Dan-onymous's Open Salon Blog

Foody Tuesday: BonChon Chicken

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:06:31 -0400

Last night I had the pleasure of sampling some fine take-away from BonChon Chicken (not affiliated with Bon-Ton department stores), a small but growing Korea-based chain which specialises in fresh fried chicken.

I ordered the medium combo meal with soy garlic glaze, which included enough wings to feed 2-3 people, a can of soda, celery, and blue cheese for $12 (tax included). BonCon recommends phoning in your take-away order 20 minutes ahead of time, as all chicken is cooked to order. Even if you don't call ahead of time, the great taste is worth the wait: the soy garlic glaze is delicious, and the breading is light and crispy. The menu also includes a spicy "hot" flavour in addition to soy garlic, which I will definitely try next time, along with the fries.

According to their web site, a lot of science goes into creating the special BonChon taste and texture: "Our specially engineered sauce remains in tact [sic] with the chicken so that the flavor lasts on the chicken." It also mentions that BonChon is "favored by health conscious consumers" since it is cooked in vegetable oil and somehow involves collagen. Even the sauce is designed to stick to the chicken and not your fingers! How considerate! I'd highly recommend spending some time exploring the BonChon web site, which has some fun graphics and better explains the secrets behind the chicken. If you go directly to this page, you can see if there is a franchise located near you (just be careful...when you click any state, the capital is listed, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there is a BonChon located there...actual locations include an address). I'm looking forward to eating my leftovers for lunch today!

Mixtape Staple Thursday, 12-06-2008

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:06:59 -0400

The last few days have been hot ones, so today I thought I'd go with the song "Half Century" by Providence band the Brother Kite, which sounds like standing outside in Alaska while watching the aurora borealis streak across the sky. Honestly, I've often thought of the Brother Kite's music as sounding like the northern lights, though I'm sure that thought was influenced by the artwork of their Waiting for the Time to Be Right album. Regardless, "Half Century" doesn't appear on that album anyway...originally released on the free download Adult Swim Warm & Scratchy compilation, it has since been reissued on the Brother Kite's Moonlit Race EP.

Luckily, the Warm & Scratchy compilation is still available at the link above...you can listen to "Half Century" in streaming form, but to get the MP3, you'll have to download the whole album including songs by the likes of the Raveonettes, the Rapture, Broken Social Scene, and more, which isn't such a bad thing, is it? It will be worth your time and effort: all poppy jangle, "Half Century" wouldn't sound at all out of place on the famed C86 compilation alongside the Bodines, the Mighty Lemon Drops, and the Wedding Present. If you enjoy "Half Century," there are two other wonderful songs to hear on the Brother Kite's MySpace page. See you next Thursday for another mixtape staple.

Resident Tastemaker: Guacamayo

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:06:33 -0400

Did you ever wish that you had your finger on the pulse of hip, young America? Remember when suddenly everything was chipotle-flavoured a few years ago and you had no idea what that meant? Do you have trouble distinguishing between the passé and ironic revivals of the passé? Well Painfully Suburban's new feature, Resident Tastemaker, is here to help you appropriate the trends before they're even trends at all. Resident Tastemaker will lay it on the line, predicting what's up and coming in the world of culture.

Today's installment: Guacamayo. Inspired by (and sharing its name with) the Spanish word for macaw, guacamayo will be this season's hottest new condiment. As illustrated above in equation form, guacamayo is made by combining the creamy goodness of guacamole (guaca-) with the creamy goodness of mayonnaise (-mayo), creating a super-rich "supercondiment" appropriate for a variety of culinary situations:

" This Dagwood sandwich on focaccia is dry and unappetising. I'm so scared confused. This should be something I love!"

"Do you have any avocados and mayonnaise?"

"But of course!"

" Then don't let's fret. We can make guacamayo. That will make all our problems go away."

While guacamayo-making will start off as a cottage industry, as its popularity increases, high-end grocery stores will begin selling pre-made guacamayo in bright packaging featuring a macaw motif, a nod to the trendsetters who had been aboard the guacamayo wagon since the beginning. The public's insatiable appetite for guacamayo will cause severe shortages of plain mayonnaise and guacamole, so those who prefer them in their uncombined form are advised to stock up before the guacamayo trend reaches its apex.

Foody Tuesday: Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:06:54 -0400

Welcome to the first installment of the new Foody Tuesday feature here at Painfully Suburban! Today we travel to the deep south, as we review the dining experience at Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits.

On my flight to SF, I had about an hour and a half layover in Charlotte, NC, so it was a good thing that the airport presented a large variety of dining options. Although I must admit to being extremely tempted by the advertised breakfast special of a crab cake, eggs, and a bloody mary at the Phillips seafood restaurant, I ultimately decided to go with Bojangles' because it seemed more quintessentially southern. My breakfast meal consisted of the gravy biscuit combo, which came with a beverage and a side of Botato Rounds® for $5.73. The biscuits were on the small side, but they were very moist and smothered in a generous amount of white sausage gravy. The biscuits and gravy alone would make for a satisfying meal, but the Botato Rounds® took the experience to the stratosphere! Moist on the inside (mushier than tater tot filling, but more solid than mashed potatoes), crunchy on the outside, and covered with a delicious, slightly spicy seasoning, I reckon I found a new favourite potato-based food!

While I was eating my breakfast, I kept a lookout for the lady who had been in line in front of me at the cashier, as she had ordered the BoBerry sweet biscuits from the dessert menu, and I was curious to see whether the berries were baked into the biscuits or in sauce form atop them. I never did see her, but the next time I visit a Bojangles', I'll definitely try them, as well as any other menu item with a Bo- prefix. All in all, it was a good meal, though in hindsight, I probably should have gone with a chicken biscuit sandwich, since it includes both things for which the chain is famous.

Where Am I?

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 12:06:19 -0400

Hello loyal readers,

If you have been wondering why Painfully Suburban has been painfully update-free this week, the answer is that I have somewhat unexpectedly traveled to Salon HQ in Frisco on highly important business this week (If Salon HQ is like a hornets' nest, I am like a stick poking it, sort of). I was planning to post about all the interesting experiences I've been having (which would give me something to do when I find myself awake at 4 AM due to the time change), but I forgot the cable that connects my camera to the computer, and what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't provide you with the homemade-looking multimedia experience you have come to expect (and hopefully enjoy) from PS? So I am reluctantly putting myself on hiatus for the rest of the week, but my camera is collecting a tonne of fun pictures and my brain is hoarding heaps of future recollections, all of which will allow for some trip recap posts next week. Also, by popular demand, you can look forward to the debut of a new regular feature, Foody Tuesday, next week. In the meantime, please don't abandon me. I beg of you.

-Dan-onymous