In the U.S. people Americanize different cuisines; we put our spin on top cuisines from other cultures all the time. There are an abundance of these types of restaurants almost everywhere you turn in Annandale, alone. What we are not used to, is other cultures transforming our American classic meals into their own. That is exactly what BonChon Chicken does.

The Korean restaurant is known for its delectable chicken wings and drumsticks – and for a good reason. Once arriving at the restaurant, we ordered the mild mixed chicken option, which includes a combination of 17 total pieces of wings and drumsticks, for $19. The chicken was unlike any other kind you order as a side dish to your delivery pizza for Sunday night football. They were not soggy and drenched with an overwhelming amount of sauce. Instead, they had a special, light soy garlic sauce that was not at all slimy to the touch, and fried, allowing them to have a thick crunchy shell around it.

After savoring the flavor and unique texture, we realized there was no way we would finish it all, because it was just too much for only two people. So, we happily shoved it all into the take-home boxes and brought the rest home. Some meals are truly worth saving as leftovers for the next night, and this was one of them.

Even though we were more than pleased with our food and completely stuffed, we were a little disappointed that there was no dessert menu to put the cherry on top of our delightful dinner. The only other downside to the meal was that it took 30 minutes to prepare the chicken. (Typically the restaurant recommends to call in 30 minutes prior to arriving in order to have your chicken prepared beforehand, but we were unaware of that.) This, however, was not too bad because we went on a Monday night, and there were not a lot of people there. In the mean time, while waiting for our meal, we ordered a basket of french fries, that ended up being larger than our individual heads. They were nonetheless delicious because they were not the type of fries that are drenched in a mound of grease prior to being served.

During our wait, which turned out to be only 20 minutes considering the restaurant was not packed full of people, we also watched the large, flat-screen T.V. plastered to the wall adjacent to the little bar on the side. The restaurant itself had a very clean and friendly vibe, that was supported by their excellent customer service. Although the restaurant is contained in a very quaint, dimly-lit room, it is also very home-like. The quiet atmosphere was perfect for a night out with family or friends, or crowding around the T.V. to watch a sports game.

Overall, BonChon Chicken is a restaurant that we definitely recommend. If you do not mind waiting a while for a quality Korean take on an American classic, then this is the perfect place to go.

Rate: A