aem > wrote:
>
> I've bought two of them, at two supermarkets. *Both were woefully dry
> and overcooked, though the (I think) dry rub seasoning was flavorful.

I've gotten dry ones when I didn't inspect the bird carefully.
I've also gotten ones with so much water they spilled all
over the place. Now I'm more careful about inspecting the
bird and I haven't had a problem since.

We'll likely disagree about overcooked, though. I figure if
I grab a leg and I get the bone, that's a good sign. I've had
folks try to give me rare chicken that was stuck to the bone
like the bird was still alive and I didn't like it.

> Gave up trying. *Instead, when I don't feel like roasting or grilling
> my own, which is not often, I buy from El Pollo Loco. *I think the
> supermarket is cheaper, but El Pollo Loco is usually pretty good.

They finally opened a store near my in the Chicago suburbs.
Excellent. http://www.elpolloloco.com/ I entered my zip
code in their Restaurant Find at the top and it showed 3 in
Chicago metro. I definitely laughed when the 4th in the list
for closest to me was in St Louis, MO and several others
were in Georgia. I'll stick with the closer ones and be happy. ;^)

Folks who haven't tried El Pollo Loco, you've missed good
marinated grilled chicken. It's a small chain that I think was
based somewhere in So Cal.

> I'd also be curious if anyone knows of a SoCal market that makes an
> okay product.

In addition to El Pollo Loco's grilled birds, I have also been
happy with the ones at Costco and Sams Club once I learned
to check the box for a little bit of loose liquid to make sure it
was not dried out.