Bon Chon
957 2nd Ave., Midtown East, NY
Welcome to the world of KFC – Korean Fried Chicken. We’ve done a lot of writing lately about our quest for the perfect Buffalo wing, but it would be careless of us to leave the Korean variety out of the discussion. Especially when you consider that there’s gonna be more Bon Chons than Popeye’s in this city by the end of next year.
Bon Chon is always a hot button issue when you bring it up around people in the know. Some swear that this is the only place to go for the crispy goodness that is Korean fried chicken. Others will insist that Bon Chon is merely a franchised version of the real deal, and that you need to be in K-Town or Queens to get the goods. We fall somewhere in the middle. You’ll notice that this review is of the new Midtown location, and we did that for a reason. This location is the perfect example of how franchising your business can be a bad idea. They’ve basically a taken a slick Midtown East bar with TVs and added a Bon Chon logo and chicken. And they appear to have hired out-of-work “models” as bartenders. I don’t need to see a dude with his shirt half buttoned while I eat wings. The chicken can also be a bit inconsistent, and that’s seems to be the case with all of the Bon Chons we’ve been to. It’s either perfect and crispy and ridiculously good, or it’s bogged down with grease and unappealing. There is no in between.
At the end of the day, Bon Chon is so good when it’s good, that we can get over the few times we’ve been let down by it. The hot & spicy wings have the perfect amount of heat, and we’ve been known to take down twenty at at time if the mood hits us right. The soy garlic variety are pretty f*cking tasty too, and we’ve even gotten into the boneless wings lately. This place certainly hasn’t ended our quest for the perfect wing, but it’s satisfied an urge from time to time.
Food Rundown:
Hot & Spicy Wings
The chicken pieces and wings at Bon Chon are legendary for their crispy skin and tender meat. The hot & spicy sauce is our favorite, just because the heat comes at the end, but it comes on strong. We love that. The boneless wings are a solid order too, but they do lack some of the crunch you get from the boney guys.
Soy Garlic Wings
They soy garlic varitey at Bon Chon have a nice sweetness to them, and maybe that’s your thing. We like them fine, but prefer some hot & spicy action. A half and half order is always a good move so you can switch between the two.
Scallion Pancake
People seem to like the scallion pancakes here, but we can’t get down like that. If we’re going scallion pancake, we’re going to K-Town for it. These are just greasy.
Shoestring Fries
Bon Chon has gotten into the truffle fries business. These shoestring guys are a decent order to put next to your KFC, but they really aren’t all that truffley.
you might also like
Pok Pok Wing
Lower East Side,
NY
Kunjip
Midtown,
NY
Social Eatz
Midtown East,
NY
