Bonchon

Kids, don't try this at home. This past Saturday--just one day into a three-day weekend--my man friend and I decided to head west, try some beer, and eat some fried chicken. It was exquisite--bold flavors of chicken and beer and the wide open roads and skies of the west. What I neglected to remember is that pursuing the top 100--even those that weigh in at less than $40 for two people--are still quite heavy. The fried chicken in question, Bonchon, was tasty but I'll just politely say the memory of the meal stayed with me for a while.

As I've alluded, I'm back to trying to conquer the Washingtonian's top 100--during the actual year in which these restaurants are recognized. The man friend and I tied our weekend's activities to Bonchon's location in Centreville.

We started at Forge, a local brewery in Lorton, Virginia, a mere 20 minutes or so from Alexandria. It's nestled between a few automobile repair shops in an industrial center with only a small black sign to advertise its existence. The bar itself--where one sidles up to see taps announced with little plastic label--is dwarfed by the high ceilings and tall cinder block walls. More importantly, they make some delightful beers.

The petite saison was a bit watered down, the Belgian pale ale was tasty (on the right), and the Roggenbier was my favorite. This apparently is akin to a Heffeweizen, but with rye and has nothing to do with the lead in Knocked Up.

The centerpiece of the day was Bonchon, a much-anticipated fried chicken pick that's we will forever associate with rich grease, being full of flavor, and the legacy it leaves. We started with the dumplings, stuffed to the gills with pork and chives.

We ordered the chicken plate of 20 pieces, with 10 spicy and 10 garlic soy tenders. To cut the heat, we also had kimchi coleslaw and pickled radish, which was more sweet than vinegary and had a chewy crunch.

I present immediately below the plate we were served. Below that, the plate as it looked when we finished (I imagine you can observe we didn't make much progress despite technically eating half of our lunch).

 

We had a detailed conversation about what makes a top 100 and couldn't quite decide whether Bonchon objectively made the cut. The chicken was flavorful, the service good, and the menu simple and straightforward. However, at the end of the day, Bonchon still serves fried chicken dredged in sauce, very similar to (but with significantly fewer options than) Buffalo Wild Wings. It was very tasty, but I'm not sure I could say it was so exceptional that it is part of the best and most unique restaurants such a wide metropolitan area can boast. 

Nevertheless, like good fried chicken should, it made us ready for more beer. We headed to Bad Wolf Brewing Company, a brewery this time situated in a strip mall and sandwiched between a pizza shop and a gun store. We got our beers but since we forgot our quarters, we could only admire Miss PacMan. 

The beers were tasty, even though some were not chilled enough. We bought a half growler of Rye Guye IPA and were satisfied by both its rye-flavor and clever name.

I know the blog is a dark house candidate for knocking out the rest of the not-yet-visited restaurants on the latest top 100 (the 25 spots stretch from Annandale to dreaded Rockville to Annapolis and promise to  challenge my ability to pronounced them).. But I'll be back soon!