Review: Pollo Campero - Crunchy Bowl

Guatemalan Fried Chicken joint Pollo Campero's Crunchy Bowl features a bed of seasoned rice and pinto beans topped with diced crunchy fried chicken, diced onions, cilantro and pico de gallo. There's also a grilled chicken option available but who goes to a fried chicken restaurant for grilled chicken? Each bowl costs $4.99 each.

The best thing I can say about Pollo Campero's Crunchy Bowl is that it looks pretty good. But as with a girl, if that's the best thing you can say, there're going to be problems.

The ingredients were of fairly good quality; the veggies relatively fresh, and the chicken was adequately crunchy. But the rice and beans lacked flavor and seasoning beyond just salt (over 3000mg worth!). The chicken had some flavor but it wasn't particularly abundant and was overshadowed by the other stuff. There was a tartness from the pico de gallo but there was also a wetness and I ended up with a small pool of liquid at the end of the bowl.

Overall, the ingredients of the Crunchy Bowl didn't go well together. I was particularly disappointed by the rice and beans. I would just go for the chicken by itself for a better meal. I'm fairly sure Taco Bell could do this better and cheaper with their existing ingredients although I suppose it wouldn't be as pretty.

Pollo Campero Restaurant Locator

Nutritional Info - Pollo Campero Crunchy Bowl (602g)
Calories - 663 (from Fat - 312)
Fat - 35g (Saturated Fat - 7g)
Sodium - 3146mg
Carbs - 54g (Sugar - 5g)
Protein - 34g