The Art of Chicken

El jefe or Crazy Chico, you can’t go wrong! I usually go with the half chicken and a side of sweet potatoes after the gym and this is the perfect combination of protein and carbs after a workout. Sometimes I’m feeling fancy and get the Mac n cheese too. Even the veggies are seasoned well and they are very tasty. I’ll keep coming back as long as I am in the area.

Good chicken but I don’t know. The concept needs a lot of work.
The art of chicken makes you think that there’d be something more sophisticated to this or something more complex/​refined. And you’d expect that to be reflected in the descriptions of the chicken. Something to make your mouth water… They serve two types of chicken but based on their description, I can’t even tell how they’re supposed to be different. It was confusing. And although the chicken we picked was pretty good the sides were definitely not… pretty bland overall.

One of the rudest individuals I’ve ever dealt with that was «supposed» to take our order, the guy proceeded to completely ignore me and my wife as we were the only ones in line for about five minutes! as he stood there doing nothing. The cook had to come up and ask us what chicken we wanted and he was right behind the rude guy who still didn’t take our order! Used to really like this place but after this experiance will not be back!

Excellent chicken marinated is excellent. French Fries seasoning is amazing. All around excellent place to go for lunch or dinner.

This place is really great! So far I’ve only tried the El Jefe chicken & it was very delicious. The chicken was also very moist too, which sometimes can be hard to do with grilled/​broiled chicken. The chicken was not dried out at all! The sides are also really good as well. My favorites for sides are the fries, mashed potatoes and mac & cheese. Next on my list is the Crazy Chico chicken! If you like or love chicken, I would definitely give this place a try! Prices are very reasonable as well!

Friendly service, and the mac & cheese is to die for! Great quality chicken and seasoned to perfection– however, even though I ordered a quarter size chicken, I was kind of let down when I saw just how small the chicken leg & breast piece were.

I am bad about using Unilocal just to gripe about places but I am trying to redeem myself and be positive. I have been going here for years and it is just one of the best chicken places I have ever been to. The Chicken is always tender and the sauces really spice it up. The sides are all awesome and the corn on the cob is just to die for. A must eat and great for takeout.

A restaurant that obviously focuses on chicken vs. a vegetarian — they had enough delicious sides to make me forget they were a chicken restaurant. And ordering just sides, I had a very inexpensive lunch! This is a great spot to grab something to take with you or take a load off and enjoy the food right when it comes out of the kitchen. I know there’s a lot of new chicken places in town, but if you haven’t tried this one yet, you’re missing out.
Oh, and this is part of what I’ve been calling the «Walk Western» path — starting down at Challengers Comics (or coming off of the 606), hitting Margie’s/Quesadilla/The Art of Chicken/​Paladar for food, grabbing something sweet at GBD, hunting to get a piece of your childhood back at Toy de Jour, looking for oddities at Sideshow Gallery, and ending up at Logan Arcade. Great date day all in one stretch of Western that most people miss while doing the same old Milwaukee Ave stuff. All this while getting some exercise walking Western!

High hopes were dashed by very dry chicken. The sauces were very spicey (and I like spice) but too hot for my husband.
The fries were the best thing (5 star) crispy and awesome with some special coating and seasoning.
The Mac and cheese ok
The ‘steamed vegetables’ were horrible and like school lunch frozen veg.
Still on the hunt for awesome chicken.

We love the Art of Chicken.
Tonight, I picked up dinner on my way home (I live on Western). Once I got out of my car, the bottom of the bag was water logged and ripped open. All the food spilled out and was wasted in the dirty alley. I called up Art of Chicken and told them, showed them pictures and they made us a brand new order at no charge.
Great food and great business owners. We will be back.

I’m a huge charbroiled chicken fan. When I saw that there’s a chicken place closer than Wicker Park, I really wanted to try it. My first go around with Art of Chicken was just okay. We weren’t wowed by it.
This weekend, on the suggestion of my husband, my infant son and I did a stroller walk to lunch (for me) while my eldest son napped. When I stepped into their small storefront, their cute kitschy décor impressed me. For such a small place, they put a lot of thought into how it looks. When I looked over the menu, I asked the server at the window what was her favorite. She preferred «Crazy Chico» with its herbs and spices marinade. I stuck with my typical charbroiled chicken order of a half of chicken and a side. Since it’s been super hot lately, I got a beverage too.
The chicken is served on a cute metal plate with a tray and homemade salsas with pita bread. Crazy Chico chicken is amazing. It almost made me question my loyalty to Nick’s Pit Stop. It was a great blend of herbs and spices to make a tasty chicken. I had sweet potato fries which were tasty too. If there’s one thing I don’t like about Art of Chicken, it’s the pita bread. Theirs is dry and a little too salty. I like soft fluffy pita bread not overly chewy.
Overall, I like this place and will return again for another stroller walk lunch with my kiddo. The staff was really nice and helpful too.

