A Taste of MF Chicken
Roast chicken with all the fixings — Mexican-style — from Tacolicious’ new extended delivery and pick-up rotisserie business.
When things start up in San Francisco, it often takes a little time for them to drift down to the Peninsula and South Bay.
Such is the case with MF Chicken, the rotisserie chicken business by Tacolicious that started in San Francisco last year, and finally made its way farther south this month.
At the downtown Palo Alto Tacolicious.
The take-out and delivery-only chickens are cooked at the Palo Alto Tacolicious, where they can be picked up. Or if you live in the Palo Alto area, get it delivered through Caviar (use code MFCHIKN5 to get $5 off, too).
I was invited to try it last week. I opted to pick up my order at the Palo Alto site, where the chickens are available 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. You can even pre-set your time for pick-up, which makes things very convenient. The only hard part may be finding nearby parking in downtown Palo Alto, which can often be challenging at peak hours.
For $32, you get a whole Rocky free-range chicken, cut up, and marinated in an ancho-chile rub; a stack of warm organic corn tortillas, rice-o-licious (their version of Mexican rice, made with organic long grain from local Rue & Forsman Ranch), Rancho Gordo midnight beans, cabbage slaw, chopped onions, cilantro, and two salsas (verde and orange). Or you can opt for a half chicken for $17.
A warm whole chicken, conveniently cut up.
Incredible Rancho Gordo black beans.
A whole chicken with all the sides is easily enough to serve four if you’re making tacos out of everything.
You can also add to that standard order with other items on the Caviar MF Chicken menu such as grilled street corn ($7), MF chicken soup ($12), and cauliflower al pastor ($7).
Th chicken, deeply bronzed with the taste of smoked pepper, is moist and tender. The rice grains are tinged orange from tomato and are not clumpy at all like you get at some places. The green salsa has a nice tang, while the creamy orange one definitely packs a kick. The black beans are a marvel — they hold their shape yet are so creamy and possess a deep earthiness.
Pile a little bit of everything on a double stack of tortillas and fold up for an easy-peasy meal when you want to leave the cooking to someone else.
Taco time is so easy.
As for the name, just what does MF stand for? The Tacolicious folks are coy about that, saying it can stand for “muy fuerte” (“very strong”) — or whatever else you deem appropriate. Who can resist dinner with a side of snark?
More: Make Tacolicious’ Lamb Adobo Tacos with Spices and Orange
