Country Grill

The chicken was perfectly cooked and the side potatoes were on point. would go back for another visit.

Passed by and the guys serving it up were very friendly. I got the wrap and the brussel sprouts. I didn’t realize how big the side of brussel sprouts were but I am a fan of roasted brussel sprouts and these guys were tasty. I also got the wrap, pretty flavorful and the chicken tastes way better than some of the other overpriced processed chicken in salads down in the SF Financial District. I would say the one thing they could do is give you an extra side of the tarragon-​dill aioli because it was a little dry but otherwise good.

I go to the one on Front & Broadway. Super friendly guy. The chicken is juicy and salty. Just the way I like. I don’t understand why ppl complain about price. $ 12 – 15 is a typical lunch price range in Fidi. Half chicken for $ 10 is pretty fair. After all, it’s not safeway, it’s not costco. IT IS countrygrill food truck. Enjoy it!

$ 17 for a whole chicken that is neither moist nor exceptionally tasty. The flavor was all on the skin (nothing penetrated to the meat), and it was over-​seasoned — perhaps as compensation.
There are rotisserie chickens worth over $ 10 (not to mention over $ 15!) but this is not one of them. Basically a high-​priced poser.

I’ve eaten from here twice, both times getting the ribs, large side of potatoes, and brussels sprouts (so I can’t speak to their chicken and perhaps that is more of their area of strength being that they put a giant roast chicken on the roof of their truck). The first time I thought it was good (though still with areas for improvement), but I was afraid that my enjoyment may have been effected by my anticipation/​excitement about getting ribs from a food truck (yay meat!), so I thought I should go back before writing a full review. I’m glad I did because then I could write a fully informed review. I’m sad I did because that meant I had to eat their food again.
Price: A «slab of ribs» is four very small ribs for $ 13 or $ 3.25/rib which is pricey in an of itself, but when you think about a food truck not having to cover many of the other operating costs that a brick and mortar restaurant would have to pay it’s ridiculous for them to be charging so much for their food. To compare this place to a casual brick & mortar place offering ribs in the city, Soul Food City on Eddy charges $ 9 for three large ribs (almost twice the size of CG’s) and garlic toast (I need to write a review for them). I’ve learned my lesson at many an SF food truck and this visit just reconfirms those findings: food truck = same food + higher prices
Portions: See above regarding the meat, but I will say that the $ 4 they charge for a large portion of roast potatoes is pretty reasonable considering the amount you get (maybe 3 cups), especially considering that they end up being the best thing they have on the menu. On that note…
Taste: The basis of your business is that you sell rotisserie meat, but your side dishes (really just 1 side dish) end up being the best items on the menu? No thank you. I thought the ribs, which I got with sauce both times, were okay the first time, but with my last visit I found that they were salty almost to the point of inedibility. Not sure if they just went crazy with the dry rub that day, but even without this issue I wasn’t impressed with the flavor the first time. The brussels sprouts look to have quite a bit of caramelization on them, but this is a ruse, they are soggy, limp, and everything else you didn’t like about your mom’s brussels sprouts back in the day. The potatoes are quite yummy though, probably because of the fat dripping off the rotisserie chickens cooking above. I would suggest getting your main meal somewhere else and coming here just for the potatoes as a side, which is totally doable because there’s rarely a line as they have everything ready to serve. Speaking of which…
Quality: This last visit I was given brussels sprouts that by the time I walked back to my office to eat them, two blocks away, were cold to the touch. Everything else had warmth to it, but ultimately they somehow served cold food off of a griddle that I would otherwise assume was in someway heated, c’mon. I can generally tell differences in quality of meat and these ribs are no different than what I would get at SFC in the TL (though smaller and not better tasting) so… why am I paying these guys more?
In summary, yet another overpriced, underperforming food truck. Fail.

There’s a funny looking plastic chicken on this truck that makes me laugh every time I pass it. Though, the rotisserie here is about as average as the Safeway $ 5 Friday special.
Kind of dry, the skin isn’t very crispy or tasty, and I feel that you don’t get a lot of bang for your buck.
With so many choices downtown I can’t see myself coming back here.

