Tropical islands are coveted for their sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes, and palm trees that grow flip-flops. Taste the tropical life with today's Groupon: for $12, you get $25 worth of Caribbean fare at Tigeorges' Chicken.
Tigeorges' Chicken's culinary team rotates succulent savories in an avocado-wood-burning rotisserie, transforming them into handcrafted Haitian cuisine. Roll up sleeves and remove rings before taking on the restaurant's heavyweight—half a spit-fired chicken flanked by rice and beans or fried plantains ($10.25). The meal engineers tame tasty conch by sautéing it in garlic and Haitian spices ($16.95), and tongues salute Haitian classics such as fricasseed goat meat ($15.95) and red snapper in creole sauce (market price; available only on Fridays). Animate sugary dreams by disassembling and devouring sweet plantains topped with caramel ($4.75), or egg on night owls by imbibing signature Haitian coffee ($2.75) and boasting about being predominantly diurnal. Cheerful yellow walls and large, sun-permitting windows brighten the restaurant's tables to give the space an island-like ease, and live entertainment on Saturdays augments the tropical ambiance.
Tigeorges' Chicken
Fragrant avocado wood smolders beneath the rotisserie at Tigeorges' Chicken, roasting fowl as they spin on their smoky ferris wheel. Once the chickens have cooked to perfection, owner and chef TiGeorges Laguerre cuts them into halves or quarters and plates them with taro-root fritters, plantains, and other dishes traditional to his native Haiti. LA Weekly—which named the succulent chicken one of its Top 100 favorite dishes in 2012—has just one tip for visiting: "Order the most you can manage, as there are few better roast chickens served in Los Angeles."
But chicken isn't the only reason to visit this beloved spot, which one KCET Los Angeles writer described as both a restaurant and a "de facto Haitian cultural center." Diners can also devour dishes such as conch, fricasséed goat meat, and Haitian-style pickled vegetables. And in addition to dishing out these mouthwatering morsels of Caribbean cuisine, TiGeorges keeps the spirit of his home country alive with housemade Haitian coffee and food products and a commitment to stopping harmful deforestation in Haiti.