bb.q Chicken 3rd Ave — Restaurant in New York

Be me, 24M amateur fat@$$ that has been craving fried chicken for the past two weeks.

I share my cravings with a coworker and they share the same feeling. We notice a BBQ chicken nearby.

I've eaten from this chain before during my early years into puberty. I don't know if it was something in the sauce or if my hormones were bursting in reaction to the chicken but I was loving it. I would vacuum the meat off the bones and then suck the sauce that was embedded in-between the ridges of my fingerprints.

But like any first love... the passion died off. The days inbetween my BBQ chicken visits have grown to weeks, to months, and then to years. As Korean Fried Chicken became more trendy, other flashier shops with crispier, spicier, more flavorful chicken started popping up. I started eating from there... and eventually forgot that BBQ chicken even existed.

Fast forward 10+ years: I am frozen, staring at the google maps where the name BBQ chicken popped up. I had by chance bumped into a past lover that I had lost touch with, and the world seemed to move on around me while we were locked into a gaze.

Lunch time hits and I make my way to the restaurant. I am nervous but my legs speed up in anticipation. As I approach, I cant contain my smile, I couldn't wait to catch up and see what has been going on through the years with the franchise. I open the door and my excited smile changes to a nervous smile.

My old love, throughout the years, has changed into something unrecognizable. Their menu had changed drastically which I can understand as keeping up with the times but, it felt inauthentic and just a mediocre attempt at following fried chicken trends...

But I still had hope, "outside appearance might have changed, but surely their flavors will deliver." That's what I thought... As soon as I picked up the bag from my order, there was this strong plasticy scent that emitted from the box.

The walk back to the office felt 3 times as long as it did getting to the restaurant. As I get back to my desk, I timidly unbox the chicken to start eating... Visually, its what you would expect saucy Korean Fried Chicken to look like. But that plastic scent only grew stronger as I exposed the chicken.

I take my first bite. My tongue as well as the inside of my mouth burn, not out of sensation but out of a chemical reaction to what I can guess is causing the plasticy scent. My teeth pierce the overly thick, overly heavy layer of fried batter to reach the meat. The only flavor I can focus on is the plastic, its in my mouth, its in my throat, I taste and smell it when I breathe. I wonder where it all went so wrong. I had revered BBQ Chicken so much in memory, but seeing it in reality left nothing but disappointment.

a couple weeks later, I got a message from my old high school sweetheart asking to meet up. We were inseparable when we were together, but that changed after we were accepted to different colleges on the opposite sides of the country. At first I was ecstatic to catch up, but how will we live up to the memories of each other that we have idealized. I didn't want either one of us to be an unrecognizable disappointment(like BBQ Chicken). I ended up not...

Food was delicious! I haven’t eaten at bb.q chicken in a long time, but since this location opened up by me, I decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did! Interior looks really clean and organized, and the seating area upstairs was spacious and comfortable.

The chicken was crispy and juicy!! We didn’t know what flavor we should get since bb.q chicken is known for cooking up different types of chicken but after having a conversation with the Assistant Manager Minhyeok, he recommended us the Golden Original and Honey Garlic. We usually always get bone-in for our chicken but they only had the boneless for Golden Original, and I was surprised by how juicy and NOT DRY the meat was for being boneless! It’s also double fried so it was very crispy. We got wings for the Honey Garlic and it was a great combination of sweet/savory/salty! It was my first time trying it and I would definitely get this one again in the future. We also got the kimchi fried rice which had MASSIVE chunks of chicken so you’re really getting your bang for your buck, not to mention a really good kimchi flavor. Their ddeok-bokki (spicy rice cake) was a bit on the spicier/less saucy side but the flavor was good. I also like that there was half a boiled egg in it!

This location has an array of drinks available as well! We got a few typical Korean soft drinks but we also learned that they also sell draft beer! Definitely looking forward to my next visit, and thank you Assistant Manager Minhyeok for the...

I’ve been here multiple times and am always told that the order will take about ten minutes but almost ALWAYS takes more than 30 minutes. I left and came back after half an hour knowing this and was told it still wasn’t ready. Decided to just wait in the store now having it been almost a whole hour for an order of small boneless chicken when multiple people ahead were getting their orders right away. Turns out it was mislabeled but was not even offered to have it reheated or remade despite the fact that it was sitting there the whole time I was waiting.

The experience right before was the same for a rice bowl where they ended up not even giving the correct order. Realized it and brought it back asking if this is correct and they just took it back and squirted some mala sauce on top. They “added chicken” for what I assume supposed to be an apology but it was just the original order with fried batter(?) not sure what it was but it was definitely not pieces of chicken.

We try to give places multiple chances before reviewing in case of a business having an off day but always seem disappointed especially considering how pricey it is ($30 after tax & tip for a small and half ddeokbeokki). Ktown location is much better in...