Chop-N-Chicken

There are some mornings when it’s simply difficult to get up and stop snoozing the alarm clock. What drags me out of bed on those days is the thought of having chop-​n-​chicken for lunch. You think I’m kidding, but I am not…
Their salad is simply incredible and I was immediately hooked on my first try. My go-​to is santa fe, which comes with lettuce, grilled chicken, beans (black/​brown/​lentils), rice, a scoop of guac, and your choice of three vegetables (mine are corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes). Top it all up with some pico and salsa and their house made curry sauce (!!! seriously, da bomb). Cue drooling everywhere.
I do think that their chicken is slightly dry but overall, it is such a filling meal for around $ 8 (usually I eat it over two meals) and even comes with a pita bread (sadly, not house made). It’s like a chipotle burrito bowl, except better and with a twist (curry sauce!!). I am so #blessed to have this joint right across from where I work.

3.5 stars. This family run business specializes in chicken or beef served over a salad or rice. The idea of chicken and vegetables makes for a healthy gluten free lunch and the 8 $ price point is very reasonable.
The menu is kind of confusing, in that you get a certain amount of toppings and sauces but the toppings are in 2 different areas and I think they charge you differently. I got the original chicken chop over brown rice with mixed vegetables, pico de gallo, cucumbers and the house yellow curry. They charged me 0.50 for an extra topping, even thought I got the right amount. No big deal, just wish their topping rules were more clear. The toppings were good and the yellow curry sauce was a nice touch but the chicken itself although well flavored was bone dry. I dont know if this was from using frozen chicken breasts or over cooking the chicken but I would expect more from a place with chicken in the title.

Very similar to Chipotle. A bit of a hidden gem in McLean.

Great food at a good price. Great for a quick lunch on a work day

Great food for a great price. Original chicken chop is the best. Honey mustard and house sauce. Great tasting, nourishing. Yummy

This place is Just perfect. The food is great and the owners are kind and friendly. Love this place.

This is a great neighborhood joint. Family owned and run and very friendly. Prices are very affordable. It would be near impossible to spend more an 10 bucks here. Chicken is fresh and toppings are plenty and good. Curry sauce is awesome too.

Delicious food and probably the healthiest «fast food» option in McLean. Especially fond of the Santa Fe,

This is my go-​to spot in McLean for healthy lunch eats. I typically get the Santa Fe Chop. The owner is a great guy although he loves hitting on my girlfriend…

I have eaten here a few times and found the food to be delicious and very healthy. I order brown rice with veggies and grilled chicken. No sauce is needed as the chicken is tasty, not always super moist as it is grilled, but lots of flavor. They are super nice and generous with portions.

It’s a little hole of a restaurant, but you get lots of food for a pretty cheap price. We ordered two different types of chicken, and liked them both. We’re too full to even get up front the table.

Been going to this place since it opened a few years ago. they serve a salad with grilled chicken over rice with a multitude of fixins like guacamole, hot sauce, peppers, and more.
This is a mom and pop operation and one of them is always there. The portios are generous and one salad will be an entire meal.
What I really love is the sauce they put on the salad. All home made and so popular that they had to start charging for it if you wanted extra.
Also, they are very fast which is good as I usually stop by on my way home form work.
They also have a variety of chop-​n-​chicken dishes like a Mexican dish with beans and hot sauce as well as many more
For a homemade chicken salad with rice dish, they can’t be beat.

I hate to be the one raining on this parade.
I took it back to the office to eat for lunch. The flavors are pretty good, decent but nothing amazing. I got the oriental chop.
The chicken however, crumbled in my mouth.
The chicken. Crumbled. I don’t know how else to explain it. It was like biting into an old dry sponge, or what I’d imagine biting into an old dry sponge would be like. I would have been more forgiving if it weren’t for that. But come on. Your business is centered on one specific product. How do you mess up the chicken? Am I the only one who got dry, crumbly chicken? No one else seemed to take too much issue with this place. But it seems to be pitted against Chipotle in terms of standards, and Chipotle isn’t exactly the best food either.
I understand that in order to expedite service, the chicken has to be either partially or fully cooked beforehand. Sometimes businesses just don’t have any way around it. But this chicken was inedible. Flat out inedible. I spat out some of the chicken I chewed and it looked like Honey Bunches of Oats.

A friend of mine always raved about this place & I finally got around to trying it. Now I understand what all the hype is about! The chicken is grilled to perfection w/​a little of that char. And I love that they offer yellow rice too! A major plus is that it’s a mom & pop shop & I support local businesses! No more Chipotle for me #sorrynotsorry…been back already 4 times in the past two weeks.

This place is like a better version on Chipolte. i have had most of their Chop dishs (think burrito bowl) options and all are good. The ingredients are all fresh and full of flavor and the portions are generous. Make sure to try the homemade guacamole and curry sauce. An Inca Cola is also a must!

