and then some. The entire meal of gyro, 2 chicken kabobs, 1/4 rotisserie chicken, 3 green salads, french fries, rice, boiled potatoes, pita bread and a slew of accompanying sauces came in at under $20. That’s hard to beat by anyone’s standards.
So, best chicken? Well, I hesitate to name anything the best after only one visit, but you will be hard pressed to find a much better taste versus value combo at these prices. If like us, you decide on a quick take out order, I snapped a quick picture of the menu for your perusal:
Come and discuss this review and other Salt Lake City restaurants on our new foodie discussion forum here.
Best Chicken is located at 111 E 2700 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Also, thanks to Sense and Memory for allowing us to use the photograph on our home page.
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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