Save the chicken!
Lucy Rest
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Future condos threaten to erase local flavour
photo: Aaron McKenzie Fraser
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People who can't see Yre's charms need to look harder
It's the type of place a condo developer dreams of demolishing.But when your chicken tastes this good, you don't have to justify your crazy-bad décor. The cheery atmosphere actually makes the sloppy bright green and orange paint job (Côte d'Ivoire's flag colours) grow on me after a few minutes. Plus, Yre's has everything you could ask for in terms of entertainment while you wait for your dinner: There's dirt bike racing on TV and dozens of copies of France Football stacked high on the counter. Does it get any better?
I love how dead simple the menu is: barbecue chicken (whole, half, or as a quarter-meal special), plantains, rice, couscous, soft drinks. That's it - no booze, cash only, and just a few seats if you want to eat in.
The man running the place (Yre, I presume) is shy but friendly. "Medium-spicy or hot-spicy?" he asks with a smile. I order one of each, and 10 minutes later I've got two quarter-chicken dinners with plantains and a side of couscous for less than 20 bucks. My guy shows up just in time with an LCBO bag in hand and a gold foil-wrapped bar of Poulain chocolate for dessert, and we head up the street to Strathcona Park to eat our feast in the open air with a couple of brewskis.
The sliced plantain is deliciously deep-fried a dark, golden brown. The couscous could be fluffier, but the tomato and onion relish that goes with it is yummy. And the chicken - oh man.
How can I explain how good this chicken is? Obscured as it was by a high wall, I could smell but couldn't
see Yre's special wood and charcoal barbecue. While it is a mystery, I know that what goes on it is spicy piri-piri chicken, a dish that's popular in eastern and southern Africa and Portugal. First it's butterflied and marinated in a mixture of hot peppers, something acidic (like lemon juice), garlic, salt and whatever blend of herbs and spices the cook happens to favour. Then the flame-grilling. The end product is the perfect barbecued bird: bursting with flavour, the flesh moist and tender, the skin perfectly crisp. I know this sounds like ridiculous chicken-chain ad copy, but try it and you'll understand.
A little on the small side, next time I'll order a half-chicken to myself or a whole one to share. And I wonder if Yre thought I couldn't take the heat: the "hot-spicy" has a pleasant kick, but it's not even close to my usual dose. If you're like me, you'll want to order it extra, extra hot.
And maybe get there extra, extra fast too. If the application on the city's notice board outside is granted, this building will be another godawful ugly nine-story condo before you know it. This means the shawarma stand, barber shop and Yre's Chicken will all be forced to relocate. Maybe Subway can rent out the new, more expensive commercial space below.
I ask Yre (ironically wearing a City of Ottawa baseball cap) what he'll do and he shrugs and says he'll try to find somewhere else.
I hope he can.
Get in touch with douglas.bridgewater@ottawa.ca (613-580-2424, extension 13387), who works with the City of Ottawa, if you think the property at Charlotte and Rideau should stay as is.
For the love of God, save the chicken.
Yre's Chicken Barbecue
169 Charlotte Street
613-241-6060
Chicken and sides $4.50-$12
I spent four months in West Africa a few years ago and ate similar fare. YR'es chicking and plantain dish is not to be missed. If you yearn for something a little less like St. Hubert, but just as good, give YR'es a shot. It's simpler - that for sure. But the skin is crunchy, and the chicken tastes a whole lot 'less', like chicken. Sorry mom.
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Chris King
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Still haven't made it out to Yre's, but thanks to some genius planning they had a concession at this year's Folk Festival and I was able to taste the best chicken this side of my own garlic roast chicken. Lovely, but it would've been even better if it was based on a local free-range chicken, West African-style...
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Jamie Kneen
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| Looks like they are ready for a restaurant makeover... |
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But the food sounds great. I prefer going to restaurants that do a few things really well rather than nonething very good, so hearing that all they do is chicken BBQ is music to my ears. I also like the idea that they have couscous and plantains rather than the staple french fries. French fries or potatoes are so boring! Great stuff and if they do more hopefully it can be closer to downtown so that I can make it there for lunch.
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Joe Shebib
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{1 vote}
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| Lucy is right: we need to support successful independent small businesses |
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I like plantain and see it at Produce Depot but do not have the energy to fry it. Yes Mr. Talko, it's not particularly healthy but my yoga cookbook urges people to occasionally have fried treats as part of life enjoyment. I do not live in the area, but will make a trip to Yre's.
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Karen Mohindra
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{5 votes}
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can you beleive this place used to deliver! its true! it took about two hours, and some times more, but it was the best thing on wheels! the chicken used to have a lot more spice too, but is still tasty enough to make me want to stop being a vegetarien. I hope Yre pulls through.
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J C
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{2 votes}
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| No Chicken Barbecue for Me |
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I would never venture within 100 meters of this restaurant. I hate few things more than chicken skin and having chicken gristle stuck in my teeth. I much prefer strips of chicken breast meat stir fried with green peppers, onions and eggplant. On the side flavoured rice would fit better than couscous. I would replace fried plantain with a baked sweet potato which is healthier for you. And lastly exotic fruit rather than chocolate should be the dessert.
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Stephen Talko
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{3 votes}
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The place looks like crap but then again I've actually eaten at places so beautiful that just after taking one bite of their menu I knew that the bulk of the investment of the restaurant went into the decor and not the cuisine itself. So no, don't judge a book by its cover. I know that chicken isn't given a good rub in these parts because of how North American cuisine tends to not understand that you're supposed to coax the flavor to the surface and not bury it under 11 herbs and spices. Clearly Yre gets it. Clearly he understands the basics and knows how to make it finger lickin' good. Even if you've got your doubts about this place (something the review effectively snuffs out in my opinion...) at these prices you can afford to give it a try.
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Pedro Eggers
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{9 votes}
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| Yre's Scrumptious Charcoal BBQ Chicken |
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I have to tell you after reading your comment on this charming little restaurant ( Yre) it really puts the saliva in your mouth Drooling for this Juicy Moist Marinated Piri Piri Chicken, this gentlemen has a gold mine in his hands, the product should be downtown where he can be noticed, (P.S. Probably in the area of metcalfe and Laurier) it is sad about the decor, but the chicken makes up for it more then one way., little touches here and there and voila you have a masterpiece, this is a definite HOT ITEM to say the least, that chicken butterflied is TOTALLY OUT OF THIS WORLD. The spices combined and marinated, makes this an exceptional chicken mixture of peppers and lemon etc, just the right touch, also having the choice of plantain or couscous as side dishes gives the chicken the right marriage of sweet and hot, great combo. Awesome review.
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Marianne Guint
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{16 votes}
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| West African Chicken Delights |
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I must agree with you about the chicken and the plantain...it is fabulous! And yes that is Yres who own the place. Funny you talk about the chicken being popular in east and southern Africa and Portugal, however the owner is actually from the Ivory Coast in west Africa.
Don't go for the atmosphere, go for the food. And with weather like this, who can resist eating outside anyway? - no excuse with a park just around the corner....
Try it before it's gone (or hopefully only relocated)!
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Leah Stinson
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{9 votes}
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The chicken was juicy with a hint of spiciness. It was one of the best chicken I've ever had. The fried plantain was sweet and not greasy at all.
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Jay Lam
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