While for many of us dry chicken breasts are a rite of poultry passage, brothers Oliver and Nicolas Poilevey have a different tale to tell. Theirs is one of vacations filled with roadside rotisserie chicken stands after a day spent at the beach in France.
There, they would grab a perfectly prepared bird, its juices intact, and the glistening potatoes that sat underneath the slowly rotating chickens soaking up all the delicious jus in the process. A baguette, bien sûr, was always procured.
On Tuesday, August 25, the Poileveys, who’ve built numerous successful restaurants including River North’s Obélix and Pilsen’s Mariscos San Pedro, bring those memories to life with the opening of Bucktown’s Chez Poulet. Located inside the original Taqueria Chingón, which moved to Fulton Market in May 2025, Chez Poulet lives up to the translation of its name, “House of Chicken.” Next to the front window is “Eduardo,” the tall Old Hickory rotisserie filled with 50 or so chickens rotating inside it. Its name was scrawled in Sharpie on the hulking piece of equipment when it was delivered — the author of that signature remains a mystery.
When the brothers closed Taqueria Chingón in November 2024, they originally wanted to sell the building. But after only getting interest from big corporate developers who wanted to do something and then flip it, the brothers decided to take it off the market and figure out a new restaurant instead. A key concern was the lack of seating in the space and thus the need to create a to-go item that traveled well. (There is a patio on the side of the building with seating for 40 when weather permits.) The need for additional production space for nearby Le Bouchon, the beloved Bucktown restaurant established by their parents in 1993, was also a driving factor.
That’s where those poulets of the past came into play. “Rotisserie chicken was always something we really enjoyed, so when we were thinking of a takeout-specific operation for this space that’s what we kept coming back to,” says Nicolas.
The brothers acknowledge that Chez Poulet is also part of a real moment happening across the country. Rotisserie chicken has proliferated rapidly in the last year or so, in cities like New York, Phoenix, and Portland, Oregon, while debate has simultaneously raged about the proper price for a bird. “People are mad about chicken these days,” adds Oliver.
After trying a bunch of different chickens, they, along with chef Keagan Beresford, who oversees Chez Poulet and continues to work at Le Bouchon, chose Ivory Amish chicken from a small independent farm in Pennsylvania. Sourced from high-end purveyor Regalis Foods, the historic chicken breed is pasture-raised and fed an organic, non-GMO, hormone-free diet. “This one had everything we wanted,” says Oliver, including the right processing procedures, size at 3.5 pounds, and ratio of white meat to dark meat. “Sometimes with American chickens, there’s too much white meat and not enough dark meat. I’m a dark meat guy.”
The chickens undergo a three-day process. They are brined for a day to ensure juiciness and thorough seasoning. Then they’re air-dried in the cooler, which leads to crispier skin. The chickens also get seasoned with Beresford’s rub, a blend of onion, garlic, paprika, a little Thai pepper, celery, and salt. The secret ingredient? MSG. “It makes your mouth salivate,” says Beresford, who pooh-poohs the Western bias against the umami-imparting ingredient. “It’s not less healthy than salt or soy sauce. It’s daddy’s little helper.”
Four sauces go along with the whole and half birds. Chimichurri leans French with the addition of cornichons; the garlic toum is creamy and pungent; nutty salsa macha comes courtesy of a Taqueria Chingón recipe; and then there’s the chicken skin. “They all hit a different itch, but they go great together,” says Oliver.
Sides include Moroccan curried corn with a dollop of refreshing yogurt. Their version of mac and cheese finds inspiration in French macaroni au gratin, Detroit-style pizza, Barbaros macaroni pie, and baked ziti. It’s named Papa Louis’ Macaroni Gratin after the brothers’ grandfather, who at one time made Comté, the dish’s main cheese, in France. A drizzle of chicken jus is added because, well, why not? Those chicken fat confit potatoes are available, too. Oliver’s collard greens, credited as such on the hanging menu board above the counter, are from a recipe he’s been working on for a while, and are a sweet-and-sour flavor bomb courtesy of maple syrup, sherry vinegar, fish sauce, bacon, and sambal. “This man has been trying to find an outlet for his collard greens for like eight years,” jokes Nicolas. “He’s been forcing it into menus at Le Bouchon and Obélix.”
Seasonal salads range from carrot vadouvan and farm tomato to celery root remoulade and chicken salad “Caesar style.” There’s homemade charcuterie like chicken liver mousse and pâté de Campagne along with a small selection of cheese. On the weekends, there’ll be specials like a chicken banh mi and chicken Caesar wraps, with the addition of soup and perhaps chicken pot pie down the road. For dessert there’s chocolate mousse and rice pudding with milk from Illinois’s Kilgus Farmstead.
Another vital component at Chez Poulet is the bread from Mindy Segal of Mindy’s Bakery. Segal first heard about Chez Poulet from her friend, Oliver, when they were at the park walking their dogs. “My first reaction was ‘fuck you,’” says Segal, who for years had a “fantasy” about opening a French wine bar called Poulet that would feature rotisserie chicken. Now long in the rearview mirror, she quickly shifted gears. “‘Well, let me make your bread for you so I feel like I’m part of Chez Poulet,’” she recalls telling Oliver. Segal only does wholesale for very good friends.
Her chicken bread, a cross between naan and a flatbread, is one she’s been working on for a while. Its soft texture makes it perfect for tearing and wrapping around pieces of chicken. A brush of chicken jus deepens the connection. The Chez Poulet baguette dates to a recipe from her now-closed Bucktown restaurant Hot Chocolate. She spent the last few months reteaching herself how to make and shape the dough. The result is a wonderfully crispy bread that acts as a perfect sponge for the chicken, sauces, and sides. “It got me really excited and I felt really good about accomplishing it,” she says of the experience. “You are never too old to teach yourself something.”
Wine and the rest of the beverages are under Nicolas’s purview. The all-French wine list includes four wines by the glass and eight by the bottle. “They’re a little lighter and a little less expensive,” he says. “We are going with more of an everyday kind of wine that pairs especially well with chicken.” There’s also cider from Greg Hall’s Virtue Cider, beer from Middle Brow, and French beer Kronenbourg, in addition to sodas.
For its logo and branding, Chez Poulet worked with local design group Secco Studio, which created the beret-wearing chicken holding a wine glass in one wing and a rotisserie skewer in the other. It appears prominently on the front window and on T-shirts. The blue-and-white striped tote bags, reminiscent of the South of France, are Secco’s handiwork too. Inside are separate pouches for a wine bottle and baguette.
Throughout the space are chicken-themed vintage ceramics and posters. They’re only a small representation of the ones Oliver has recently been collecting from antique stores. “We’re still trying to figure out where they’re all going to live,” he says.
Chez Poulet, 2234 N. Western Avenue; open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