2.5 years later and my entire office still loves this place.
I was getting sick of Balducci’s soup and outrageously priced salad bar.
Sweetgreen, I am not a fan of.
My next option is CNC!
generous portion of chicken, lettuce. I control the portions of beans/​rice when I request it. I pay more for less food but it keeps me from eating it all in one fell swoop so i’m happy.
I usually get either Fajita or Santa Fee chop, comes to $ 8.16 with tax. My meals at Balducci always ran much higher than that.
Similar to chipotle but, a thousand times better. Not thrilled w/​the oil they use (corn) but whatever.
SantaFe — chicken, lettuce, rice, bean, guac, sour cream, cheese
Faijta — chicken, lettuce, rice, bean, sour cream, sautéed peppers/​onions
To the reviewer regarding «healthy» its healthy, if you watch your portions like I do and ask for less. Or you can just have them make it how they usually make it and then only eat half. omit the bread and dairy, and you have a pretty healthy meal. omit the rice, even better.

My favorite lunch spot in McLean! Fresh, flavorful, generous portions… I really don’t get the other reviews. This is a small family owned restaurant. If you are trying it for the first time, then go with one of the top, core items on the menu (not bourbon or teriyaki). I order the Mexican — with brown rice (they have white or yellow too), black beans, chopped chicken (LOVE the flavor of the chicken), lettuce, diced tomatoes, pica de gallo, and the yellow curry sauce. Yummy! Lots of other fresh veggie options (broccoli, carrots, green onions, corn, cucumbers). You get to decide what to put on it — so you can make it as healthy as you want. So not sure what Cyrus S is talking about — his entire review is out of whack.
Yes the pita bread is store purchased so not going to be what you get at Moby Dicks.
The owner (older gentleman) works there 6 days a week all day. Rent is high in McLean so I imagine he has to work these hours to make it worthwhile. So be polite and you’ll get personal service. Be a snapper head, rushed, your lucky to get my business customer, well then, you’re lucky the staff tolerates you. There are a dozen mediocre pizza places in McLean, a handful of greasy and over priced Chinese and Thai restaurants, other expensive ethnic restaurants in McLean — good luck loving their food. I’ve lived here for 30+ years. We have lots of food options — but not great ones. Really expensive for what you get.
Plus this is not a chain restaurant. It’s a small family owned business.
Hard to get the trifecta in McLean — great quality, generous portions and reasonably priced.
I’m thrilled we have this delicious option in McLean!

I don’t know what people on this site are thinking with the reviews I’m reading. Perhaps its the dearth of quality food in McLean? The proximity to the heart-​attack café (aka Wok N Roll) or perhaps to the Grease factory (Café Taj). Either way, this place is not good — and I’m pretty sure my experience was not unique.
THE MENU
What kind of food are you serving? «Healthy» «Asian» «Fajita» and «Bourbon» were on the menu. I confused.
Also, if you are going to tout fresh and healthy — how about some fresh vegetables? Fresh food. chopped? If this was chicken on rice with veggies on top, great! But chopped up tomatoes on lettuce does not a salad make. Get an identity.
CHICKEN 101
1^st– Rotisserie where the skin seals the moisture? Good idea. Cooking a breast on a flat top or in a pan better be fresh or you’ll lose lots of the moisture.
2^nd — When you «chop» a chicken, it better be damn fresh because you’re releasing all the moisture out of it. onto your cutting board… which I get none of…
3^rd — Having «stewed» chicken (the bourbon chicken) is 100% NOT fresh — that’s the opposite of fresh. Stewing preserves for later (useful in a restaurant — through gross) and allows you to string out the life of the meat. Ask mother Russia.
THE FOOD
My «meal» consisted of rice (a healthy scoop of brown), my bourbon chicken (stewed, dry, chewy meat with medicre flavoring), a small handful of chopped tomato and a small handful of lettuce on top. This … is NOT an $ 8 meal. Sorry — it isn’t.
The only «quantity» that was large was the amount of rice underneath — without which, I would have probably left and not even tried the food.
The pita — which I was offered as I checked out — was a store bought bag of pita that the cashier just cut in half and threw on the tray. Not warm, not toasty, not homemade, not anything. just a Safeway pita bread sitting on my plate. yay.
Lastly, the menu exclaimed «pick your sauce!!», so I looked at the list. and after not understanding why they have honey mustard, bbq, and other very generic sauces next to a menu that has «chinese chicken chop» and «bourbon chicken chop» and «fajita chicken chop»… i chose bbq… which was bbq sauce from a bottle… and didn’t go with my food at ALL.
KEEPIN IT CLEAN
PS — if you want to be clean and healthy, don’t pick up napkins off the floor from a previous customer and then use them to wipe the table down. At least don’t do it in front of a customer.
I hate giving scathing reviews but I felt utterly ripped off and was not happy at all with the experience. I realize that the restaurant — because its not a chain — is someone’s dream… so I hope the owners are on social media and learn from the above.
I shall not be choppin’ me chicken any time soon.

Is Chop-​n-​Chicken a chain type place or is this the only one? I don’t even know. In any case, today was my first trip to CnC. I was brought here by some friends on a lunch break and didn’t know what to expect. I was so happy to see the word healthy on their door. I do agree that this is some healthy eats. So for that reason I’m thrilled!
But healthy doesn’t have to mean flavorless. I got the Mediterranean and it was a little flavorless for me. I wasn’t crazy about the tahini sauce (it was a little too watery?) Still, I’m interested in going back and trying some of the other things and maybe even a create you own. Next time I’m gonna go for some spice!

Great place for a clean healthy meal. The portions are great and not overwhelming if your choosing the healthier alternatives.
Staff was fairly friendly and the service was quick.