You have just stumbled upon mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today Cathy is blogging. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are just too busy researching about places and meals.
Hi again. The other day, The Mister and I found ourselves in Escondido on Mission Avenue between Escondido Boulevard and Centre City Parkway. 
This was the view from Mission while we were stopped at the signal light. Actually, that little green sign attached to the flag pole (on the right in the photo) caught my eye. We had to pull into the parking lot in this oddly shaped strip mall to see what this was about.
After we parked, I walked back to snap this photo of the full flaming rotisserie. 
We walked in and were asked if we wanted to order "to go" or eat in. I noticed a lot of people ordering and picking up 'to go' orders. We found a seat and menus were brought to the table. There are only 11 tables inside and a handful on the patio outside. It is neat and clean and bright. Everyone working there came by the table at some point, including Sid, the owner. It felt like a family run place. (I noticed on the website that Chicken Plus has been in Escondido since 1990. That's a good thing these days.)
We ordered, noting that the menu did state items were freshly cooked to order. The food was not brought out immediately, but the wait was not 20 minutes either.
I had asked for hummus($2.50) and pita (99¢) as an appetizer. The hummus was fresh made (i.e., not chilled and I really think freshly ground in the kitchen based on the sounds I heard as our waitress called our order in through the door seen in that photo) with garlic and tahini. The warm pita bread was really nice- a bit thicker and more 'hearty' flat bread with a good 'tooth' and chew. It was warm and had flecks in it, making me think it was made with wheat. I really liked this bread.
The Mister ordered the half chicken meal ($7.49) which came with either breadsticks or tortillas and two sides. He chose the breadsticks (light and airy and hot; nice) and cole slaw (made with a light sauce which was not overpowering and the way I like it) and the potatoes au gratin. Look at those potatoes. They are fresh peeled potatoes, cooked to a nice tenderness and topped with what looks like a gravy poured over them. It is a very old fashioned (I mean *very* old school) recipe for au gratin…using chunks of potatoes (not thinly sliced ones) and topped with cheese sauce, unbaked. This was *really* good. Unexpected.
Oh- the rotisserie'd chicken is fresh, juicy and flavorful. Really good. Really, really good. The chicken is not Costco/Chernobyl sized; it is a normal size bird.
I decided to try the chicken gyros ($4.99), mainly because the salad choices were topped with gyros meat (and if you've read other posts, you know that I have decided that nobody makes their own gyros and all of it that we can get in restaurants is sourced from the same Distributor) and the name of the place has 'chicken' in it. The menu did state this sandwich was made with 'spicy' dark meat chicken topped with what you see above, and I figured that would kind of be like a salad. It was…
I did try to take a bite of the sandwich all rolled up and a lot of the fillings fell out, so I did eat this as a salad, using the house made tzatziki sauce as the dressing. The 'spicy' powdered mix topping the shredded dark chicken meat had quite a kick of heat and did taste good, but the bites of The Mister's chicken were also very good, without the added seasoning.
This was a great place we stumbled upon. We will be back for a dinner (Moussaka is on the menu!)
Chicken Plus Greek Cuisine (Sid's Place) 309 W. Mission Avenue Escondido, CA 92025 (760)480-1348
Mon-Sat 11-9 ;Sun Noon-8 Website
Looks great, can’t beat roasting a whole chicken. Instead of a typical prime roast beef this year for Thanksgiving. We made chicken tiki masala and lamb kafta for the festive eating holiday. It was interesting considering my die hard rice eating parents were receptive to the idea. LOL. Oh and I convert my parents to eating basmati rice.
I have past this place once a week for 10 years…I’m going in! Thanks.
That sounds like a tasty Thanksgiving, nhb! Basmati goes with those spicy sauces.
Hi Craig, welcome to the comment side of our blog. Get the chicken! A lot of people were ordering salads- brought out in HUGE bowls, even the small size.
Waaaah.. I love little gems like these! It’s not a pretty place to look at, but it sounds like curiosity paid off with tasty Greek food. I’m in the beginning stages of being addicted to Greek food — help!
Hi Christine. The main thing I’ve learned in my living and travels is not to judge by looks…not people or vehicles or restaurants. Exteriors may look really good and can be really bad inside and in the same way, exteriors may not look so good but the inner workings are amazing. Greek and Mediterranean is basically a healthy way to eat and I’ve been at that point where I crave certain menu items. Sometimes its merely a crisp salad and the dressing with the chunks of Feta and sometimes it’s the one item in common with all the Greek restaurants around here-homemade, thick cut, perfectly fried onion rings.
Thanks for reviewing a place in North County, that’s where I’m located! My husband would love the roasted chicken and fresh made hummus can’t be beat!
I do have friends in Carlsbad, San Marcos, Escondido and Valley Center, Alyssa. We are slowly exploring the restaurants when we are in the area. This Chicken Plus stop was a completely random stop and we were pleasantly surprised. The salads- even the small- are huge and looked good; many people around us were ordering and I would have tried the falafel…but the name of the place has ‘chicken’ in it…Next time, an all veggie meal.