Bon Chon

If you were to ask me what food I were craving at this very moment, it would probably be Bon Chon.  According to its website, Bon Chon means "my hometown" in Korean, and I'm super duper happy that we have a taste of Korea in New York.  And not just any Korean food, but specifically Korean fried chicken.

The menu at Bon Chon boasts pan-Asian dishes like bibimbop (clay pot rice) and chicken katsu (chicken cutlet) but the star item is the fried chicken.  I've heard the hot variety of their chicken has made grown men cry, but I was definitely up for the soy garlic variety.

The first thing I noticed on the menu was that food was cooked to order, so they warned that there would be some wait.  This must be part of a clever marketing ploy because I was starving by the time the plate of chicken arrived.  We ordered a large order of soy garlic wings and drumsticks to split between three people.  The huge plate was ringed with drumsticks in a neat circle and heaped with wings in the middle, like some sort of demented Paleo diet meat Christmas wreath.  Not that I'm complaining.  The aroma that wafted towards me was spectacular: the smell of newly-fried chicken, along with a tempting heat that radiated from it.

The chicken was amazing.

When you bite into the crunchy breading, the soy garlic flavor will floor you.  It's full of umami and finger-lickin' goodness.  The chicken itself is juicy and tender.  And while you're still eating one plump drumstick the size of your forearm, you find you're already reaching for another.  It's so addictive you can't stop.

The problem is when you've ordered too much chicken for you and your fellow diners to finish.  You start to get chicken fatigue and each bite tastes less and less delicious.  Still delicious, but not as heavenly as the first bite.

Next time, I know to trust that my eyes are way bigger than my stomach, but I definitely cannot wait for my next Bon Chon run.

p.s. No pictures because it was quite dark inside and I lunged at the chicken before doing the requisite photoshoot.  Sorry :(