The New York Times did a piece on Bon Chon Chicken this week, and at one point it was the #1 emailed article according to NYTimes.com. Any article in the NY Times will raises the stakes. I took time off from the partying and opted not to join others at some lounge pre-opening party. My body is still recovering from last week. Instead, I headed over to the inconspicuous Bon Chon location on the corner of 32nd and 5th Ave, which happens to be across the street from Ktown staple, 3rd Floor Cafe. It's easy to miss the doorway on 5th Ave; you have to look for an entrance that's similar to the room salons or karaoke bars of Ktown. When the elevator doors open to the 2nd floor, the club music is blaring and you're disoriented by the crowd of people waiting for a table and the odd industrious decor. Luckily, my always prepared friend arrived early and she secured a table for the rest of us. The chicken was fantastic but the first weekend after a NY Times article can be a curse. It was crowded inside, and not just with Koreans; the whole world knows now and are curious. The waitress came over and apologized for the wait on our food because there were so many orders and the kitchen was going crazy. I guess I can't blame the service entirely because Bon Chon wasn't ready for the aftermath of the Times article. There are a couple of things that I would like to recommend: 1) Get more waitresses on the weekends 2) They need more side dishes. They ran out of them and they didn't even have french fries! The chicken was superb but our pallets are now accustomed to having complimentary sides. I used go to Baden Baden for the chicken, but this place is going to take away the chicken business.
314 Fifth Avenue (32nd Street), second floor, (212) 221-2222
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