I heard about this one when I saw on a social networking site that it was one of my professor’s favorite books.  This was before I had his class and I shared some of his tastes in music, movies, and other books (e.g. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist).  My opinion of him lowered after taking the class, but I remembered his choices and I decided to give Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZATAOMM) a try when I saw it was part of the limited audiobook collection at the Covina Library.  I needed something to get me through some cleaning chores.  ZATAOMM has a weird title but I read an excerpt and it seemed like an uplifting journey of self-discovery similar to The Alchemist.

My impression wasn’t entirely correct, however.  It is about a journey and about self-discovery, but not so much uplifting.  It jumps around between an account of the author’s cross country motorcycle trip, his descriptions of how he maintains his motorcycle, and his expounding on philosophy.  There isn’t much organization and a lot of digressing making it hard to follow.  I have no doubts about his high intelligence but can’t say that about his clarity.  With the word “zen” in the title I expected more about unity, calm, acceptance, and non-duality.  But the book seems to focus more on conflicts, divisions, categories, and differences.  He explains how his approach differs from his travelling companions.  He mentions his philosophy as actually someone else’s, an enigmatic figure he calls Phædras, who turns out to be an earlier alternate personality of his own.  I learned this through Internet research.  I found everything just too bizarre and disconcerting, insightful, but not the kind of insights I wanted to explore.

I made it through the first 3 of the 13 CD’s that comprised the audiobook.  I estimated that to be about 100 pages (the print copies of the book range from 380-449 pages), well above the rule of fifty.  I learned the rule of fifty from Nancy Pearl, a retired library and author from Seattle.  She wrote a book called Book Lust that suggests books for reading by many categories.  Book Lust also describes the “The rule of fifty” that state that “if you’re fifty years old or younger, give every book about fifty pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading it, or give it up.  If you’re over fifty, which is when time gets even shorter, subtract your age from 100–the result is the number of pages you should read before deciding.”  Based on the rule, I’m giving up on ZATAOMM.  I’ll leave the Zen to the Buddhist temple in Hacienda Heights and the art of motorcycle maintenance to the Harley Davidson store in West Covina.

 Three or four years ago, Paul Rodgers, the lead singer of the success groups Free and Bad Company got together with the active members of Queen:  guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.  They went on tour billed as “Queen + Paul Rodgers” playing both old Queen songs along with the hits of Free and Bad Company.  We saw them 2½ years ago at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now called Honda Center).  Well, they enjoyed working together so much that they released an album of original material, “The Cosmos Rocks” on October 28.

“The Cosmos Rocks” is a straightforward rock record.  The music seems more akin to Bad Company than Queen, though it has much more of a polished, pop sound than Paul Rodgers’s earlier music.  It has kinetic rockers (“Cosmos Rockin”, “Time to Shine”, and “Surf’s Up, School’s out”), rhythmic tracks (“Still Burning”, “Call Me”), soulful ballads (“Small”, “Some Things that Glitter”), rockin’ jabs at the military (“Warboys”), and pop culture (“C-lebrity”) and brooding blues tracks (“Through the Night”, “Voodoo”).  Paul sings lead on most songs with Roger and Brian on backgrounds.  What brings the songs above the ordinary is Brian May’s guitar playing especially during the solos.  “Warboys” is interesting in that they use war sound effects such as explosions and machine guns.  The song seems to glorify war but then turns to critique with the line “Warboys, your boys, politicians’ toys.”  I think my favorite track is “Voodoo” because it doesn’t fit a generic mold.  At times it’s dark and others rockin’ with Brian’s guitar solo dominating.  “Say it’s not true” features all three of them singing lead at different times.  It’s about the devastating effects of AIDS, the illness that took Freddy Mercury, Queen’s original lead singer and frontman.

Paul, Brian, and Roger aren’t trying to sound like Queen, Bad Company, Free, or anything from the past.  They’re just playing what they want to play and it makes for fun listening.

 The Cure released a new album on October 28 called “4:13 Dream”.  They’ve been fairly regular, releasing an album of new material every four years since 1992.  That’s also about as long as I’ve been following them seriously, though I’ve known of them longer and they’ve been around for about 30 years with numerous lineup changes.  I’ve seen them live three times, the last time being their Curiosa Festival four years ago in support of their album “The Cure”.  I haven’t been following them as closely this year.  They did play a live show at the Hollywood Bowl at the end of May of this year, the same night we saw Swervedriver.  They’ve been releasing singles for 4:13 Dream since June.  I’d listened to snippets of them on the internet and for my birthday my wife got me the EP of remixes of the four singles called “Hypnagogic States” that I’ve enjoyed.  The theme of this latest has been 13 since it’s their 13th studio album.  They released the singles on June 13, July 13, August 13, and September 13 (all dates in the UK, US dates vary since singles in the U.S. are released on Tuesday by tradition).

