Jaclyn’s Pick:

bb.q Chicken
2521 S 132nd St
Fare: Korean fried chicken
Cost: $110 for two appetizers, 4 wing orders and 1 side meal
Reservations: Not really needed

Greetings, Eaters and Readers!

I picked this month’s foodventure back in February when bb.q Chicken first opened. A long-time fan of Korean fried chicken (see my ramblings in our Tsaô Cha post), I was delighted to see Omaha acquire a new option.

Bb.q — which stands for Best of the Best Quality — first opened in Seoul, South Korea in 1995. It grew in popularity so much, there are now up to 3,500 locations spanning 57 countries. That’s pretty impressive – they’re clearly doing something right. Martha and I stepped in on a sunny Wednesday evening to do some hopefully yummy research.

I knew in advance exactly what I’d be ordering: Galbi wings, Honey Garlic wings and Cheesling fries. The honey garlic was sure to be a safe bet. And the other two sounded delicious.

Martha’s Korean BBQ experience is exclusively tied to any of the times I’ve chosen it for our monthly adventures. Bb.q marks her second time trying it – and the cuisine is quickly becoming her one of her favorites.

She perused the menu on the drive over and mentioned she would have ordered a round of the Galbi, too, if I wasn’t already planning to get them. But since we like to try as much of the menu as we can, she was content picking other flavors. 

Once we got to the restaurant and were waiting to put our order in, Martha couldn’t shake the feeling that she should be brave and try something she wouldn’t normally get – and the thing that kept grabbing her attention was the Ddeok-Bokki. 

Described as “Classic Korean street food made from rice cakes and fish cakes in a sweet and spicy chili reduction,” Martha ultimately convinced herself (and me) to try it. She rationalized that she already knew she loved fried chicken – with the sauces being the fun adventure – so getting something known to be classic Korean street food would be a new culinary adventure worth taking.

Her final order was an appetizer of dumplings, the Ddeok-Bokki, Gangjeong wings and Soy Garlic wings.

Fried Dumplings ($7.95)

As you probably know by now, Martha can’t pass up dumplings anytime they’re on the menu. And bb.q’s version comes out fresh and piping hot. They were absolutely scrumptious. I tried one and really liked them as well, only slowing down on devouring more because of the impending order of 32 wings we had coming.

Top: Galbi, Soy Garlic | Bottom: Gangjeong, Honey Garlic ($14.95 each)

Galbi
Touted as the classic Korean flavor, we were most excited to try this wing. Sweet and savory? Yes please! But as we took the first few bites, our faces both registered the same, “Hmm, I don’t know about this.” And the more bites we took, the more solidified our feelings became.

Leading up to our tour of flavors, something about the description of this sauce made us think it would be our favorite. In the end, it was somewhere near the bottom. Was it the odd aftertaste? The slightly fishy essence we didn’t enjoy? Hard to say. We’re glad we tried it – if only to know we’ll pass on it in the future.

Soy Garlic
Of all the flavors, this seemed like a middle-of-the-road safe bet. It has a star next to it on the menu – indicating it’s a favorite among customers. We can see why. No spice to scare anyone off – and a good flavor, maybe one to serve as a palate cleanser should anything else be too spicy or too … not what you wanted lingering in your mouth. We both liked this one. Though I probably liked it a little more than Martha did.

Gangjeong
Martha ordered this one almost as an afterthought. Once she settled on the Ddeok Bokki, dumplings and one flavor of wings – I mentioned that Gangjeong was the only other flavor catching my eye. She agreed something about it sounded good, so Martha tacked it on to her order when it was her turn. And goodness, is she glad she did.

This ended up being her favorite flavor and wing experience out of all four. To her, it held the right amount of spice and everything nice. The cinnamon blend worked well with the chili garnish. She didn’t know if she should enjoy more while they were at their freshest – or leave them alone so she could have them as leftovers. If and when she sees this flavor profile on other menus, Martha looks forward to enjoying it again!

Honey Garlic
As predicted, we both loved this flavor. It was neither too honey-heavy or too garlicy, but an equal distribution of the two. These were my favorite of all the wings.

After the relatively underwhelming bites of Galbi – Martha thought the Honey Garlic wings might be her redeeming flavor experience. She’s a sucker for a sweet and savory morsel. And while she really liked it – it felt just short of how much she loved her Gangjeong bites. The Honey Garlic wings came in at a distant second place for her.

Now that we’ve gone over the flavors, let’s talk about texture.

The breading was thick. And I mean really thick. Each wing seemed to take several bites before you hit chicken. Is this normal for Korean style? Or is bb.q just totally different than the others we’ve tried? We can’t be sure. But we do know it’s not our (okay, mostly my) preference. Martha agreed you have to work for the chicken, but was less put off by it than I was.

Ddeok-Bokki ($12.95)

As brave as she wanted to be, Martha was most nervous about the potential for this dish to be too fishy. Call us both products of our Midwestern upbringing, we don’t love the dishes that are strong with fish flavor or – even worse – lingering, strong fishy after taste. But we acknowledge many authentic Asian dishes do lean into fish flavors, so we dove in doing our best to be open to whatever we were about to experience. And we must say we were both surprised and proud to have branched out and tried something new.

The Ddeok-Bokki comes swimming in a spicy chili reduction that packs a punch of both heat and flavor. The noodle-looking Ddeok-Bokki is a chewy rice cake that looks like a penne noodle but chews a bit rubbery. Not a bad experience. Just don’t expect to tear through it like you would a soft, buttery noodle. Overall, we enjoyed the dish and think we’d try it again – but maybe we’d take on bb.q’s Rose’ Ddeok-Bokki, described as a less spicy, more creamy take on their signature Ddeok-Bokki dish. 

Cheesling Fries ($7.95)

Described as a medley of sweet cheeses, you can get this cheesling flavor on both wings and fries. And since I didn’t need a third order of wings, the fries sounded like a perfect medium upon which to try this flavor.

Last to arrive to the table, but still plenty hot, these heavily cheese-dusted fries were pretty good. They tasted exactly as described: sweet cheese. If I closed my eyes, they almost tasted like my beloved honey butter fries from Hankki (sorry, you have to Canada for those). Martha enjoyed them, too – only wishing she had more room to eat them.

The *only* thing I could have done without was the drizzle of what tasted like Galbi sauce on top. Martha didn’t seem bothered by it, but I focused all my attention on the fries that didn’t have it.

Final Bites

I really wanted to give bb.q a fork up. But the reason I must give it a fork sideways calls for a nuanced explanation.

And that is … what type of wing eater I am.

While Martha, like most people, gives into the messy process of two hands and a saucy face, I cannot. I only use one hand and take careful bites to avoid sauce escaping the boundaries of my lips. So when you present a giant wing with ultra-thick breading … well, that’s a challenge. For me. And not one I feel like correcting this late in life.

So if you’re like me, these large, thick wings may not be for you. But fear not, they offer a boneless option and that’s what I’ll get next time.

Again, bb.q has presence in 57 countries, so I realize I’m the outlier here. But that’s okay! Martha gives a fork up to this sure-to-thrive Korean joint. And we’ll both join you on a future visit – especially now that we both know exactly how and what to order.

Cheers!
The Good Bite Gals

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