[OP-ED] Sydney's Chicken Wars: Frango's V El Jannah

EL JANNAH. Supplied by Nathan Asani for The Western

There are plenty of debates about Sydney that can divide friends and family - the best beaches, the best football club, or the best pub. Nothing catches the emotions of Sydney siders more than which area has the best grub. Western Sydney is home to some of Sydney’s favourite affordable and authentic cuisines - from pork rolls to pho, to manoush and halal snack packs. One of the biggest culinary wars being waged on Sydney’s streets is the battle for total charcoal chicken supremacy. I took the liberty of looking at arguably Sydney’s two most popular charcoal chicken chains - Frango’s and El Jannah. 

I’ve lost count of how many times this debate has come up in my life, and both these spots seem to create die-hard allegiances, which some even put ahead of their own personal relationships. While these chicken spots come from two different backgrounds, they both attract Sydney’s best clientele. You can see tradies, hipsters, and crooks of all nationalities sharing the chilli sauce (or garlic) at either of these joints. These two chicken spots have come to represent the diversity of Sydney’s west.

FRANGOS. Supplied by Nathan Asani for The Western

Frango’s does Portuguese style chicken, slow cooked on a spit with their iconic chili sauce. The once humble Inner Western Chicken shop, founded in 1998 in Petersham, Sydney’s little Portugal, has expanded in the last decade and established itself as one of Western Sydney’s go-to chicken spots. With its affordability and quality to match, it's no wonder why. I can safely say that Frango’s mayonnaise-peri peri sauce fusion is next to none, and their chicken falls off the bone. On any night of the week you can expect a long wait, so if you’re getting burgers, call before hand - trust me. Frango’s is one of the last faces of ‘old Petersham’ - before gentrification changed the face of the suburb. With expansions in Bella Vista, Smithfield, Penrith and Gregory Hills, it’s almost as if Petersham is expanding West because that’s where it feels most at home. Maybe it’s Western Sydney’s superior taste in food, because their attempt to expand East in Rosebay failed miserably. Shockingly, the store lasted only a couple years - despite it being en route to the beach and in a brand new region of Sydney. To add insult to injury, the store was replaced by Northern Sydney icon (and the most over-rated chicken in the city) Chargrill Charlie’s, which specialises in expensive roast chicken and wet chips. To this day. Chargrill Charlie’s thrives and is a reminder that money can’t buy you good taste in food. 

El-Jannah is a Western Sydney institution, founded within the Lebanese community of Granville sixteen years ago. For many in the East, El Jannah is the only thing they know about Western Sydney. This restaurant separates itself from Frango’s by focusing on the finer things - served with lebanese pickles, pita bread, and a generous serving of garlic sauce all for under fifteen dollars. Just like Frango’s, it’s their sauce that brings people back. The decision between Frango’s and El Jannah often comes down to whether you prefer garlic sauce or peri peri sauce. For most of their history, each restaurant exclusively focused on one style of sauce.

While I personally believe the quality of chicken lacks compared to Frango’s, I can certainly appreciate the picnic style presentation you get with all the sides to pick at. Last month, El-Jannah opened up a new front in the Sydney Chicken war by opening up their first ‘express’ store deep in Frango’s home turf, Newtown. A risky move seeing as Newtown houses several other chicken spots, including an Oporto, Ogalo, a chicken shop at the train station and local favourite Clems, all on the same street. Even more boldly, the express store has introduced fried chicken, fried chicken burgers, and even their very own peri peri sauce to the El-Jannah menu. The new ‘express’ El-Jannah is less a restaurant and more a fast food spot, and its lines are long from open til’ close. Expanding outside of Western Sydney, a confident move for El-Jannah, is sure to take some customers from the original Frango’s store just a suburb over. The new location is now El-Jannah’s seventh store, along with locations in Penrith, Campbelltown, Blacktown, Kogarah, Punchbowl, and Granville. While younger than Frango’s, El Jannah has been faster with expansion. 

One thing these two chicken shops have in common is the customer service. It’s safe to say that both have a negative reputation when it comes to human interaction. As a Frango’s fanboy, I have to concede this one thing. While El-Jannah’s customer service is bad, Frango’s is literally hostile. Reminicent of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi episode, Frango’s has a complex and strict ordering system that staff won’t give you sympathy for screwing up, and as we come up to 2020,  Frango’s still doesn't take card. It’s gotten to a point where a whole different Portuguese chicken shop exists three doors down dedicated to those who boycott Frango’s because of this. However, I truly believe that the best food comes with the worst customer service, so in a way, Frango’s kind of wins this one anyway.

These words surely aren't going to change anyone's mind. The rivalry between these two institutions is too deep for that. But this chicken fued does go to show that Sydney, often overlooked as a food city by outsiders, has some of the best chicken and some of the most dedicated chicken fans around the world. The chicken wars of El Jannah and Frango’s encapsulate the spirit of Western Sydney. Its cultural diversity has brought an unmatched  quality of food, the working class roots of the region has given it a quirkiness you could only really find in a place like Western Sydney. The underdog mentality of the West, and these chicken shops, has allowed the two restaurants to compete in a city with a KFC and Oporto's every 2kms. The community pride these stores create is comparable to a sports team - and just like the West itself, there is no doubt in my mind that the future looks bright for these two restaurants.