Earlier this year I heard that The Cure were going to release a double album that contained both upbeat and depressing songs similar to 1987’s “Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me”.  Later I heard that they changed their plan from releasing one double album to two standard length albums, the first to contain the upbeat songs and the second the darker ones.  4:13 Dream would be the first of the two released.  These might be just rumors and after obtaining and listening to the album several times I’m no longer sure about them.

The album art is mostly abstract renderings and outlines of faces and hands on a watercolor background.  There are also arrows and x’s that suggest a map or trail.  It’s interesting but I wouldn’t say it’s as upbeat as the child-drawn fantasy on “The Cure” or the smiling toy on a bright yellow background on 1996’s “Wild Mood Swings”.  Then again, despite their album art, neither of those albums was 100% upbeat but rather contained a mixture of happy and gloomy songs.  The art for 4:13 Dream seems to combine the gloomy sleeve of 1981’s “Faith” (also full of dark songs) with the playful upbeat sleeve of 1992’s “Wish” (another mixture of upbeat and down).  The sleeve of 4:13 Dream is by Parched Art that is the art company owned by current (and past) Cure guitarist Porl Thompson that also did the album art for Faith.

Like the album art, the music on 4:13 Dream does not fall into a clear category of upbeat or dark or even angry.  The first track, “Underneath the Stars”, suggests gloom with its long beginning (a Cure trademark), heavy guitar with a bit of keyboard thrown in.  But the song isn’t sad, but low key, reminiscent of “Closedown” from their 1989 album “Disintegration” (but much lighter on keyboard) or possibly “Jupiter Crash” from “Wild Mood Swings”.  Things pick up greatly with the next track, “The Only One”, also one of the singles.  The song has what sounds like a xylophone or marimba for accompaniment.  But the song seems more about obsession than about love.  “It gets crazier every day I stay with you / it’s like dream.”

The next track, “The Reasons Why” has upbeat music and gloomy lyrics.  The Cure have written many of these kinds of songs most famously “In-Between Days” from their 1985 album “The Head on the Door”.  “The Reasons Why” leans more towards gloom that that earlier song.  The mood changes with the next track, “Freakshow”, a song about craziness (of a date? An relationship? A club? It’s hard to tell.)  Whatever it is, it sounds fun.  The album version actually sounds more “sane” than the remix because it has clear verses.  The next song, “Siren’s Song”, isn’t quite so hectic.  They bring back the xylophone sound.  It’s a casual song that tells a story about being seduced.  It’s also uncharacteristically short.

The next track, “The Real Snow White” tells a very different story.  It seems to be a tense conversation between a man and a woman with Robert Smith singing both parts.  He sings on without stopping for breath.  It’s an uneven sounding song, but that suits the theme.  The tone stays the same but the theme changes for the next song, “The Hungry Ghost”, a tense critique of society’s unlimited materialistic wants.  “All the stuff we know we never want / seems like we get it anyway.”  The hungry ghost is a metaphor for the pressures of society.  The tone is accusatory and a bit self-righteous but not altogether gloomy.  The next track, “Switch” is darker.  It’s a rant about getting older, becoming more disillusioned, losing friends, seeing people for who they really are, etc.  It’s similar to “Cut” from Wish but not quite as dark.

Things do brighten up for the next track, “The Perfect Boy”, another single.  It’s a story of a relationship told between a woman and man (again, Robert sings both parts continuously and even gives commentary).  Things start off good (“He is the perfect boy”) but ultimately don’t work out (“He’s not the perfect boy at all”).  But the song maintains a cheerful tone throughout as if it’s OK it didn’t work out.  The next song, “This, Here and Now.  With You”, is a playful rant urging the listener, a partner in an relationship, not to focus on the past, not to ask or think about it.  It’s a very vocal song that seems to change intensity with each stanza or maybe that’s just Robert’s voice changing register.

