Midtown Lunch

The problem with Korean Fried Chicken is that it’s actually so good that you’re willing to go through a lot to get it. I discovered this a couple years ago at Mad For Chicken (a branch of Bon Chon Chicken at the time.) Both patience and the lunch hour were tested as 10, then 20, then 30 minutes went by with neither food served nor drinks refilled. But a year ago, when Zach first posted about the place, it was our only lunchtime option. It cost more than you wanted to spend and often took a lot longer than you really had time for… but oh, that chicken! Crisp, sweet and sticky, it made all the worries of time and work melt away.

That’s why when Kyochon’s ‘coming soon’ sign went up last February, I rejoiced. Korean Fried Chicken without the interminable wait? Yes, please! Or so I thought. If the year-long delay didn’t set me straight, the lines out the door after it opened certainly did. Clearly, waiting for Korean Fried Chicken is just a requirement. It’s the way it is. So, the question becomes, with Kyochon finally here, Mad For Chicken across the street and a Bon Chon a few blocks away (and another opening up on the same block as Kyochon), how do they stack up?

With the alternating hype and dog-piling on Kyochon, a clear, unbiased fried chicken smackdown was in order. I gladly stepped up (arteries be damned.)

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So Kyochon finally opened their doors for dinner last night, and they will be open again tonight… but they still aren’t open for lunch and don’t expect to be until Friday (their supposedly official “Grand Opening Day”.)  Of course the way things have been going this week, they could surprise everybody by opening tomorrow for lunch or it might be 3 weeks from now!  Either way, they said you might want to call first on Friday just to be safe.  But the fact that they’re open for dinner is a good sign.  In related news, Eater just reported that Bon Chon will be opening another Midtown location on the very same block, in the old Caprese Cafe space.  (I guess they’re not content having a location just a few blocks away.) Could this get any crazier?!?

Now that the Super Bowl is out of the way, you’re probably sick and tired of fried chicken wings. Here at Midtown Lunch, we never get tired of fried chicken, especially when it’s covered in a sweet and spicy sauce. Many of you probably had traditional buffalo wings for the big game, but Korean fried chicken is not like Southern fried chicken or buffalo wings. The texture contrast and sauces make Korean fried chicken a different beast. A beast that I like eating. When I heard about Bon Chon opening up on 38th, I was really ecstatic until I heard about the 2 hour wait… After waiting for the dust to settle and giving Bon Chon time to figure out a better system, I decided to go check out their famous Korean fried chicken.

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The new Midtown location of Bon Chon chicken opened on Thursday after lunch, and all Friday reports made it sound like a complete shitshow. There were a number of lunchers twittering from the scene and Lunch’er Rebecca posted this in the comments: “The wait for food at Bon Chon has been an hour and a half since 1pm. Waited 2 hours for my food. They had many refunds today.” Maybe ordering an hour in advance is the way to go?  Not so fast says Lunch’er “beribboned”.

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The new Midtown location of Korean fried chicken chain Bon Chon is opening right now on 38th St. btw. 7+8th. It’s a soft opening, so they don’t have a full menu… but they are serving fried chicken w/ french fries, roll, or rice. There’s a large seating area upstairs, which will be open to anybody during lunch, but after 5pm the place will turn into a sit down restaurant with waiter service upstairs. It sounds like they’ve been giving out free chicken wing samples for a few hours, but that might end once they are officially open for business at 2:30pm. (In other words, if you’re looking for a free wing I’m not guaranteeing anything.)

UPDATE: Before you rush out… drumsticks are at least a 20 minute wait, and they haven’t figured out the ordering system yet. So you might want to give these guys a few days to get settled. Or not.

Check out more photos and the menu, after the jump…

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Felt some major pangs of jealousy this morning reading about the new Downtown location of Bon Chon chicken on John St. As for our Bon Chon (comng soon to 38th btw. 7+8th), somebody in the new Downtown location told me it might be open at the end of this week, if not next week. As for the new branch of Kyochon coming to 5th btw. 32+33rd, the plywood might be down but they don’t plan to open until next month. In the meantime, there is still Mad For Chicken (the spot on 5th Ave. btw. 31+32nd that used to serve Bon Chon) but it’s not exactly fast food.

Related:
More Korean Fried Chicken Coming Soon to Midtown & Downtown
Mad For Chicken is So Not a Midtown Lunch… But Damn That is Some Good Chicken

Thanks to Lunch’er “Rebecca” for the Photo

Bon Chon is returning to Midtown! The Korean fried chicken chain will be opening a new franchise on 38th Street btw. 7+8th in the next few months. Not only will it be exciting to have Bon Chon back (the original Koreatown location became “Mad For Chicken” back in May) but how awesome will it be to have it a bit closer to the heart of Midtown? Now the race is on to see who opens first… the new Bon Chon, or the Kyochon on 32nd and 5th (which has been under construction since the beginning of the year.)

There’s also good news in here for our Downtown Lunch’ers… according to their website Bon Chon will be opening a new Downtown location as well in Mid November. That one will be on John St. near Wall.

Related:
Bon Chon is So Not a Midtown Lunch… But Damn That is Some Good Chicken
32nd Street BonChon Changes Name to “Mad For Chicken”