First look: Chicken Kitchen

Houstonist's friends in Miami are always talking about how much they love Chicken Kitchen, a South Florida-based fast-casual restaurant that specializes in — yes, you guessed it — chicken. So we were excited to find out that Chicken Kitchen has expanded to Houston, thanks to a class project in the Rice MBA program. The first Houston CK opened earlier this month in the Rice Village, a strategic location close to students, shops and health-conscious Inner Loopers. Here's what you can expect:

Menu
Chicken Kitchen's staple is, of course, chicken, which the restaurant serves up in a variety of ways: chopped over rice, in sandwiches and pitas, on salads and from the rotisserie. CK is known for its Chop-Chop, which is made while you wait — the basic blueprint for Chop-Chop is chopped chicken breast over yellow rice, which you can tart up Mexican, Cuban or Oriental-style with different vegetables and sauces. There's even a vegetarian Chop-Chop with all the goodies and no chicken. Side orders include baked potatoes, salads and chicken soup.

Atmosphere
CK is essentially a fast-food restaurant, but it's a nice one, with lots of windows and ample seating at tables and a counter. But you don't want to come here for a romantic dinner — unless, of course, fast food is your milieu.

Specials
Because it's fast food, there really aren't many specials to speak of, but you can get a free kid's meal with an adult purchase Sundays. (And yes, we went on a recent Sunday and the place was packed with kids. Which was fine, but let's just say there aren't many sound-absorbing surfaces in Chicken Kitchen, so if you're not into kid noise, you might want to keep that in mind.)

Tips
Parking in the Village can be a pain, especially on weekends. The strip center CK calls home has quite a few parking spaces in front, facing Rice Boulevard, but there's even more parking in back, accessible from Bolsover. And there's even a back door to Chicken Kitchen, so you don't have to walk far if you park in the back lot.

Summary
We're happy that we're finally getting the chance to see what everyone was talking about: Fairly healthy fast food at semi-reasonable prices. Judging by the crowds we've seen at Chicken Kitchen so far, it's catching on — and the owners say they plan to open a lot more locations in Houston soon. If you're in the mood for chicken, check it out.

Chicken Kitchen
2516 Rice Blvd.
713.523.2323