Bonchon - Manhattan

Tasty, Overpriced, Confused Korean Yardbird
I'm not impressed with any of the 'chons - not this one, not Kyochon. Kyochon sucks taste-wise and price-wise - at least Bonchon tastes pretty good. We took a walk over to the newish 38th Street edition and learned that the chicken wait was 20-30 minutes. This was at 1:30pm when the place was relatively empty. Manhattan lunch and a 20-30 minute wait? Not a recipe for long-term success. We got our order slightly earlier but alas, it was somebody else's, which we had to return. I agree with how Pingles put it: "this place needs help."

This place operates chaotically, like it only just opened for business - it shouldn't take six months to work out the kinks. Be that as it may, I liked the taste of the chicken. Unfortunately, I didn't like much else. The prices are way too high for the amount of food delivered. It looked like some Jakarta yardbird. This is America, you gotta plump em up with growth hormones and antibiotics!

The fries came in a deep, white bag that was soaked through with grease. Just not a good way to deliver fries - it's a turn off. They weren't bad, but nothing special.

The drumsticks were a bit meatier and they delivered the spice. I enjoyed the heat on the way in and the way out. No complaints there. I just wish for 17 bucks I actually felt full at the end of the meal.

At the end of the day, like Kyochon, you're paying for a lot of overhead. Check out the upstairs with the flatscreens. Believe me, with the long wait you'll be glad there is something to do. So, I liked some things about Bonchon and disliked others. To sort it out and make it simple, I asked myself this - would I give up Popeyes for Bonchon? No, not in a million years. Popeyes rules.

207 38th Street

Manhattan

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