To prepare for this fall's Best of Dallas® 2014 issue, we're counting down (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes. If there's a dish you think we need to try, leave it in the comments, or email me.
Yes, sure, OK, Bonchon is a chain that's slowly taking over the entire globe with corporate fried chicken bits. This is the sort of thing that might leave a bad taste in the mouths of discerning food enthusiasts who scoff at any big restaurant entity that threatens the sanctity of small, local food business.
Were the chickens that made the greatest sacrifice to became Bonchon's Korean Fried Chicken raised locally? We think not, but you'll likely get over it because oh my God is this chicken delicious.
It's the double-fry method, which the Bonchon cooks have down to a science, that renders this chicken impossibly crispy. The first bath in bubbling oil cooks everything through, but a second, coupled with the thinnest of coatings, leaves each wing with crisp, almost glass-like skin. It crinkles and shatters when you bite it.
After a bite grab a radish cube with your chopsticks, and let the vinegary, pickle brine cut through the sweet, spicy fattiness of the chicken. Follow with a big slug of beer to wash your palate clean and repeat the whole process again. You could spend hours devoted to the endless point and counter point for your tastebuds, which is appropriate because one of the scores of televisions hanging on the walls here is likely playing a game you're interested in.
No. 100: Pastrami Egg Rolls at Blind Butcher No. 99: Chicken-fried Steak at Tom's Burgers and Grill No. 98: Pasta with Uni Butter at Nonna No. 97: Camarón en Agua Chile at La Palapas No. 96: The Wings at Lakewood Landing No. 94: Chicken Kebab at Afrah No. 93: Trompo Tacos at Bachman Lake No. 92: Fish and Chips at 20 Feet No. 91: Canelés at Village Baking Co. No. 90: Banh Mi from La Me No. 88: The Burgers at Off-Site Kitchen No. 87: The White Album at Spoon No. 86: Ramen at Tei An No. 85: Tacos at Revolver Taco No. 84: Stuffed Chicken Wings at Sakhuu
