Inspired Chicken at Marco Pollo

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It’s an apartment building amenity! It’s a hidden hotspot for creative dining!

It’s the food court inside Eleven25 at Pabst (1125 N. Ninth St), home to several eateries, some of them stationary satellites of established food trucks. And actually, what Eleven25 has might be better called a food aisle, what with its straight line of counters and kitchens not conforming to the cul de sac-looking, rounded dining areas in shopping malls and the like. 

Whatever shape your eating space is in, one of Eleven 25’s star attractions is Marco Pollo. In its original mobile iteration, its founders billed it as a “global cluck truck” serving chicken in ways inspired by several international cuisines that Marco Polo may have encountered in his premodern globetrotting.

Admittedly, the Tex-Mex, Buffalo and Louisianan Big Easy preparations of chunky white meat served over jasmine rice may not have been anything that Polo encountered. But they nicely round out a bill of fare including East Indian, Italian, Malaysian and Japanese variations with vegetarian options available, too. 

To whet my appetite for future visits, my first Marco Pollo meal was its naked chicken. The grilled meat (also available fried), juicily marinated with slight notes of sweetness and spice, was paired delightfully with the sticky rice. Among the dipping sauces offered, I chose honey mustard; it well complemented the chicken, but so may have the barbecue and ranch.  

Marco Pollo merits return visits to taste more of its varied menu.