This bright orange truck with the big roast chicken on top is getting to be a familiar sight in front of my office building (photo:
). Whatever happened to Doggie Diner-​type mascots with animals in chef’s hats? I think instead of a roast chicken on top, it would have been funnier if they had a desperate-​looking chicken being chased by a chef. After all, Harold’s Fried Chicken had a neon sign in their window that showed that Looney Tunes scene with the chicken’s head popping off by a well-​aimed cleaver. It was memorable in its politically incorrect way, but then again, they had the best fried chicken in Chicago so the creative signage was earned.
Anyhow, this truck seems to be more emulating the extremely popular Roli Roti truck that shows up at the Ferry Building every Thursday. A really long line forms down the Embarcadero just for their amazing porchetta, but rotisserie chicken is also available. Country Grill has the same type of grilling rack with multiple spits rotating their chickens in unison (photo:
). The lines are not nearly as long, and it may have more to do with the price point — $ 8 for a quarter chicken, $ 10 for a half and $ 17 for a whole one. I decided to try a quarter one, just a leg and an extended thigh as I am a dark meat man (photo:
).
Dry rubbed with thyme, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper, it was good but not great for the price, somewhere in the ballpark of what you get under the heat lamp in the Safeway deli section. A better deal could be found in the $ 4 Kickass Kale Salad, which comes pre-​packaged in a plastic container. It was liberally mixed in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Pecorino Romano cheese (photo:
). They also offer ribs at $ 13 a slab and a $ 9 chicken wrap, but I think I’ll wait for them to come up with a cartoon mascot on top of their truck. What would be so wrong with having Foghorn Leghorn in a chef’s hat writing a suicide note?
FOOD — 3 stars… decent but pricey rotisserie chicken if you are in the mood at lunch
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… it’s a truck with a plastic chicken on top… what do you expect?
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… on automatic pilot
TOTAL — 3 stars… cock-​a-​doodle don’t?

Decent food, but way too spendy.
— Pork Loin: This was their daily special and was nice and moist. There wasn’t much flavor from whatever rub they use on the exterior, but the BBQ sauce they used was good.
— Roasted potatoes: Cut up red potatoes cooked in chicken drippings. They were fully cooked and the chicken fat added a lot of flavor, but they were way too greasy. It would be nice if they got a hot pan or just stuck them directly into their heat source a bit to get them a bit crispy on the outside. As is, it’s meh.
— Rotisserie chicken: We ordered around 1:00pm and CW had to wait forever and a day (well, 30+ minutes) for them to prepare her ¼ chicken. Meanwhile, everyone else who had ordered food from other trucks/​stands had no choice but to start eating (let their food get ice cold). I think the truck must not have started cooking early enough. The chicken was good — again, nice and moist — but not any better than what you’d find at Costco.

Rotisserie chicken is a hard market to break into. CostCo sells their passable rotisserie chicken for $ 4.99/chicken and most supermarkets sell similarly limp skinned chickens for a few bucks more. Roli Roti has been one of the few non-​supermarket players thus far, offering a $ 14.50/bird that warrants the mark up. The Country Grill truck is a similar concept and charges $ 17/​bird. It’s «A-​OK» (as the Unilocal 3-​star rating goes) food, but nothing to go out of my way for when there better alternatives.
Chicken: Better than Safeway. Similar to Roli Roti, though Roli Roti might taste marginally better. The meat is moist throughout, even in the breast. The skin is heavily flavored with spices, making for tangy bites. The only area of the skin that was crispy was the wingette portion of the wing.
Ribs: Different than I’m used to, but still good. It seemed like they’d been roasting for a bit since the fat was rendered off and the meat was heading in the jerky direction. It seemed to be heavily seasoned with the same flavorings as the chicken. They had forgotten to bring the glaze to work, which initially had me worried, but the ribs were ok without it. However, I wonder if the dryness could have been partially mitigated by some glaze. Though I appreciate the uniqueness, I probably prefer my ribs moister and with more traditional BBQ pit spices.
Potatoes: Same flavoring as the chicken (…they get a lot of mileage out of that rub). Shriveled, though not quite crispy. Not sure if it’s because I ordered early in the day (slightly before noon) or that’s just how they’re made. I definitely think Roli Roti wins on this front since their potatoes are crisper and bursting with chicken juices.

