Derek W.
Yelp
I had a Fivestars reward for a certain percentage off my order at Pelicana Chicken, but for whatever reason, it was only for the Downey location. Since there were a couple places nearby I wanted to visit, I decided to use my Fivestars reward and see if the chicken really lived up to the hype.
Now I've heard the hype about their Peli Cheese Balls, but I think it's rather foolish to be writing a review of a chicken shop when you don't even try their chicken, right? Maybe on a future visit, I'll see how good their cheese balls really are, but unfortunately, on this visit, I was underwhelmed with the chicken that I got.
The Downey Pelicana Chicken is located in Downey Gateway on the southwest corner of Firestone and Downey. There are a lot of businesses in the area that it has a downtown-ish feel, but there's plenty of parking in the immediate lot. However, the lot is pretty narrow that if you have a really wide car, you need to be really careful and not hit a parked car on either side; one slight turn in either direction could result in a fender bender.
When I arrived, I saw a menu by the front door. Since I came at lunchtime on a weekend, I saw their lunch specials, and they only had two. One was a Chibob at $13, and the other was a Crispy Chicken Wrap at $9. The Chibob didn't sound that appealing to me, but a Crispy Chicken Wrap sounded like the perfect snack to munch on!
Once I entered, I didn't see anyone behind the order counter, but I saw the same menu there. However, on that menu, I noticed the lunch specials only ran from Monday through Friday, something I overlooked when I saw the menu at the front window. Once I realized this, the cashier (Valeria?) popped out of nowhere and was ready to take my order. I asked if the lunch specials would still apply on a weekend, and she said she could make it work. Yay! Otherwise, I would have had to pay ~$20 for a half chicken or 9-piece wings. ~$10 more for twice of each amount. Since I was business hopping like crazy that day, I definitely didn't want that much chicken!
When I checked in on Yelp, I noticed a Yelp check-in offer for a free fountain drink, and Valeria was happy to honor that. It was a pretty small cup that I believe is usually worth ~$2, but it definitely felt like even more savings. Whoo hoo!
After placing my order, I asked Valeria how long I'd have to wait. I would have guessed 10 minutes, especially since there were only a few other customers dining in, but to my surprise, she said about 20. Good thing I asked because I used about half that time to explore the surrounding area and see what other businesses were nearby.
After those 20 minutes passed, I saw Valeria bagging up a takeout order, and she was going to the bar at the rear end of the restaurant to fetch me my Diet Coke. Seems kind of odd that the customer can't get it for himself/herself, but I do appreciate how she made sure I got a full cup of soda rather than half soda, half bubbles.
In my takeout bag, she also included four packets of ketchup, which seemed rather odd considering a wrap also comes with homemade salsa, but as I learned the hard way, even adding ketchup wouldn't give the chicken the flavor I desired. I suppose when you order a wrap, you're not allowed to choose the flavor, which Pelicana has a handful of, but that shouldn't mean the chicken is overcooked to the point of being dry and not juicy like how Korean Fried Chicken should be. That better not be the reason why it takes 20 minutes to prepare a chicken wrap that was underwhelming and definitely not worth waiting for. I was expecting the chicken to at least be as good as nearby Crimson Coward, but perhaps that is a foolish comparison on my part as it didn't even come close. The edges of the tortilla used to wrap the chicken and spring mix were a little burnt, and the rest of the tortilla just didn't make the wrap taste any better.
Even though I got a nice deal on my wrap and complimentary drink, I'm sad to say I did get what I paid for. I used two packs of ketchup, but even that didn't elevate the flavor profile. Perhaps the Peli Cheese Balls would have been better, but as it stands, I'm giving the wrap 2.5 stars, rounding up to a 3 since Valeria provided good enough service that giving 2 stars would have been a disservice. However, I was in a pretty sour mood at the time of my visit, and the lackluster wrap didn't make it any better.
TLDR: This chicken shop on Downey in Downey was a downer. I'm willing to give their chicken a second try, but definitely not in the form of a crispy chicken wrap.