Penguin taste testers rarely get outside the Beltway, so if anyone’s got anything nice to say about Wheaton’s El Pollo Rico, speak up.
The rotisserie chicken shack and alleged money-laundering front went up in flames Saturday morning, to the dismay of Silver Spring shutterbug Chip Py the Photo Guy. Py was in the hood to score a little pollo con arroz y frijoles when he and his handy camera witnessed the fire department’s efforts to save the restaurant.
Thanks for the digitally enhanced pics, Chip. Hope you managed to find lunch on Saturday.
Looking ahead, here’s what’s cooking in Silver Spring this week:
Monday
2:00 p.m. The county’s planning department drops details on how it intends to spend a proposed $5 million appropriation pegged for the Silver Place project. It all goes down in Rockville, in front of the county council’s economic-development committee.
7:30 p.m. Silver Spring’s pedestrian safety and transportation committee talk about the Purple Line, and how it could swing through the area’s future library. Hit it at the Silver Spring Regional Center (8435 Georgia Ave).
Tuesday
6:30 p.m. The Silver Spring Public Library (8901 Colesville Rd) rolls the documentary “Soldiers Without Swords”, about the black-American press and its struggles against discrimination and censorship. The movie is free; the late fees on your library books will cost you.
Wednesday
5:30 p.m. Montgomery College’s Health Sciences Center (7977 Georgia Ave) holds an information session on its new undergraduate program in radiology, in conjunction with the College of Notre Dame. The open house free and open to the public, so why not?
Thursday
11:00 a.m. Historian Michael Twitty discusses the influence of enslaved and free black Americans on US cuisine and culture. The free talk hits Montgomery College’s Resource Center (7600 Takoma Ave, Takoma Park) and is open to the public.
1:30 p.m. Just in time for the recession, the Long Branch Public Library (8800 Garland Ave) hosts a free workshop on successful job-interviewing skills. Call (240) 777-0910 to register.
Photo: A digitally enhanced look at what remains of El Pollo Rico in Wheaton. Courtesy of Chip Py.
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Does anyone know what ever came of that thing with them? INS raid and millions in cash stuffed in the owners’ kitchen cabinets and whatnot? It sounded like a pretty big deal… buty they openned right back up, so who knows.
They were charged with a long list of crimes mostly involving tax evasion and the fraud involved with that. The federal incictment is online, They posted bond and opened their restaurant back up. At one point they will go to court they will need a very good lawyer and cash flow to pay them,
Oh, that is a horrible crop to my photo up above, no offense to Jen she does a wonderful job with this site.
If you like to see it in it’s full, uncropped glory and a few more photos please visit my Flickr site here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chip_py/
Chip Py
OMIGOD!
I’ve been trying to months to come at a time there wasn’t a line going down the block. Guess someone got tired of waiting?
This can’t be good. Bet if there’s an insurance company involved, they’re going to be really suspicious.
Oh, well, there are other good local Hispanic chicken places, I guess. I just got the impression theirs was fatty, oily, and, thus, delicious! ;-)
I had just eaten there the other night before the fire. To my dismay, the remains of the “quarter chicken” my friend got were still in my car until today…didn’t even notice until one of my friends pointed it out. The grease or whatever it is leaked through the bag, but thankfully it was caught by my rubber floor mat. Anyway, I really liked that place. Maybe it’ll come back…maybe not.
There was actual weeping over at Thayer Avenue headquarters when the news came in on the listserv. I’m sure he’s working on a fitting tribute to the demise of the Quarter Chicken– possibly in haiku form.
Editor’s note: This poster’s screen name was modified. — JD (Feb 27, 2008)
I’m sorry for Pollo Rico, don’t want to see that happen to anyone’s small business. BUT, if anyone is craving yummy peruvian rotisserie chicken, I always thought that Pio Pio, Super Chicken, about 5 storefronts down in the same plaza as Pollo Rico was WAY more tasty. Less grease, better sides, cheaper.
Editor’s note: Thanks for the tip, Jen. However, a few other shops in that plaza were destroyed by the fire as well. Let’s hope Pio Pio wasn’t one of them. — JD (Feb 27, 2008)