Uh…$ 8.00 for a ¼ chicken (breast and wing) and it’s a a la carte!!! I don’t get it, that’s an outrageous price for 2 pieces of stupid rotisserie chicken. It was good, but NOT WORTH IT!
$ 8.00 for a breast and a wing and $ 4.00 for a kale salad. Never going back.

really, reallllllly salty.
I ate some of it just because I didn’t wanna waste money but wow it was hard to keep eating, considering how everything was doused in so much salt. I gave up finally & threw it in the garbage.

Walked by and was intrigued by the yummy smell.
Got ½ chicken, side of potatoes and kale salad. All for $ 16. Meal lasted me through three «eats». I snacked on it all day. It was a lot of food.
Loved the kale salad. Not goo for you since there’s probably a ton of olive oil and cheese, but whatevs. it was good.
Chicken and potatoes were a little dry, but loved the chicken skin. Super crispy.
I’d come back. =)

I was in the mood for food truck cuisine and this wast first time at Country Grill. What is really neat about this place is they have the rotisserie chickens and ribs rotating for all to see.
I ordered a whole rotisserie chicken, potatoes, and the guy at the truck was so friendly, he gave us some kale salad for free!
The chicken was fresh and yummy, not dry but juicy for the most part and well seasoned. The potatoes were alright, well seasoned but a little old and it wasn’t that late in the night. The kale salad, while I super appreciate the gesture, wasn’t very good. The cheese on it was far too strong and I couldn’t have more than 2 – 3 bite size. A mellow mozarella would be better.
Overall, 4 stars for this guy because he was friendly, nice, and generous, and the chicken was pretty good. Better than most. Would eat here again!

I see a lot of people concerned about the price but I thought it was reasonable. I don’t mind paying extra for food from locally sourced farms and real ingredients as opposed to the crap that you will get from Cosco or Safeway. Plus you are supporting a small local business and not a big national chain.
If you have an allergy to gluten then this is probably one of the safest food trucks in the city. The owner was familiar with gluten and cross-​contamination. He keeps the ribs (the only non-​gluten free item on the menu) cooked in a dedicated separate area from the chicken.

Pretty yummy food, but way overpriced.
Slab of Spare Ribs ($ 13): 3 stars
The «slab» was really only about 4 (long) ribs. The ribs were pretty delicious, some were fatty and yummy but some pieces were just salty tough gristle. I liked the sweet glaze it came in, more complex than your average BBQ sauce, but I’ve definitely had better and more consistently tender ribs before. $ 13 with no sides is real steep, but I was craving ribs today.
Kale Salad: 4 stars
Crunchy kale with a yummy dressing, but slathered in cheddar that made it very rich and not really a light, refreshing side as I was hoping.

My first encounter of this food truck was at the SoMa StrEat Food Park YEE with their sampler platter «Let Us Build a Combination of Wonderful Things». This sampler consisted of their rotisserie chicken, roasted potatoes and kale salad. As I liked the sampler upon returning here with the No1DP we decided to recreate the tasting from the individual components.
1. Dry Rubbed Rotisserie Chicken (Thyme, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper and other spices of the world). We ordered a half pound of chicken. The skin was adequately seasoned but the meat was simply too dry. It was so dry that we didn’t finish the chicken.
2. Roasted Potatoes (Red Bliss, Thyme, Marjoram, Chicken Drippings). Potatoes were undercooked and I could taste more potato than its seasonings.
3. Kickass Kale Salad (Lactinato Kale, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and pecorino romano cheese). I didn’t see anything kickass about this kale salad. The kale was heavily seasoned; the kale was soaked from the oil and the cheese was mild.
I don’t know if we just came on an off-​day, but it seems like this dish is better eaten in smaller portions. At least the No1DP and I got our fix of protein, starch and veggies for the day.

