Pollo Tropical

We usually theme dine after a play but couldn't find anyplace serving mockingbirds. So we ended up at Pollo Tropical. This place has been getting good reviews and had wanted to try it.

Food is good but lacks that 'criollo edge' found at many island eateries on Park Street and Franklin Avenue. It is, after all, a chain. You order food at the counter, get a number and retrieve the food when it's ready.

I had the chicken and ribs [$8.69] with yellow rice and black beans. The half chicken is well seasoned and the small rack of ribs has a lot of flavor. Where it lacked was in the sides. There is a large salsa bar with a good assortment of condiments; the mojo was strong and the guava barbecue sauce was sweet and lush. There were two strengths of a cilantro/tomato salsa, the mild one a little watery.

The others tried the yucca, white rice and the roast pork tropical. All were good but not terrific. We ended with an order of fried sweet plantains which were right from the fryer. They got a couple of flan to go.

bloginfo: 465 Flatbush Avenue, Hartford, CT and the website has a lot of info.
blognote: Saw lots of these in Miami so they seem to be more Cuban than what I am used to. Will try it out again!