Pollo Campeon (Chicken Champion) - Santa Cruz, Bolivia

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What makes a chicken, a chicken champion?

Pollo Campeon (Translated to "Chicken Champion") has been around for more than 30 years and counting. The company started really small in a tiny location with barely enough tables to call it a restaurant. The owners are Korean immigrants who came to Bolivia to try to create a viable business. Since that time, they have expanded to 7 locations in Santa Cruz and counting. Some say the reason for their success is because of their dirt cheap prices (adjusted for inflation). Others say it's because they give you a consistent product, they have a drive-thru, they give you a little of everything, they give you a bucket of rice with your 1/4 chicken order. But, let's be real. The majority of people go back here over other rotisserie joints around town because of their incredibly addicting green sauce.

It's interesting to have seen their empire rise from a small restaurant to a chain beloved by the local community. A business created by immigrants is now definitely part of the fabric of Santa Cruz. It's everyone's Tuesday night dinner. It's easy, simple, delicious, pretty global in the way it suits people's tastebuds, cheap, slightly healthier than actual fast food. AND YOU CAN GET A HANDFUL OF EXTRA GREEN SAUCE FOR A COUPLE MORE CENTS.

Crack, I tell you. And no, this sauce is different from the green sauce in Peruvian restaurants that you will likely compare this to just by looking at the photos. The sauce at Pollo Campeon is creamier (maybe more mayo), less spicy, possibly a tang from mustard, possibly nutty from peanuts. Who knows what really goes in there. It's just crackiliciously good.

And now for pictures:


(How a 1/4 chicken combo looks from the exterior)

(When you open it, you see a 1/4 chicken resting its juices on handcut fries, 2 packets of green sauce, and a whole side of rice. You're going to want to mix all this together so you can stretch out the green sauce to douse it all over your food. If you were smart, you would have bought extra green sauce)


(How it looks all mixed in before the green sauce shower. Sorry I didn't take a photo of how it looks with the sauce all over it. I think I devoured it too fast)


Pollo Campeon
Various locations
Website
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

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