Bon Chon Chicken

I had two chicken drumsticks the other night and the experience was eye-opening. A devotee of southern-style fried chicken well before Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC, I never imagined that I'd find a better coating for fried chicken besides the traditional flour/buttermilk/spices combination you get at KFC and high-end southern joints, like Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too in Harlem. But on Saturday night, my brother and his girlfriend ordered some Bon Chon chicken and the drumsticks I ate knocked my socks off! Korean-style fried chicken has finally come to Boston, about 2 years behind NYC and who knows how long since it hit the West Coast. The NY Times has an insightful article about Korean fried chicken here. Let's just say korean-style fried chicken is utter deliciousness.

In Allston, you can get Bon Chon chicken at Privus (next door to The Kells, beware the obnoxious club music if you click on the Privus link) or you can opt for delivery, though it takes upwards of 25 minutes. The chicken comes in either wings or drumsticks, covered in either a garlic-soy or spicy sauce. I prefer the garlic-soy to the spicy sauce, and the next time Ben and I have a party at our place we will definitely have some Bon Chon on hand!

OH NO! Allston-Bitin'

The secret is out. (Click on the link for a video tour of the epicurean epicenter of ethnic edibles.)

In yesterday's Boston Globe Magazine (Feb. 15, 2009), an article titled "Allston: An Epicenter of Ethnic Dining" highlighted many of the restaurants I've been dying to try and noted in my earlier post, Jo Jo Taipei and Allston musings. The Globe identified Allston as the best spot for inexpensive ethnic dining, which means my neighborhood will be overrun by foodies who will be jostling, alongside me, for a seat at Gitlo's already cramped quarters, or waiting in the 88 Food Court for one of the five or six small tables at Ken's Ramen.

The crossroads of Harvard and Brighton avenues in Allston has become the region's ethnic cheap eats capital. Jason Beerman, author of the accompanying "Diners' Paradise" article, takes you on a video tour of his favorite restaurants.

The Globe article may result in longer lines and more signature dishes running out at my favorite local eateries, but I'm also really glad and excited for the owners of these restaurants and shops. They've been working hard to bring good and affordable ethnic food to the area, without compromising (very much) true ethnic flavors to accommodate the American palate.

My colleague R.B. gets credit for part of the title of this post -- he coined "Allston-Bitin'" as a potential name for this food blog.

Jo Jo Taipei and Allston musings

We checked out Jo Jo Taipei today for a late lunch, and it was deeelish! We had their "Special Mini Steamed Buns" aka Xiao Long Bao aka Soup Dumplings (pictured above), "Three Cups Eggplant," warm sweet soy milk, and Taiwanese Wonton Noodle Soup. Our meal started with complimentary salted peanuts and shredded marinated cabbage (pictured below). The restaurant is relatively new to the Allston area, nicely decorated and in a great location (Brighton Ave. and Linden St.).



I'm looking forward to going back and trying more dishes - it's hard to find good soup dumplings in Boston. We've had them at Gourmet Dumpling House, the old New Shanghai (RIP), and Windsor Dim Sum. I think the ones we had at Jo Jo were the best out of the bunch. They don't really compare to the ones I've had in Manhattan, at Joe's Ginger and some other places, but I've got to credit today's dumplings. The eggplant was prepared with one cup of soy sauce, one cup of wine, and one cup of water (plus sliced garlic, sliced ginger and probably an obscene amount of sugar). Next time we go, I want to try the curry beef pockets, tofu hot pot, three cups tofu, flounder fillet, tofu with shrimp, mapo tofu, and everything on the weekend brunch menu.

The Allston-Brighton area is blowing up with restaurants! We love Shabu-Zen, Gitlo's, Punjab Palace, and the 88 Market Food Court - Ken's Ramen is TDF. I also really like Kantin, the Cantonese place in the food court, and the Vietnamese place. I want to check out The Battery (fish n chips!), Cafe Brazil, Grain and Salt, the Nepalese place, Alfredo's, the take-out Thai place, and I want to give YoMa another try (the first time at YoMa, I ate some really spicy food that did a number on my tummy). Shanghai Gate was only ok (which reminds me - we had soup dumplings there too, but they weren't very good - but the fish soup with tofu is excellent).

Too bad we love cooking at home too much. We'll be lucky if we try all these places before 2010 rolls around.

The A-B was already known as a bar hot spot, but we adore Deep Ellum, despite the overabundance of hipsters. It's as if we were back in the Upper West Side and tried to venture out to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This is where I popped my Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA cherry. I've had the hot dog and fries there, but the homemade pretzels are fantastic and go very well with the impressive selection of beers on tap. In addition to Deep Ellum, we frequent Our House (preferably on weekday nights) and Joshua Tree (1/2 price burgers on Wednesdays).

Since this post has morphed into Allston musings, I can't help but add that Herrell's has tasty ice cream when we're too lazy to make it at home ourselves or go to JP Licks in Coolidge Corner.