Pollo Milagroso

Can I give this place two different star ratings? Ugh, I know it’s not possible so I’ll roll with my «drunk rating» of five stars seeing that my sober rating would probably be a two or three at absolute best. Hell, I don’t think my better judgement would even allow me to eat here sober.
Polla Milagroso directly translates to Miracle Chicken, but my friends and I prefer to refer to this joint as, Tijuana chicken, dirty chicken, drunk chicken, street chicken or your chances of coming down with food poisoning in Tijuana just tripled chicken.
After no less than 50 meals here, I think I’m able to say that though dirty, this place is f#cking delicious and has been a regular stop for me over the past five years. Please believe me when I say that this place is not for everyone and is in a very unsavory part of the city. It’s a family business with six seats, no door, no refrigeration, no running water, a fryer that hasn’t been cleaned (like ever… seriously), and one menu item: fried chicken. It’s open 24 hours a day and hasn’t closed (or been cleaned) in over 50 years. True story. They can’t close, no door, remember? It’s filthy. Absolutely disgusting, but undeniably good. Get past the smell of the street and the beyond unsanitary conditions and you’re in for an absolute treat.
Grease from the hood will drip on the counter and you’ll see roaches run up the wall, but damn, when your down to your last two bucks and need a hearty meal, this is the spot. The plate will be thrown your direction seconds after taking your seat and is composed of an over-​fried chicken quarter, a big scoop of beans (not refried), a pile of cabbage, a dousing of hot salsa and a stack of tortillas. You’re not handed utensil as they don’t have any and stray dogs will steal your chicken bones, but that’s the beauty of this place — never to be seen in a guidebook and only now reviewed on Unilocal (after much deliberation).
So, are you daring? Is your stomach made of steel? Do you want to seek out the dirtiest of the dirty street food? If so, keep your head on a swivel, make your way down the side streets, act like you’ve been there before and enjoy some of the best damn drunk food you’ll ever find in any city anywhere in the world. Once again, sober is another story altogether.