The name Chicken Mania just screams hole-in-the-wall. If done right, these places, serving specialized menus to budget diners, can be a real treat.
Chicken Mania fits the bill as a charming little restaurant that passionately serves up Peruvian-inspired dishes. Although the namesake rotisserie chicken is great, it may not even be the best dish on the menu.
Tucked in a little building along Forest Hill Avenue near Stratford Hills, Chicken Mania is a counter-service restaurant that offers dine-in, to-go and delivery. The atmosphere leaves a little to be desired, with a fast-food feel. The lighting is a little too bright and the sound of the cable news network on the flat-screen feels more airport lounge than dining establishment. A few more accents representing the Peruvian fare and a little background music would go a long way here.
The menu focuses on Peruvian specialties, which include rotisserie chicken as well as more unique fare such as Peruvian chicken fried rice and sautéed spaghetti with chicken. In addition to the regular fountain drink options, traditional sodas, including Inca Cola ($1.70) are featured. Its flavor is hard to pinpoint, but it’s similar to a lemon-lime soda, though more fruity than tart. We enjoyed the nice change of pace and refreshing taste.
We had to try the traditional rotisserie chicken, so we ordered a half-chicken, which came with a choice of two sides ($6.99). The chicken was tasty, with nicely crisp skin and juicy, flavorful meat. The dark meat, especially, held up to the abundant and flavorful Peruvian spice blend. Fans of other rotisserie joints in town with more of a Tex-Mex slant will also enjoy Chicken Mania’s version, although a hint of char and unique spices give this version its own tasty identity.
Our choices of sides, cassava (yucca fries) and black beans, unfortunately, did not live up to the well-prepared chicken. The black beans were tasty, if uninteresting, but the cassava was most disappointing. Sliced thick, with a pale yellow color, the yucca was dry, without the nice crispy outer layer that makes cassava such a treat. We also added a side of fried sweet plantains ($2.50), which were, unfortunately, quite soggy.
Jon ordered the ceviche with leche de tigre ($11.99), a dish that would shine in any well-established fine dining restaurant in Richmond. The preparation of raw seafood cooked only in citrus juices may scare some, but, when done well, as it is here, it is a delight.
Traditionally, leche de tigre is served as a side dish consisting of the ceviche marinade, but Chicken Mania serves the lime-based marinade mixed with chunks of white fish, rings of calamari, shrimp and slices of onion. Served with an abundance of fresh cilantro and a cooked slice of sweet potato on the side, the fish was flavorful, the calamari tender and the shrimp fresh. Perfectly filling and refreshing for a hot summer day, Chicken Mania’s ceviche is a must-try.
For dessert, we chose the tres leches cake ($3.25), a traditional Latin-American white cake, usually marinated in condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk (or some variation of three milks). Normally impossibly moist, this version tasted like a dry cake that had been drowned in cream, so we were left disappointed.
We hope the silly name does not turn off any potential customers because Chicken Mania is making some serious food. It is serving up a mean ceviche and the Peruvian dishes are not your everyday Latin-American fare. With a livelier atmosphere and décor and some additional attention to bring the side dishes to the level of our entrees, we might go loco for Chicken Mania.
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