As fans of YaYa's chicken look for alternatives in Lansing, here are 5 eateries to try
LANSING — Now that YaYa's Flame Broiled Chicken has closed its last Lansing-area location off East Saginaw Street, fans of its marinated and grilled chicken dishes are searching for alternatives.
Fear not, Greater Lansing, there are plenty of options.
YaYa's, which announced its permanent closure with a small sign on its door this past week, offered a variety of chicken dishes and bowls, and was also known for its Caesar salads.
Whether you like your chicken grilled, slow-cooked on a spit, fried, smoked or barbecued, the key to doing it right comes down to a few key things, say local restaurant owners who do it every day.
At Grand Grillin, Vicki Ueberroth's eatery in East Lansing, the first step is marinating boneless skinless chicken breasts in the right blend of spices. Her restaurant uses a secret mix she never discloses, Ueberroth said. Then it comes down to technique.
"A lot of people overcook chicken so it becomes very dry," she said. "It's the whole process of how you cook it and boy do we have it down."
At Bread Bites Mediterranean Cuisine & Bakery in Okemos, chicken is cooked with good intentions, owner Rae Suboh said, and that makes all the difference.
"First of all, doing it with love, honestly," he said. "Using the family recipe, marinating everything the day before cooking to kind of let everything soak in and set into the chicken itself, and that's pretty much it."
Here's a look at five different Lansing area restaurants with chicken dishes worth checking out.
Bread Bites Mediterranean Cuisine & Bakery, Okemos
Rae Suboh and his family opened Bread Bites Mediterranean Cuisine & Bakery, 5100 Marsh Road, in December 2019. Family recipes are part of the menu, including savory options like musakhan, chicken marinated with spices and onions before it's baked.
Musakhan is one of the eatery's most popular chicken dishes, Suboh said, along with chicken shawarma.
Bread Bites staff also makes fresh pita bread, baklava and Mediterranean pies.
ChouPli Wood-Fired Kabob, Delta Township
Chicken shawarma and kabobs are both popular at ChouPli Wood-Fired Kabob. The 1,000-square-foot eatery, 4411 W. Saginaw Hwy., opened in 2016. Staff make everything in-house, owner Zuhair Abed said.
"Everything is fresh from A to Z," he said. "We have no microwave here."
ChouPli's chicken is roasted slowly on a spit, Abed said, and using charcoal gives it a depth of flavor.
"It gives you a different level of flavor, " Abed said.
Eastside Fish Fry & Grill, Lansing
Fans of Eastside Fish Fry & Grill often say it's the special seasoning on the eatery's fried chicken wings that set them apart.
The restaurant, 2417 E Kalamazoo St., also serves up chicken tenders, sandwiches and gizzards, along with fried fish. The business has been featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" in 2017, and then again on the network's "Triple D Nation" last year.
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Grand Grillin, East Lansing
Ueberroth has been building Grand Grillin's clientele since 2010 when she served her grilled chicken pitas, salads and bowls from a mobile food cart at the Capitol. She opened her restaurant in a former 7-Eleven, 740 W. Lake Lansing Road, in December 2022.
The most popular dish is the "Cart Favorite," a grilled pita filled with grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, crumbled blue cheese, bacon, dried cranberries, pecans and an apple cider vinaigrette.
"It's a flavor burst in your mouth," Ueberroth said.
Meat Southern B.B.Q. & Carnivore Cuisine, Old Town
Meat Southern B.B.Q. & Carnivore Cuisine has become a local staple for barbeque since it opened at 1221 Turner St. in Lansing's Old Town in 2012.
The meat-focused menu offers everything from beef brisket and pork ribs to a "meat mountain," piled high with garlic mashed potatoes, smoked beef brisket, house gravy, spicy creamed corn, bacon, and cheddar cheese.
But Meat's chicken options are worth a taste, too, including smoked chicken wings that are brined and rubbed with spices. The restaurant also offers pulled chicken dishes.
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: YaYa's Flame Broiled Chicken is closed. Five places to try now
