One Thai street food concept exits and another enters. The North Cambridge storefront on Massachusetts Avenue that was Yummy Thai was born anew as Chicken & Co. this year. It would be fair to call the new eatery the Thai chicken and rice guys. Yummy Thai made some pretty kick-ass spicy basil grapao (ground chicken in chili oil) that would burn you a happy hole in your belly; the new folks serve you chicken prepared three ways in a limited number of entree options and with a battery of delicious dipping sauces.
The preparations of poached, grilled and crispy-fried come with the skin on, and all are unique and delicious in their own right. (There’s a combo option too.) The poached variation especially is tender and succulent, though I tend to remove the skin. That feels unnecessary for the fried and grilled preparations, which transform the skin. Straight up they come served with a generous mound of ginger rice; for the sauces, there are sweet red chili, hearty tamarind and a zesty ginger. Each plate comes also with a serving of rich yet super light daikon soup (dried mushrooms and daikon, which is like a turnip, in a thin yet savory chicken broth). The dishes are simple yet satiating.
The menu’s not vast, to be sure, and is all about the bird except the Moo Tod, a crispy pork belly that, like the chicken, comes atop a delicately domed serving of ginger rice. There are soup options too, including a spicy Tom Yum soup on par with and akin to the one offered at the Thai soup bar What A Soup in Central Square. You can get good ’ole basic chicken noodle soup too with egg noodles, bok choy and that poached chicken, and there’s a dry noodle version in which the egg noodles are dressed with a maple-accented teriyaki sauce and come with grilled chicken, bok choy and a side of that wonderful daikon soup.
The appetizer slate is fowl focused as well, with grilled chicken bao buns; crispy chicken skin, a crunchy good finger food; edamame; seaweed salad (which comes in a generous serving); crispy vegetarian spring rolls; and curry puffs. Having tried the combo with the poached and crispy chicken and the dried noodles with the grilled, I find the grilled and poached are my sweet spots. You don’t see poached chicken on too many menus, and the way these folks do the grilling, the meat comes out moist and flavorful, never dry or overdone.
If you had been to Yummy Thai you might recall it had a bit of a lived-in homeyness that begged for a makeover. It was fine, as Yummy Thai was pretty much a takeout spot, but the Chicken & Co. peeps have totally redone the place. It’s sparkling and amazingly, they’ve managed to squeeze 16 or so seats into the small space. Open for lunch and dinner, it’s a great place to roll in and have a fast nosh that’s something different, yet wraps you in comfort at the same time. It’s simple and sublime.
Chicken & Co., 2261 Massachusetts Ave., North Cambridge
Tom Meek is a writer living in Cambridge. His reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in the WBUR ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
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My family had a very nice meal at Chicken & Co after reading this review. Thank you for the recommendation. The food was tasty and the price was reasonable. Will go back again.