Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A rancher‘s chicken

The lure of wood fire rotisserie inspires a local geography lesson

Crispy cayenne seasoned skin by way of Texas
Crispy cayenne seasoned skin by way of Texas

Hopefully, I’m not alone in confusing San Diego’s collection of ranch communities. We have Bressi Ranch, Scripps Ranch, and Carmel Mountain Ranch, plus lesser knowns Black Mountain Ranch and Fairbanks Ranch. Most are suburban enclaves clustered within the broad expanse between the 5 and 15 freeways in North County, making them easy for outsiders to confuse, even without the slew of adjacent Ranchos: Bernardo, Peñasquitos, and Santa Fe.

Place

Cowboy Chicken

10562 Craftsman Way Suite 192, San Diego

As of this weekend, though, I do have a more lasting impression of 4S Ranch. A good meal will do that.

A rotisserie chicken joint in 4S Ranch

The unincorporated area sits roughly between Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Santa Fe, to the south of Lake Hodges. Histories of the place note it was part of a massive allotment of grazing lands granted English-born Joseph Snook in the mid-19th century. The most interesting thing about him is that San Diego was part of Mexico back then, so he became a Mexican citizen, and renamed himself Jose Francisco Snook.

Sponsored
Sponsored

He called his 17 thousand acres Rancho Bernardo, but after his death the whole thing was divided up, and 4S Ranch remained undeveloped agricultural land until the 1980s. And like most 80s developments, 4S Ranch has lots of stucco tract homes and shopping centers built around large parking lots.

It within one of those that I found Cowboy Chicken. It’s part of the 4S Commons Town Center, along with a Panera Bread and something called a Mathnaseum, though it’s most recognizable landmark would be the Karl Strauss Brewpub.

I’ve since learned Cowboy Chicken is part of a Texas chain of restaurants that’s been slowly inching its way towards California, “Proudly serving all-natural, hormone free chicken since 1981.”

I did like the sound of that, and especially the sight and smell of it. Stepping inside the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was a large brick rotisserie oven, with a window built into it where I could see two dozen whole chickens turning on rotating spits, in front of a wood-fueled fire. If the aroma of roasting chicken and burning oak doesn’t make you hungry, then you and I have little in common.

The place serves chicken sandwiches and enchiladas, but for $9.49 I opted for a combo of half chicken and two sides. Sides include baked sweet potatoes, ranchero beans, and corn fritters, which might have enticed me if there wasn’t mac and cheese or creamed spinach.

These sides honestly disappointed me a bit; the mac could have used a little more flavor, the creamed spinach less. But the main attraction didn’t fail me one bit. Rubbed with a light blend of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, the wood-fired chicken boasts crispy skin, and rich smoky flavor permeating into sumptuous light and dark meats.

Though a counter restaurant with a self-serve soda fountain, Cowboy Chicken operates a step above most fast casual joints, from a service standpoint. Employees continuously checked in to make sure I had any necessary silverware, barbecue sauce, and beverage at my table, and bussed my table when I was done.

It makes literal sense a business called Cowboy Chicken would choose a Ranch community to post one of its first California locations. I just find it ironic it took a Texas restaurant chain to help me find 4S Ranch on the map.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Next Article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
Crispy cayenne seasoned skin by way of Texas
Crispy cayenne seasoned skin by way of Texas

Hopefully, I’m not alone in confusing San Diego’s collection of ranch communities. We have Bressi Ranch, Scripps Ranch, and Carmel Mountain Ranch, plus lesser knowns Black Mountain Ranch and Fairbanks Ranch. Most are suburban enclaves clustered within the broad expanse between the 5 and 15 freeways in North County, making them easy for outsiders to confuse, even without the slew of adjacent Ranchos: Bernardo, Peñasquitos, and Santa Fe.

Place

Cowboy Chicken

10562 Craftsman Way Suite 192, San Diego

As of this weekend, though, I do have a more lasting impression of 4S Ranch. A good meal will do that.

A rotisserie chicken joint in 4S Ranch

The unincorporated area sits roughly between Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Santa Fe, to the south of Lake Hodges. Histories of the place note it was part of a massive allotment of grazing lands granted English-born Joseph Snook in the mid-19th century. The most interesting thing about him is that San Diego was part of Mexico back then, so he became a Mexican citizen, and renamed himself Jose Francisco Snook.

Sponsored
Sponsored

He called his 17 thousand acres Rancho Bernardo, but after his death the whole thing was divided up, and 4S Ranch remained undeveloped agricultural land until the 1980s. And like most 80s developments, 4S Ranch has lots of stucco tract homes and shopping centers built around large parking lots.

It within one of those that I found Cowboy Chicken. It’s part of the 4S Commons Town Center, along with a Panera Bread and something called a Mathnaseum, though it’s most recognizable landmark would be the Karl Strauss Brewpub.

I’ve since learned Cowboy Chicken is part of a Texas chain of restaurants that’s been slowly inching its way towards California, “Proudly serving all-natural, hormone free chicken since 1981.”

I did like the sound of that, and especially the sight and smell of it. Stepping inside the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was a large brick rotisserie oven, with a window built into it where I could see two dozen whole chickens turning on rotating spits, in front of a wood-fueled fire. If the aroma of roasting chicken and burning oak doesn’t make you hungry, then you and I have little in common.

The place serves chicken sandwiches and enchiladas, but for $9.49 I opted for a combo of half chicken and two sides. Sides include baked sweet potatoes, ranchero beans, and corn fritters, which might have enticed me if there wasn’t mac and cheese or creamed spinach.

These sides honestly disappointed me a bit; the mac could have used a little more flavor, the creamed spinach less. But the main attraction didn’t fail me one bit. Rubbed with a light blend of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, the wood-fired chicken boasts crispy skin, and rich smoky flavor permeating into sumptuous light and dark meats.

Though a counter restaurant with a self-serve soda fountain, Cowboy Chicken operates a step above most fast casual joints, from a service standpoint. Employees continuously checked in to make sure I had any necessary silverware, barbecue sauce, and beverage at my table, and bussed my table when I was done.

It makes literal sense a business called Cowboy Chicken would choose a Ranch community to post one of its first California locations. I just find it ironic it took a Texas restaurant chain to help me find 4S Ranch on the map.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Next Article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 18, 2018
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.