Glutton or Gourmande Pt. 1: Tigeorges'

On a stretch of Glendale blvd. bridging Echo Park with Downtown lies a no mans land that the city of Los Angeles deems "historic Filipino town" although there isn't one person who can really tell me why. Regardless, this stretch is a piece of my commute that holds a few mysteries that I've been curious about.

One of them was a restaurant called Tigeorges' Chicken. The place was always closed when I hoped it was open, and open when I didn't have time to stop in. Finally, last Friday a few work friends and I made it over to Tigeorge's for lunch.

Tigeorges' is a Haitian restaurant. Recently it was voted as one of the best rotisserie chicken joints in town by the LA weekly. A tall claim, given the likes of Zankou and Versailles, just to name a few.

The place itself was clean and featured an open fire pit in the front.

So we all decided to start with the basics and ordered the 1/4 chicken lunch special. In addition, we ordered two servings of plantains. They offer both sweet and salted variations, we ordered one of both. The chicken is served with rice and beans, salad, and a spicy cole slaw. As well, we ordered a sauce/condiment that was listed as HOT! on the menu. Our chicken was served promptly. The healthy serving of rice and beans were good but not terribly distinct. The salad was salad. The Cole slaw was spicy and vinegary (sp?). I definitely have a soft spot for Cole slaw, and this was good stuff. The chicken, the centerpiece, was tasty and juicy. Definitely some distinct spices that I can't place, but not overwhelming. The sauce supplied was something like a garlic/olive oil crossed with a vinaigrette type thing. I didn't quite know how to use it, but when poured on just about anything, it was good.

The plantains were served almost at the end of our meal. The owner explained the delay. The plantains are "double fried", frying once, then allowed to cool and fried again. Both varieties were incredible. Sweet were basically the dark soft ones that I usually find at Cuban places, the salty are crispier, yellow and taste more like banana chips.

All in all, pretty damn good. I have a feeling that some of the other dishes might yield more distinct flavors and experiences, but the chicken is a good basic introduction to Tigeorges'. I'm looking forward to trying the cafe con leche steeped with bay leaves.

I have a feeling I'll be returning soon for another lunch, so I’ll keep you updated to any new dishes tried.

Tigeorges' is only open till 7 most days (with a siesta break between 3 and 5), and closed on Sundays. Its located at 309 N. Glendale Blvd.