I went to a Unilocal Elite Event at the SoMa StrEat Food Park and their truck was participating by giving us free sample plates. I really loved their potatoes and roast chicken; they were one of the few highlights of all nine trucks we tried food from!
Our sample plate:
* Dry rubbed rotisserie chicken (lime, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper & other spices of the world) — 4.5 stars
Fantastic! Fatty, with a crispy layer of skin. Tender, juicy, flavorful.
* Wickedly Whack Wrap (shredded rotisserie chicken, tarragon-​dill aioli, kale, cucumber, toasted almonds, served cold) — 3.5 stars
The same soft tender chicken, but not as much wow factor as the rotisserie. Granted, I had a sample slice that had been sitting out a while.
* Kickass Kale Salad (Lacinato kale, olive oil, lemon juice. garlic & pecorino romano cheese) — 4 stars
Crunchy, their dressing was a little heavy, but it had a good sharp flavor.
* Roasted Potatoes (red bliss, thyme, marjoram, chicken drippings) — 4.5 stars
Wow! I loved all the herbs. And it’s definitely oily with those chicken drippings but man that’s what makes it so good. He also sprinkles an extra bit of sea salt right before serving, which gave it an extra punch of fresh flavor.
Menu:

Country Grill has rotisserie chickens on a spit roasting. noticed there was no lines. should have taken the hint. lines at the taco stand.
menu: ¼ chicken (8), sides, kale salads (4), wraps, etc.
eats: «wrap» (9) premade, served cold
-«Shredded rotisserie chicken, tarragon-​dill aioli, kale, cucumber, mayo, toasted almond»
–eaten cold, wrap had slight flavoring, warmed up, lots more flavor
–chicken had little flavor, seasoning had all the flavors
–wrap small, little chicken, wouodn’t reorder
leftovers:
–not a good value, kale salad @4 probably better value.
–¼ chicken good value? reviews say no.
–seems everything but chicken and potatoes premade.

Consider this truck if you are looking for something to take away & eat elsewhere, and especially if you’re sharing with a bigger group. Everyone’s squawking about ‘overpriced!’ but I wouldn’t think of this like a sandwich place. for instance the $ 4 kale salad easily serves 2, unless you REALLY like your kale (in which case you’re probably eating this as your main, because your bad vegetarian self joined a load of carnivores for a meal that day. if you’re vegan go to another truck).

For us: the chicken was perfectly cooked, the ribs were tender and smoky. I wasn’t nuts about the glaze — rather sweet, teriyaki-​like. I can’t give full 5 stars because the potatoes were unevenly cooked, some too hard, some right. They’re seasoned well (and plenty of garlic). The kale salad was great — i think it’s hard to get that right.
I will definitely go here again when they’re in my neighborhood — and I will update the stars if the potatoes improve.
p. s. don’t bother with comparison to the Costco chicken. mass production gives cost benefit, remember?

$ 8 for ¼ chicken & potatoes
$ 4 for kale salad
— — — — — — — — — — — -
$ 12 for an overpriced lunch
Ok, ok, I know I am purchasing locally grown and organic food, but I couldn’t help to think that I could have bought TWO large Costco rotisserie chickens for the same price… or one whole raw organic chicken from Whole Paycheck. You get the point.
The truck has a GIANT chicken on the roof and for months I watched it driving around wondering what it was. When I stopped by I was pleasantly surprised to see that rows of chicken were being rotisseried on the spot inside the truck.
Ordered–
Potatoes: They were ok. Seasoned well, but came across some undercooked pieces.
Chicken: Got the dark meat (leg and thigh) quarter. Even for the dark meat, parts of the chicken was dry. The skin was encrusted in parts of the chicken and was rough; not crispy or sliding off the meat. You know, when you over-​grill the meat and it gets almost hard to separate or cut into?
Kickass Kale: I should kick their asses for overselling this. See pic for ingredients. Way too much olive oil in the kale. Perhaps thats how they made it softer, but it was just too greasy for my tastes. Got to give it to them though, the kale was very fresh and dark green. The flavors were ok… you can definitely taste the garlic and tartness of the lemon.
Overall, I like what they’re trying to do. They do serve fresh ingredients, however I feel that their execution of the food could have been better for the price.