Update: As of March 2018, this restaurant has come under new management. I sincerely hope the menu options and quality will not change as a result, but I should offer the disclaimer that what is posted here may not reflect what is available in the restaurant.
Where: Tropical Picken Chicken – Wake Forest, North Carolina – 2010 S. Main Street, Wake Forest NC, 27587 with a second location at Creekside Crossing & Shops in Raleigh at 404 E. Six Forks Rd, Raleigh, NC 27609.
GF Menu: No. However, some items on the menu (like the arepas) are marked “Gluten Free”.
What I ate: During the more than a dozen visits I’ve made to this restaurant, I have enjoyed the chicken and the pork plates, as well as the arepas.
How to order it: Select your items from either the menu or the chalkboard daily specials and double-check with the server that the items you are ordering are all gluten-free.
What it looks like:
This is an arepa – a pocket sandwich style that is prominent in Columbian and Venezuelan cuisine. It is important to note that around the globe not all arepas are created alike. Many are made with corn flour (as is the case with these), but some may contain other types of flour as well. This is why we are particularly grateful to the folks at Tropical Picken Chicken for letting us know on their menu that their corn maize arepas are “gluten free”.
While they are famous for their marinated grilled chicken, I’m personally hooked on the pernil (roasted marinated pork leg or shoulder). Marinated in TPC’s special tropical spices and slow-roasted, this pork melts in your mouth, and gives your favorite North Carolina pulled pork bbq a run for its money. Gasp! Was that blasphemy I just committed? If you cherish pulled pork, try this other South(ern) American bbq, too. You won’t be disappointed.
This plate comes with your choice of two sides. Shown here are piping hot yucca fries and plantains.
I saved my favorite dish for last. This is the San Juan platter. It comes with pernil, sweet plantains, and avocado. It is a hearty dish with a brilliant combination of complex flavors, from the caramelized sweet plantains to the tang of the freshly pickled onions garnishing the pork. I chose red beans and rice for my sides. Guilty confession: I have ordered this same dish two days in a row.
Green Note: “Use real cutlery”. This is one of the recommendations of the Plastic Pollution Coalition’s guide for restaurant owners to help reduce the amount of plastic in our waterways and landfills.
At the Wake Forest location of Tropical Picken Chicken, the restaurant places silverware on the table in an open container, so you can take just what pieces you need when dining in, reducing the overall amount of cutlery being washed or thrown away.
Sweet Tea & Wheat-Free 