NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Ground lamb and shaved beef may be their lifeblood. But Plaka Grill manager Michael Manetti says their chickens do pretty well for themselves.

“It’s one of the top three sellers for lunch and dinner,” he says of the signature birds.

But just because they don’t do anywhere near the volume of competing full-time chicken joints—Manetti estimates they serve up 10 to 20 rotisserie chickens per day (just over a dozen per day during the workweek, closer to two dozen on weekends)—doesn’t mean the Plaka team takes their chicken any less seriously.

Each bird is prepped with Greek rub, wrapped and refrigerated while marinating, cooked rotisserie-style in a convection oven, flash-grilled to seal in some smokiness and then drizzled with a homemade dressing of lemon, olive oil, garlic and more signature seasonings.

Each well-bronzed bird smacks of citrus, salt and rosemary, the exposed meat still perspiring from the quickie grill treatment. The house rub seeps down into the bone, while the comingling olive oil and lemon juice produce an intoxicating scent and eye-catching shimmer.The meat is moist and delectable, readily lending itself to dipping in the tangy hummus or gyro-style wrapping in the herb-flecked pitas that accompany every meal.