It's on 1 of my list. Each entry below is what I wrote about it there, with my verdict on that list, the fullest first.
The brainchild of Chef Jun Park, Chick Chick made headlines when it opened on the Upper West Side in 2021, bagging a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating (good quality, good value cooking) shortly thereafter. The culprit? Crispy Nashville fried chicken sandwiches with a Korean twist.
Fried chicken thighs are dipped in clarified butter (not oil) and sprinkled with a potent mix of ichimi pepper, cayenne, paprika and gochugaru before being sandwiched into a doughy bun and topped with chilled pickles and lettuce.
Excellence is top of mind at this casual restaurant on the Upper West Side, nothing on the menu is an afterthought. Take the dirty truffle fried rice, for example, made with truffle, lemongrass, egg and mushroom, it’s as much a draw as the famed chicken sandwich.