The intensity and speed pick up for the next track, the single “Sleep When I’m Dead.”  The lyrics don’t seem to make much sense.  “Give it to the chicken/ and see if it ticks/ Give it to the kitten / and see if it sicks.”  It seems to be about having to meet the demands of others (as a pop star?) and having no time to relax (hence “Sleep when I’m dead.”)  That’s a rough interpretation.  Like some others on this CD, it’s a short track, atypical for The Cure.  But the reference to a feline is typical of their early work.  Robert begins the next track, “Scream” by singing in a lower register.  His voice gets higher as the song builds in intensity until he literally screams the title of the song.  At one point his scream blends with a higher guitar chord.  The next track, the last one, the appropriately titled “It’s Over” begins with a long, fast guitar showcasing Porl’s skills.  It’s another fast and ranting song this time about ending (a dysfunctional affair? A career? It’s not clear.)  What’s interesting is that The Cure have had a song about ending on their past 5-6 albums (e.g. “End” from Wish, “Bare” from Wild Mood Swings, “39” from “Bloodflowers” (“The fire is almost out, but there’s nothing left to burn”), and “Alt.End” from The Cure (“This may be the last thing we do . . .”)).  It’s like they’re always hinting at something but never going through with it.  Most of these songs allude to or advocate a calm ending but not “It’s Over”.  The song wants to just shut things down now, throw up its hands, be done with it.

No, I wouldn’t call this an upbeat album.  The most upbeat songs are probably “The Only One” and “The Perfect Boy” (and arguably “Freakshow”, though it seems more crazy than happy to me.)  Neither of these approaches the unabashed brightness of “Friday I’m in Love” or “Mint Car” and they tackle less-than-upbeat themes.  Then again, there’s nothing as gloomy as “100 Years” or “39” from earlier albums though “Scream” and “It’s Over” do sound pretty hopeless.  The songs have many different moods but don’t quite have the “Wild Mood Swings” of that earlier album or The Cure or Wish.  4:13 Dream presents more complex concepts than merely upbeat or dark moods.  It explores missed potential for happiness (“The Perfect Boy”), discontent with society (“The Hungry Ghost”), obsession (“The Only One”), and living in the moment (“This, Here and Now. With You”).  Some songs are crazy fun (“Freakshow”) or just crazy (“Sleep When I’m Dead”).  I enjoyed the album more with repeated listening.  I keep finding new things such as profound lyrics and musical arrangement.  If anything, the album is not shallow.

The Cure have released their previous four albums in years that included or preceded major changes in my life.  “Wish” came out the year I finished high school.  “Wild Mood Swings” came out the year I graduated college.  “Bloodflowers” came out the year before I changed jobs and moved to the San Fernando Valley.  “The Cure” came out the year before I left SFV and got married.  I don’t know exactly what changes will occur this year or next.  The past four years have included so many changes already.  Life is a “Freakshow” to satisfy “The Hungry Ghost” and we don’t know “The Reasons Why”.  But at least we have “This Here and Now.  With You”.

 We celebrated my wife’s birthday (actual day October 29) early this year by seeing The Kooks play at the House of Blues Anaheim on Monday, October 27.  The Kooks released their first CD two years ago and another earlier this year.  They’re from Brighton, England.  My wife first heard of them within the past year.  She read in an online music journal that they had a bassist named Max Rafferty.  He has since left the band and been replaced twice, though his playing and co-writing are featured on the two albums.  This was our second concert at the House of Blues Anaheim in one month and our third in three months so we knew fairly well how to get there.  This time there was no Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 or anything like that.  We just parked at Downtown Disney like we did for the Gospel Brunch in August.  We arrived at Downtown Disney at 5 pm.  It only took us one hour to drive from downtown L.A. but it probably would have taken us longer if we had left later.  Downtown Disney was crowded as usual with parents and young children and others.  We had dinner at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express that serves ready-made Creole and Southern food.  We had eaten at the sit-down part of this restaurant back in 2001, my first time at Disneyland.

The restaurant is right across from the House of Blues Anaheim.  As we finished eating at around 6 pm we could see a queue of young people forming at the foot to the staircase to the venue.  It was one hour before the doors were scheduled to open.  We queued up and waited.  Most of the queue consisted of young women, teenagers or not much older, mostly Caucasians, though there were also many young men and some Asians.  I saw a few parents with their son and/or daughter.  Some of the young people wore Kooks t-shirts.  At 6:20 they started putting up poles with chains to make it into a more orderly “Disneyland-style” queue.  They finished setting it up and let us assemble in it.  A venue employee worked down the line giving everyone wristbands.  She asked each person whether they were over or under 21.  If they were under they got a pink wristband, over they had to show ID and got a black one.  We had to show our ID’s but I noticed that she didn’t check ID for one of the parents.  Another venue employee announced that the band would be signing CD’s after the concert and they would be selling CD’s inside for this purpose. 