God, I love this place. I live a block from here and every single day it is a STRUGGLE to not walk in here and order the El Jefe. Self-​control!!!
I’ve tried both El Jefe and the Crazy Chico. Chico is good but not as good as El Jefe, so I’d definitely recommend El Jefe over the Chico. For the side, the sweet potato fries are pretty on-​point and amazing. The pita you get as a free side and the salsas (both!) are phenom.
They’re pretty busy during dinner times but they’re always extremely nice to you. Really clean and nice space as well, if you would rather eat in!

Attention All Chicago Foodies !!!
I found the perfect Mexican grilled Chicken Spot !!!
I had the El Jefe order.
Man it was out of this world.
The salsas where fresh and on point.
The fries could also be a main course as well and
The chicken was moist inside and crispy goodness on the outside.
I Will definitely be back with friends and family.

Em jefe was delicious ! Quarter of a chicken and fries cooked to perfection! It must have been that overnight marinade. So moist, fries so crispy!

Similar to what M L. wrote, I’d tell people «I’m a vegetarian but I eat chicken.» Remember those posers who thought a vegetarian diet included chicken and fish?
I walked in an the felt like I was at a casual restaurant shack on south Florida. Good memories from when I lived there for a bit.
Anyhoo, I wish I ordered more! I got the El Jefe style. DELICIOUS crispy skin and tender dark meat yumminess. Excellent seasoning — I wish they added more but I am spice-​greedy. I recommend tasting the two hot sauces (green and red) — not that the chicken needs it.
Please open one in the West Loop!
I only thing I wasn’t impressed with was the boring sides menu of fries, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables,…

Finger lickin good! First time at this place and I walked out impressed, full and happy!
Their menu is simple. Choose the type of chicken you want between two choices, the El Jefe and the other one that is not as intense (LOL, can’t recall the name).
The pita bread that accompanies the chicken is good and kinda greasy but in a taste so good so who the hell cares kind of a way. I kept it simple with ½ of a chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I was in carb heaven and you will be too so go there now and tell yourself you’ll hit the gym tomorrow and eat steamed veggies only for the next 10 days. Their chicken is some of the best fried chicken I’ve had.

The Art of Chicken has amazing chicken! I came in one night after hot yoga and this is what I ordered —
–El Jefe
Very flavorful and moist! My mom and I loved it
–Mexican Corn
Did not enjoy this one, would not order again
–Sweet Potato Fries
Delicious! Perfectly crisp on the outside but still moist and wonderful on the inside
–Mexican Rice
Your average Mexican Rice. Nothing mind blowing about it but done very well and tasty
–Red Hot Sauce
My mom loved this! It’s quite spicy though so be careful in pouring it on your chicken!
Grand Total ~$ 15!
The Art of Chicken is a great deal and has very very delicious chicken. I would definitely order their sweet potato fries again but not any of the other sides that I ordered. I really want to try their mashed potatoes next time!
Bonus! The décor in here is absolutely adorable!

OMG soooo good!
Just ordered this yesterday when I was Unilocaling for Chicken while shopping at Target (Elston). Why haven’t I been here before?
Anyways we got 1.5 of El Jefe with mash potatoes, Spanish rice, and sweet potato fries as our sides. The entire family loved it — yes even our picky 3 year old loved it. My 1 year old also devoured everything.
Definitely my go to place for char-​broiled chicken :)

Love the crazy chicken. Have been about ten times after other place closed on damen. Great choice by me. Have had both and they taste similar but crazy chicken is my favorite. The Spanish rice is a must and the corn on the cob is great as well. Skip the veggies they aren’t very good. Limp and dead

Price has gone up from $ 10.99 to $ 13.99 for a whole chicken. The El Jefe was pretty darned tasty, whatever it is they smear it in. The skin was super crispy and full of flavor, although the flavor didn’t fully penetrate the chicken. If they were to marinade the chicken for longer, find bigger chickens, and lower the price, that would probably bring this review up to 5 stars.
Service was awesome I have to say. I was working out and called about 25 min before close to ask if I could place an order for pickup at around close. Lucky me, they said yes! The girl on the phone was friendly and my order was ready for pickup when I got there so I was in and out in 5 min.