Chifa Grill Chicken Restaurant

-Grubbing in Chicago  

Where the locals eat

Albany Park is one of those neighborhoods that always has new food spots opening up. These are usually international type places as the neighborhood itself is a melting pot of people. When I spied a spot with 'Chifa' in it's name it caught my attention immediately. Chifa being the term used to describe Cantonese style Chinese food as made by the people of Peru. That said Chifa Grill Chicken Restaurant is actually an Ecuadorian spot. This makes sense when you read up on the history of Chifa which has traveled to other parts of South America including Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador.

Newly Opened in Albany Park 

After noticing this place I went online to try and find it's menu. What I found was promising with a few of the Chifa style dishes sounding delicious. However upon visiting we learned they changed their menu and now it was basically two different sections of food with one being homestyle Ecuadorian cuisine and the other being typical American-Chinese options. Bummer. But they did have one fusion dish which goes by Chifa Chaulafan or Ecuadorian style fried rice. I'm sure the recipe varies from place to place but here they fried rice with everything from chicken to hot dogs. Other items inside the mound of rice were shrimp, pork, raisins, plantains. A cup of garlic sauce poured over the top was terrific. I enjoyed this dish but left wishing they had a few other Chifa inspired options for me to try. I guess I'll have to wait until my next trip down to South Florida to find them.

Chifa Chaulafan aka Ecuadorian Style Fried Rice

Chifa Grill Chicken Restaurant
3536 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 754-8163