By 7:10 the queue extended outside the poles and chains, around the perimeter, in front of Tortilla Jo’s Cantina and beyond.  Some young people near the front of the queue started cheering and whooping.  It was ten minutes past when the doors were scheduled to open and they were getting restless.  At 7:12 pm, the venue employees started taking tickets and the queue moved briskly.  Security consisted of a pat-down, though I saw one employee with a wand.  We climbed the staircase into the venue.  They were selling merchandise for cash only at a table at the top of the stairs just outside the door.  My wife bought a yellow Kooks T-shirt and some Kooks buttons.  At another table they sold CD’s that fans could buy and have the band autograph after the concert.  The House of Blues restaurant was open and kept separate from the concert venue.  I went downstairs and handed my parking slip to a venue employee who had it validated at the restaurant bar.  While going down there I saw someone who looked like a parent tell her daughter and daughter’s friend that she was staying upstairs while they went downstairs.  It seemed like the young people were on the ground floor standing in front of the stage while us older folks sat on stools on the upper floor.

We entered the upstairs part of the venue and found seats at stools along the upper railing.  They were in the back left corner facing the stage.  Most of the stools in the back were taken by the time we entered since it’s easier to see the stage from the back than from the sides.  In the upper far corners they had mounted large screens that would show the stage allowing us to see the obstructed parts.  Before the performance began the screens showed promotions for Live Nation concerts including footage of a Mika concert.  The House of Blues was decorated similar to when we saw James earlier in the month.  The only difference I noticed was that they had cobweb decorations hanging from the ceiling for Halloween.  From the upper level I could read the message above the stage that said “Unity in Diversity” and “All are one.”  For the pre-show canned music, they played Blues, appropriate for the venue.

Unlike at the James concert, there was no curtain covering the stage and we could see all the equipment set up.  At 8 pm the opening act, The Whigs, came out on stage.  The lead singer/guitarist said, “Hello y’all.  We’re The Whigs from Athens, Georgia.”  The Whigs consisted of the lead singer/guitarist, bassist, and drummer.  They played loud and fast with the lead singer moving kinetically around the stage.  He wore a red flannel shirt and his longish hair partially obscured his eyes.  He had a loud, slightly lower voice, though he didn’t have a thick Southern accent.  They made use of the spotlights, primarily red and orange colors.

As we watched some employees gave these stickers to the group of people next to us permitting them to sit at the lower rail.  The seats at the lower rail were blocked off with rope and anyone who ducked under the rope on their own was sent back.  They seemed to give stickers to people who ordered many drinks from the bar servers.  As they moved to the lower rail we were able to move over to the stools they left that had slightly better views.

The Whigs continued through their set that seemed long at 11 songs for an opening act.  Some songs were more rhythmic featuring the drumming.  Others featured the bassist or the lead singer on keyboard.  Between songs the lead singer talked a bit asking if we were excited about the Kooks and saying this was their first show in Anaheim.  One song with the lead singer on keyboard and the bassist on guitar started slow and atmospheric sounding a bit like The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.  But it got louder when they added the drum and had an extended guitar solo.  Another song had the folksy-sounding line “I don’t care what your old man thinks.”  Towards the end the lead singer said, “You guys pumped about The Kooks?  We got two more.  Thanks for having fun with us.”  His Southern accent was evident in the penultimate number.  He sang fast sounding a bit like the verses of The Beatles’ “Get Back”.  They got everyone clapping for the last song, played an extended version and kept playing louder and faster.  They finished and walked off the stage to loud cheering and applause at 8:45 pm.  No curtain fell.

We had full view of the crew taking down The Whigs’ equipment and setting up for The Kooks.  The Whigs’ lead singer and bassist helped them out.  There were some cheers from the crowd, possibly for them.  The crew set up an elevated drum kit towards the back of the stage.  They taped white pieces of paper to the floor near where the band members would position themselves.  At 9:05 pm the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered but it was just a teaser and they came back on.  We knew things would get going soon because smoke spewed from a pipe above the stage.

At 9:15 pm the lights went out for real.  We heard a guitar playing and lots of cheering.  I’m not sure if the playing was canned but the band came out on stage and with a “Hello, we’re The Kooks” they went straight into their first number, the loud and fast “Always Where I Need To Be.”  The Kooks consisted of the lead singer Luke Pritchard, the second bassist they’ve had since Max Rafferty left the band, the guitarist wearing a hat and vest, and the drummer who wore a suit and tie throughout the concert.  Luke played no instrument for the first number but would soon pick up an electric rhythm guitar and would also play a small acoustic guitar for several songs.  From where we were sitting we could see the bassist clearly and the drummer and Luke most of the time.  We couldn’t see the guitarist in person but could see him on the screens.

