Bonchon ~ international chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

First visit: Nov 2023 (Colorado Springs)

Locations: ~114 in the US. Colorado has 5 (Denver has 4 and this one Springs locale). NE Tarrant has zero but there's a few in the DFW area. They're now based in Dallas though they started in Korea (strangely they don't appear to exist there anymore, but plenty of stores in the Philippines and Thailand).

The latest rage in the fried chicken category comes from Korea, and Bonchon appears to be the marquee name in this space. I've never had Korean fried chicken before and since they opened up near us in "mega chain valley", I thought I'd give it a try. I was a bit confused upon walking in, as I just presumed it was a fast food restaurant. But nope - it's a sit down place despite the obvious QSR setup. No problem, at least I can leave a tip that makes sense. I went straight to the heart of the matter and ordered four drumsticks and a side. It's their lunch special, and at 13 bucks it's not such a bad deal (not awesome but little is these days). I had a choice of four sauces, and you can pick two. So I went with Korean barbecue and Spicy. Seems fries are the standard side but I chose rice instead. Not long after, my meal was served (in fast food time). I started in on the latter, and they kindly provided me Sriracha to go with it (or a facsimile thereof). The rice was a bit overcooked, but I still enjoyed it. That set my palate for the chicken. I started with the barbecue. It looked sweet on top, and I feared it would be like those countless Chinese restaurants that serve sticky sweet chicken and limp crust. Nothing of the sort. Very crispy, and yes a tad sweet, but not overbearingly so. Steaming hot chicken too. The spicy was indeed just that, and also very crispy. The waiter explained that the trick is they fry it, then flash fry again before serving. Makes sense. Service was great BTW.

I definitely enjoyed it, and I think Mrs. RJG and I will come over for dinner some night, since I also learned they have three different Korean beers. None of which I've had prior. The only downside I see is that I was the only one there on a Friday at lunch time. Certainly competition is stuff, and inflation is forcing many folks to bring their lunch to work or school (there's a community college nearby). I remember seeing a line out the door when they first opened. So is it just a passing fad, or did I just catch a slow day? Hoping the latter. Adding to the RJG rotation.

11/3/23 (new entry)

Colorado Springs