15.--Barcelo's

Parking to the right a bit tight

We went to Barcelo's because we like chicken, the same reason we stopped going to Nando's near Guildford Shopping Center on 152nd street. We used to love Nando's, but they changed either the method of cooking, or the spices used, or the type of marinade they used (if indeed they use one; I don't know) or something; whatever changes they made to the chicken, they weren't good changes for my taste, nor my family's.

Barcelo's was a place we hadn't tried yet, and the only other choices we knew of being Church's or Kentucky Fried Chicken, we decided to give it a shot.

It was a nice surprise. The restaurant itself is appealing, spacious and clean and comfortable, although the parking lot outside left a little to be desired; there isn't much and the spaces are a tight fit, even with my compact car.

little lounge area for waiting

The food, however, is good for fast food. The chicken is reminscent of Nando's before it changed its flavor (note: we don't know if the changes are chain-wide; we only ever went to the one near Guildford). We ordered the spicy fries, which are not spicy. You have to add a sauce eerily similar to the Nando's peri-peri to make them spicy, which for some nameless reason annoyed me. If you have to add the sauce yourself don't call them "spicy", is my opinion.

The chicken was hot and juicy and flavorful. My sister said her chicken wasn't all that juicy, but my brother-in-law's, and mine, were. The young man behind the counter was considerate enough to tell us approximately how long our to-go order would take to be filled (eight minutes). Nine minutes later, which in my opinion was a pretty good guestimate on his part, we were walking out the door with our order. Three half chickens and a side of fries came to 36.25, including tax. A wee bit pricey but everything is these days.

self-serve pop

Ultimately I would have to say that whenever we decide we want fast-food chicken, we will be going to Barcelo's. At some point in the future we will be checking out other Nando's in the area. If we find that the original recipe has only changed for the one in Guildford, there will be a food fight comin'.