The next number, “Matchbox”, started minimally with the guitar and drums but got louder after the first verse when the whole band joined in.  Luke was handed an electric guitar.  The song contained the repeated self-referential line “The Kooks are out in the street.”  It ended with a line sung a cappella.  The next song, “Eddie’s Gun” started loud and fast and stayed that way through its short duration.  After wrapping that one up, Luke said, “Thank you very much.”  He spoke with a thick English accent I sometimes had trouble understanding.  “We’re from Brighton,” he continued, “We’re enjoying our time here in the Orange County.  We particularly enjoy the Mickey Mouse Police.” (Or was that last word “place”?)  “Maybe you can help us sing the next one.”  Luke picked up an acoustic guitar and they performed the slower but still loud “Ooh La”.  The song actually sounded more rockin’ live than the album recording.

They used only the colored spotlights for visual effects.  For the next song, “Sway”, they shined yellow spotlights from in front of the band causing their enlarged shadows to appear on the backdrop.  Like most songs, the song started slower and more acoustic but got louder by the first chorus.  In contrast, the next song, “Time Awaits”, began with a loud guitar, got faster after the first verse, and had everyone clapping.  It did get a bit less loud for the guitar solo.  At another point, Luke stepped in front of the speakers and closer to the crowd.  The next number, “I Want You” began with the atmospheric feedback of the guitar.  It got louder and more rockin’ with the addition of the drums and was especially loud at the end.

Before the next song someone seemed to be trying to tell Luke that his (the person’s) glasses were on stage.  Luke couldn’t find them but did acknowledge that one of the crowd said they were from Brighton.  The Kooks then did the more subdued and introspective “One Last Time” that began acoustically.  Most of the crowd sang along.  Before the next song Luke said he wanted everyone on their feet especially us watching from upstairs.  They then played the loud and rollicking “She Moves in Her Own Way” followed by the equally rollicking and fun song “Mr. Maker”.  Next, they played the equally loud but faster “Do You Wanna”.  The crowd sang along with the chorus.  This song is on the soundtrack for the TV show “Gossip Girl” on the CW that’s popular with young people.  This might explain why The Kooks are popular with them.  Luke got very close to the fans and reached toward them to shake hands.

The next song they played was “Naïve”.  When my wife got their first album and played it, this song sounded familiar to me.  I must have heard it as a soundtrack to a trailer or maybe on the radio.  They began the song quickly with just the guitar and soon added the rest of the band.  Before the next song Luke mentioned that the drummer performing with them was named Nick Millard and he wasn’t actually part of the band.  Tim, the bassist/keyboards for The Whigs joined them to play keyboard for the song “Shine On”.  The spotlights appropriately shined orange-yellow light and the crowd sang along with the chorus.  The next song, “See the World”, began with some feedback and loud guitar playing.  After that they performed “You Don’t Love Me” that was even louder and more rockin’ and stayed that way throughout.  They finished and left the stage at 10:15 pm.

The crowd cheered in fits and starts but it was enough for Luke to return.  He said he would play a few tunes and then “the boys would return.”  He had the acoustic guitar.  Someone threw their billed hat onto the stage and Luke put it on, thanking the thrower and promising to return it.  He performed “Seaside”, a slow but festive number.  It was amazing how much sound he created with just his voice and the guitar.  He’s really the dominant force in the band.  He then played a new song, “Princess of My Mind”, a slow, sad, and passionate number.  At the urging of a fan he tried to sing part of the song “California” that’s by another artist but recorded by The Kooks as a cover.  My wife downloaded and assembled a collection of their non-album singles that included “California”.  Luke couldn’t remember the lyrics even though the fan was singing along.  Luke complimented them on their voice.  Someone else requested the non-Kooks song “Young Folks”, also on that collection, but Luke said he couldn’t remember it.  Instead, he did a soulful, acoustic version of “Jackie Big T**s”.  Towards the end of the song he seemed to be suppressing a laugh.

