Chef Roberto Castre offers spectacular rotisserie chicken and other Peruvian specialties at this East End counter service joint.

7001 Harrisburg Blvd, Houston, TX 77011
(832) 986-5508
Website

11AM–8PM (Mon–Sat); 11AM–7PM (Sun)

When we moved to Houston a year ago, it seemed like everyone was talking about pollo a la brasa, or Peruvian rotisserie chicken. One evening before checking out a friend’s band at Satellite Bar, we finally seized the opportunity to try some at Chicken Station located across Harrisburg Blvd. Suitably impressed by chef Roberto Castre’s take on charcoal-grilled fowl, we made it back for lunch on a recent Thursday afternoon to have another go at the succulent bird and dig a little deeper into the menu with an order of tallerín saltado, a Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) dish of stir-fried beef, vegetables, and noodles, and a refreshing glass of hibiscus ginger lemonade ($2.50).

1/2 Station Tray ($11.75). The sacks of mesquite charcoal hulking behind the counter are your first hint of what to expect. You know those rotisserie chickens you buy at the grocery store on the way from work when you don’t feel like cooking? Chicken Station approximates that classic supper savior, but for about twice the price, they will send you home with a significantly more delicious meal that only has to be unpacked to enjoy. Less than $12 gets you half a chicken, including breast, wing, thigh, and leg, plus two sides. (Our server thought our chicken was too small, so comped us an extra leg quarter, which we were only too happy to accept.) The verdict: this is spot-on chicken, with crispy skin and juicy meat—even the breast was spectacularly moist—and an assertive salt and garlic seasoning that doesn’t require you to mentally hunt for flavor. Another comparison might be the wood-smoked chicken served at certain barbecue joints, but with its bronzed, rendered, non-rubbery skin, Chicken Station’s bird more than competes on this front, too.

For our sides, we selected fried yuca and grilled veggies. Thanks to Chicken Station’s practice of frying to order, the crisp cubes of yuca, or casava, go from a bland tuber to a luxurious treat, especially after a dip in one of the three mayonnaise-based salsas offered at checkout. Varying slightly in color and more so in heat, each sauce offers creaminess and an added layer of seasoning. All three are similarly tasty, but our favorite was the greenish one, which was billed as “medium” but seemed a bit hotter than the reddish “hot” one. Nicely browned and not overcooked, the side of grilled zucchini and red onion is smooched by the same charcoal smoke that makes the chicken so magical.

Tallarín Saltado ($14.75). Consisting of stir-fried cubes of marinated steak, onions, bell peppers, and noodles, this Chinese-Peruvian dish satisfied with an intensely browned bovine flavor. We’d really ordered too much, so we saved half of this dish and later snacked on the cold leftovers in lieu of a proper evening meal. While this dish was delicious, there were a few tough chunks of meat in the mix that shouldn’t have been there at this price point.

Chicken Station’s slogan, “Best chicken ever… literally,” smacks of hubris, but we must say that the bird served here really is a perfect example of how delicious this quotidian fowl can be in skilled hands. FYI, Chicken Station also offers a quarter-chicken lunch for under $8. Rendered with appetizing clarity on the digital menu behind the counter, the burgers and sandwiches look great, too.