Back in December, I visited Bon Chon’s Turtle Bay location to check out their lunch specials. While I loved the chicken, I also tried the LaFrieda Korean Bulgogi Burger ($9), and wasn’t the biggest fan. But in light of recent comments in the ML Forums claiming that the burger was vastly improved, I had to go for a second look.

The above photo from Bon Chon’s website depicts what the burger is “supposed” to look like. And even though lunch’er “Harry” said that his resembled the picture, I was skeptical given that the last burger I got looked like this:

This time, I got my burger to go given that Bon Chon takes notoriously long. I know the wait time is more for the chicken than the other menu items, but it was a busy day so I called ahead. Here’s what my burger looked like:

And an open shot of the sauces:

This burger had more vegetables than my first burger, with mesclun greens replacing iceberg, several more slices of cucumber, and shredded carrots. There was a dab of spicy mayo and a dab of sweet sauce which I’m assuming is the “bulgogi sauce” (?) Nothing like the generous smear in the stock photo, but this burger definitely had more bulgogi flavor than my first burger. I ordered the burger medium-rare, but it came out with barely a trace of pink in the center. This wasn’t a deal-breaker as it was pretty juicy anyway, but I do feel that if you’re cooking burgers to order, you should get it right.

After hearing about “Harry’s” experience with the truffle fries, I was really looking forward to stinking up my office with some truffle oil action. Here’s what my fries looked like:

The only good thing I can say about these is that there were a lot of them. There was no truffle taste to speak of, they didn’t include any of that interesting looking dipping sauce in my take-out order, and if I hadn’t picked them up from Bon Chon myself I would swear they were from McDonald’s. However, I would potentially be willing to give them another shot on a dine-in visit, as I’m positive the 4 (street, not avenue) block walk back to the office was detrimental to their texture and temperature.

Since I had already tried the burger and fries on my last visit, I decided to throw in an appetizer to explore a little bit more of the menu. I chose the Hand Wrapped Pot Stickers ($8), with seasoned pork, chive, and sweet soy glaze.

Eight dollars buys you six deep fried pot stickers, which for me raised the philosophical question: Can they be called “pot stickers” if they are deep fried and thus have no pot to which to stick? Discuss. The dumplings, which were pre-sauced and sprinkled with green onion and sesame seeds, were tasty enough- although I prefer steamed or pan-fried dumplings to deep fried so these were much heavier than I anticipated. For 8 bucks, skip these and get another order of chicken.

Basically, what this post boils down to is that my conclusion from my previous visit stands: Stick to the chicken. Bon Chon does excellent chicken. The general consensus seems to be that the rest of the menu is mediocre at best, but the chicken is really good chicken, and I agree. Come here. Eat chicken. Don’t mess around. You won’t be disappointed.

Bon Chon, 957 2nd Ave (btw. 51+50th), 212-308-8810

Back in August, we announced the opening of a brand new Bon Chon location in Turtle Bay, but never got around to a full review. Since I’ve never been to Bon Chon (criminal, I know), I decided it was most definitely time for me to venture over.  Korean fried chicken places can get a bit expensive if you aren’t careful, but there are four lunch specials on the menu that all clock in at under $10: BonChon Chicken Lunch, LaFrieda Korean Bulgogi Burger + Frite, Balsamic House Salad, and BonChon Marinated Chicken Fried Rice.

The namesake chicken lunch ($8) consisted of 5 wings and 1 drumstick, in either Hot & Spicy or Soy Garlic flavor. I got the hot and spicy, and it was nice and spicy without being uncomfortable. The skin on the chicken was crispy, and the wings were clearly fresh out of the fryer. In my opinion, they could have been a bit saucier, but once again I am a BonChon newbie, so maybe this is just how they are?

I had very high hopes for the burger ($9). LaFrieda? Check. Bulgogi? Double check. Unfortunately, the result did not live up to the expectations. The burger was small and overcooked, and had none of the juiciness, sweetness, or fattiness I generally associate with bulgogi. The lettuce and thin slice of cucumber were an afterthought and added little to the burger.

Another thing I need to mention is the fact that the service was very slow. I would try to do takeout unless you have a full hour for lunch, and stick to the chicken if you’re going to go for a lunch special. The one other item in the ML range I would be interested in trying is the Seoul Rice Bowl ($10): marinated steak or spicy chicken, mushroom, and local vegetables.  But considering what they did with the burger, I might just stick with what I know is going to be good: aka the chicken.

BonChon, 957 2nd Ave (btw. 51+50th), 212-308-8810

We got a tip earlier this week that the Bon Chon on 38th btw. 7+8th had been closed by the Health Department. Upon investigating yesterday, it turns out that the restaurant is open for business with a Grade Pending sign in the window. According to the DOH website, the restaurant was shut down after a failing inspection last week and re-opened on Monday with an A-grade worthy 11 points. But the trip over there wasn’t completely futile! It turns out they’re now serving $2.99 tap beers (including Brooklyn Lager, Stella, and Sam Adams) all day long Monday – Wednesday and at off peak hours the rest of the week. And now we know those tap lines are most likely clean.

Related:
Korean-Fried-Chicken-Palooza: Kyochon vs. Bon Chon vs. Mad For Chicken

Our friends at Scoutmob have got a great deal today at one of our favorite places in Midtown… get 50% off at the Bon Chon on 38th Street (btw. 7+8th), and the best part is you don’t have to buy anything. All you have to do is enter your cell phone number and you score the coupon for free. But wait… there’s more. To sweeten the deal the awesome folks at Scoutmob have $100 in BonChon gift cards to give away to one lucky lunch’er who subscribes to receive their daily email. To enter, just follow this link and sign up by entering your email address in the box at the top ( where it says “join the nyc mob”). Already a Scoutmob member?  Post a comment below and we’ll make sure you’re entered to win the gift cards too.

So… just to recap.  Enter your cell phone number, get 50% off Bon Chon texted to you for free (on 38th.)  Enter your email address in the box at the top of the page, and you’re entered to win $100 worth of Bon Chon gift cards.  What are you waiting for?  You have until tonight (3/7) at Midnight to get the 50% off, but you can enter to win the gift card by signing up for the Scoutmob email through Friday (3/11) at Noon.  Good luck!

Last week Grub Street reported that a new Bon Chon will be opening on 51st and 2nd Ave., and this morning Lunch’er “Joyce” was kind enough to send along these photos.  It may be technically out of bounds, but if you work in Midtown East it means no more trekking down to K-Town for fried chicken!  Unlike the two locations in south Midtown (on 38th btw. 7+8th, and 5th btw. 32+33rd) this new location is actually owned by a former manager of the Bon Chon on John Street (not to be confused with the one on Chambers which recently lost its “Chon”.)  Our Downtown site always had good things to say about that location, so we’re guessing this one should be just as good.

They’ve launched a website at http://www.bonchonmidtown.com, and you can track their construction progress on this Wordpress blog they set up.  They’re hoping to open in early 2011.