The guitarist, Hugh Harris, joined Luke for the next song, “Tick of Time”, that was louder and more rockin’ than the previous ones.  Luke referred to him as “Mr. Hugh.”  After they performed he introduced “Peter Denton on bass” who returned along with the drummer.  The Kooks then played “Stormy Weather” that had a strong bass line along with loud guitar and bass solos.  They played an extended version that was nearly the duration of two songs.  Luke stepped into the crowd and they seemed to be holding him up.  They played loud and intensely and they ended at 10:42 pm.  They bowed and walked off stage.  The canned music coming back on signaled that there would be no more encores.

When we left, the parking attendant let us just drive out for free.  The concerts at House of Blues Anaheim continued to “Shine On” even this “One Last Time” this year.

  We first heard about Juan Pollo from the quarterly coupon magazine for Azusa, Irwindale and other surrounding areas.  It seemed like an inexpensive place that served rotisserie chicken cooked under a flame.  Earlier in the week, I stopped by there to pick up a take-home menu.  It’s located in a large strip mall on the north side of Alosta Avenue (A.K.A. Route 66) just west of Barranca Avenue and very close to Azusa Pacific University (APU).  The take-home menu stated that they made “The Best Testing Chicken!  Better Than Char-Broiled!”  It includes many individual items, up to a whole chicken and includes the Big Burrito that comes with rice and “benas”.  The menu also has a section on catering.  It includes everything from the Mini Pack (1 whole chicken with medium sized beans, rice, and potato salad to serve 2-3 people) to the Party Pak # 3 (20 whole chickens with pans of beans, rice, and potato salad to serve 50-60 people).  The fine print below the catering items says, “Due to business demands, Party Park may or may not be available at given times of day.”  That’s three typos in one menu.  What’s also interesting was that when we went to BonChon Chicken in Koreatown for my wife and sister-in-law’s birthday on October 29, their menu listed one type of chicken option as “Soy Galic”.  See my sister-in-law’s Multiply site for more on BonChon.  Maybe there’s something about chicken places and spelling.

Further research revealed that Juan Pollo is a chain restaurant that’s been around since 1984 and has most of its locations in San Bernardino County.

On Saturday, November 1, we decided to try the Juan Pollo in Azusa.  It’s a small eatery near a Subway and a Dollar Store in that strip mall.  It only has about 7-8 tables and a restroom for customers only.  The counter/open kitchen takes up most of the south wall.  On the north wall are pictures of the cartoon character Juan Pollo and his cousins including “Surf Pollo” (6th cousin), “Football Pollo” (10th cousin) and Chickie Baby (5th cousin).  There are also pictures of different colored Pollo cadets who look like chickens in Power Ranger or Mexican wrestler outfits.  The restaurant was moderately busy while we were there.  Several customers came and ordered including a mother with her three young children.  Some just ordered to go and most placed their orders in Spanish. 

I placed our orders at the counter and was handed them less than one minute after ordering.  Apparently they are always making the chicken and they just have to parse out the desired portions.  The place is similar to El Pollo Loco but different in that they use a rotisserie in place of a straight grill.  They also don’t have all the side dishes, only offering beans, rice, and potato salad.  All orders come with their salsa made fresh daily (choice of mild or spicy) and tortillas (choice of corn or flour).

Our orders came with a lot more food than we thought they would.  My half chicken special came with a lot of chicken and about five tortillas wrapped in foil (I chose corn) along with the salsa.  My wife got the lunch combo that the menu states only comes with two pieces of chicken, but her order actually seemed like more than that, possibly as much as a half chicken.  With the small rice and potato salad and salsa and tortillas (also corn) it was enough for two people.  Their prices in the restaurant were actually less than on the take home menu ($4.99 for the half chicken and $5.49 (versus $5.99) for the lunch special.)

The chicken was the highlight of the meal and it tasted great.  They marinated it with spices that complimented rather than overpowered the inherent taste of the chicken.  The outside was slightly crunchy and the inside juicy.  Even the white meat came apart easily.  Their homemade salsa is also good.  My wife liked that it only has a little bit of cilantro rather than overflowing with it.  It has jalapenos to make it spicy along with tomatoes, onions, and even some bits of carrot, the first time I’ve had them in salsa.  But it’s very good, not too salty or with any one ingredient dominating the taste.  The tortillas are a bit thin and fall apart easily since they heat them.  My wife liked that they gave us an adequate amount of tortillas rather than too many.  Though it was a lot of chicken, it tasted so good that we couldn’t help finishing it.  My wife doggy-bagged most of her rice and all of her potato salad.

We were quite full when we left.  If we’re really in a financial bind we could probably just split a half chicken for lunch and really save money.  Juan Pollo may not be able to spell but they sure know how to make chicken that’ll pass anyone’s test.