Hakuna Matata

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)

NY Chicken and Rice in Oak Lawn

Some of the regular readers over here may remember my distaste for New York style chicken and rice. The dish made famous by the likes of Halal Guy's is now a national thing in part to them. You can find my thoughts on Halal Guys HERE. Aside from Halal Guy's there's a few spots in Chicago that are also doing chicken and rice. Places that I visited once and never felt a need to return. To put it simply NY style chicken and rice is basically made from a bunch of ingredients that some Southern Cali canines wouldn't even touch. Mass produced frozen crap is pretty much what it is. Drunk food.

 Locals favorite in Oak Lawn 

Enter Hakuna Matata. It's a pretty typical Middle Eastern fast food joint. You know the drill. Falafel, shawarma, mixed plates etc. The only thing that's somewhat unique about the spot is it used to be a fast food joint. Well that and the fact they make a pretty tasty NY style chicken and rice. I actually ordered it by accident bc what I got and the shawarma are two different things. I got a mix which is slang for chicken and lamb over rice. I doubt the product from here is much different than the other spots but they do a really good job of cooking it. The little cubes of meat were well browned (not steamed) and the rice tasted like actual rice and not off putting like so many of the other spots did. As always the white sauce was drizzled over the top. This is by no means destination dining but if you're ever driving along 95th or you live near here you can do much worse. Bonus points for having a drive thru and being open until 2am everyday. Much better than Taco Bell, Wendy's, and the likes.

Mix Plate at Hakuna Matata 

Hakuna Matata
6035 95th St
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
(708) 424-2490