Asados Al Carbon

Terrible experience. From the moment I walked in, someone sitting down told me that they were taking forever. I ignored him because it didn’t look too busy. I ordered the «cazuela de frijoles» and it was fairly good. But it took over fifty minutes to arrive and it was cold. The burger was chewie and it felt like bubble gum. And they even forgot my appetizer. The waitress sympathized us and she brought a small dessert. But I’m never coming back here again.

Asados al Carbon is a restaurant in transition, and they’re doing a nice job with their new identity. This Colombian eatery along Armenia Avenue was previously known as Pollos al Carbon, and they served rotisserie chicken. But now there are new owners, a new menu, and lots of new ideas.
Asados al Carbon is easy to spot as it is still a bright yellow standalone building midway between El Grande Colombia and El Chuzo BBQ along Armenia. The building is decorated with a number of Cuban and American flags, and some colorful hanging flower pots across the front. At the time of this review, the building still has exterior signage saying «Pollos al Carbon», but I am sure that will change soon.
Inside you’ll find a long counter for ordering takeout, a small dining area, and a brand-​new outdoor patio with lots of picnic tables. The place has a strong smell of smoked meats, which is what’s on the menu.
Under the old régime the only thing that you could order was rotisserie chicken, but now they’ve got a brand-​new menu with Colombian breakfast items, and grilled meats throughout the day. For breakfast you can now try any of the following:
* Scrambled eggs, mixed rice, and corn cakes
* Chorizo, mixed rice, and corn cakes
* Chicken breast, mixed rice, and corn cakes
* Pork skin, mixed rice, and corn cakes
* Pork loin, mixed rice, and corn cakes
* BBQ ribs, mixed rice, and corn cakes
Are you beginning to see a trend here? Breakfast platters are under $ 7
Now if you show up for lunch or dinner you’ll find:
* Rotisserie Chicken
* Grilled Steak
* Grilled Skirt Steak
* Grilled Pork Ribs
* Fried Fish
* Bandera el paso (Latin combination platter of grilled meats and good stuff)
And all sorts of pork and chicken platters along with chicken giblets soup, hen soup, beef soup, and beef ribs soup. As for sides you can choose from regular tossed salad, carrot & beet salad, yellow rice, white rice, red beans, black beans, corn cakes, sweet plantains, fried green plantains, fried cassava, fried potato & Criole sausage, and French fries.
I ordered a whole rotisserie chicken split into eight pieces, which came with 2 family-​sized sides, and a soda for $ 15. The chicken had a nice smoky flavor with a crunchy, herbaceous skin, and the meat was still moist and delicious. For my sides I ordered a bowl of red beans and a basket of sweet plantains. There was a ton of food to take home for leftovers.
This is very traditional Colombian street food /​comfort food, so expect to find lots of food on your plate for a very fair price. Spanish is the preferred language at Asados, so you might struggle a bit if you don’t habla the Español, but you’ll get far just by pointing and smiling. While I was eating my meal, the TVs were playing a movie in in the small dining room, and I found myself watching Disney’s «La Sirenita /​The Little Mermaid» in Spanish. I was having a great time chomping on rotisserie chicken and humming:
Bajo el mar
Bajo el mar
Vives contenta
Siendo sirena
Eres feliz
Oh c’mon, sing it with me:
This is a nice place to sit outside on their covered patio, or to pick up some grilled meats to take home for a family supper.