BBQ Chicken - B(est of the) B(est) Q(uality)? A first look

Yep, that's what it stands for, a simple and modest, "Best of the Best Quality". I've been looking for our very own "KFC" (Korean Fried Chicken) joint to open here in San Diego. And lo' and behold, as noted by "Gilbert", on this post, BBQ Chicken is a KFC. And based on Uber-Blogger Elmomonster's post on the Irvine location of BBQ Chicken, and San Diego's own Dennis of A Radiused Corner, who was kind enough to email me scanned menus, I couldn't help but get excited.

If the location looks familiar, it should. This was the long time location of Flavor Thai on Convoy  Street. And yes, I did drop by on opening day, October 3rd. And led to one of the tables. BBQ Chicken is sort of hybrid style restaurant, you'll get restaurant type service which meant you are seated if you want to eat in, but you pay at the register. For take out you go straight to the counter. The menu is very brightly colored, and though it looks huge, much space is dedicated to pretty photos of each dish.

 

Being opening day, I'll skip the somewhat disorganized service, and the all of he other "glitches", and just mention 2 things. First, I was reminded that my chicken will take 20 minutes because it's made fresh, which is no problem. And secondly, I ordered a 2 piece combo ($5.99), mainly because being the masochist that I am, I wanted to taste what Elmo called the WOWFRE (worst of the worst fried  rice ever). But 50 minutes later, I was still sitting, having read the label of my bottle of Tabasco sauce several thousand times. Meanwhile, even though they we staffed almost one Server per customer, things looked chaotic. There was one young lady who really looked like she knew what was going on. When I asked her if my chicken was coming soon, she looked shocked, and exclaimed, "you didn't get your chicken yet?" A few minutes later, another Server brought my food to the table.

It wasn't quite a 2 piece combo, but rather 5 pieces of chicken ($9.25 less because I was given a 10% grand opening discount). I was starving and wasn't up to waiting another 20 minutes, so I just dug in. One of the hallmarks of Korean Fried Chicken is the frying technique, most of the fat is rendered off, and the skin becomes one with the batter, very nice crunch, and not greasy in the least. Either to make it sound more healthy, or maybe just a marketing gimmick, the chicken is fried in olive oil, which gives the chicken a distinct flavor, and an even more interesting after taste, which I thought was kind of bitter-fishy. In fact, I brought 2 pieces home, and the Missus's first thought was; "huh, looks like Church's, but it;s twice the price". And after catching a whiff, "ugh, I can't eat this, it smells like fish." The wing and drumsticks fare better overall than the thigh pieces, they are moist, and have better flavor. I found the overall flavor of the batter(before the after taste kicked in) to be mildy nutty with some peppery tones. It was okay to good, but not anything I found particularly outstanding.

But to be fair, I returned for take out a bit later. I ordered the Red Hot Drumsticks(5 pieces - $8.99), but got the Seasoned Chicken, with what I believe was the Sweet and Spicy Sauce (8pieces - $6.50). I don't know what else to call these things other than...well...chicken balls:

The batter didn't take to travel, it had become gummy. These were really tough, and the cloyingly sweet, and only mildly spicy glaze was not to my liking. Couldn't finish them.....

I also ordered the Teri-Q Gold Wings(10 pieces - $7.99):

The batter for these seemed a bit thicker than the regular chicken. It is mildly sweet, but pretty bland overall. It may be just me, but after having tons of Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings, I wasn't impressed with these. I even think my simple ol' Garlic Chicken Wings have more flavor.

I am going to give BBQ Chicken another shot, I do want to try the Red Hot Drumsticks. I just think I'm going to give it a few weeks, or maybe months before I'm back. Give them a shot, and let me know what you think......

BBQ (Best of the Best Quality) Chicken
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

858-571-3333

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Comments

[Chris]

Yeah, opening days can be chaotic, as the staff tries to fall into a routine. I am suprised they advertise olive oil as the cooking medium as it is a horribe frying medium(low smoke point) and also does not evoke thoughts of Korea in any way. I do like me some fried chicken, though. I saw this place the other day when I drove past and will check it out.

[Kirk]

Hi Chris - You know, I thought the same thing as well. But I think that rule is more for searing. Depending on the free fatty acid content olive oil can be used for temperatures up to 450 degrees plus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point

I think of olive oil to be terrible on it's own for searing, but love to "cut it". Than again, that bitter aftertaste......

[kat]

hope this place works out!!

[clayfu]

Hum.. the places in LA are popular for their wings. I'm going to have to give it a shot! We saw this while we were driving by over the weekend =) Thanks kirk!

[Carol]

I've been waiting for a BBQ Wings place in SD but I think I'll wait a bit before trying this place. I've only fried zucchini in olive oil before but those are quick fries with no after taste. I'm wondering if the heat was a bit too high or maybe they used the wrong kind of olive oil.

[foodhoe]

hmmm, I am anxiously waiting for KFC to officially show up here in NoCal. Everything sounds pretty disappointing, especially since they didn't get your order right either visit! I personally like the kind of fried wings in the sticky spicy sauces, but like all fried foods, they taste infinitely better if you eat them straight away.

[nhbilly]

Pricey friend chicken IMO.

[Dennis]

That's too bad, all the photos looked quite yummy. Still looking forward in giving them a try. Maybe in a week or two.
As for the olive oil, on the flier was a giant bottle of Extra Virgin. Seems a bit frivolous to me for deep frying chicken if it is what they use.

[Hao]

Chris, Kirk - I thought the same thing about using olive oil for deep frying, but I read that the level of smoking and/or bitterness depend somewhat on how pure/refined the oil is:
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/cooking_olive_oil.htm

[UnsureEater]

I'm Korean, and that doesn't look like the KFC I'm used to (not talking about the chain, of course). Also, that does sound kind of expensive for what it is. Maybe I'll stick to the stuff I see at church picnics. BTW, they sell KFC at the Korean supermarket, Zion (on Mercury St, in Kearny Mesa). It's not the best but it's less than 1/2 the price of the stuff you've reviewed here. If I may be so bold, it's probably just as good (if not better). Cheers :)

[elmomonster]

Wait! So did you try the WOWFRE? But I can understand if it was so bad you couldn't even bare to type any words to describe its horribleness.

[Passionate Eater]

You are quite dedicated Kirk, to go on opening day and brave those crowds. Well, that makes you the BBQ food blog (B-est of the B-est, Quality).

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - I hope so too!

Hi Clayfu - I think you're thinking about Kyochon....which BTW, has opened in Yes Plaza off of Colima Rd! This chain is known for their Olive Oil Chicken. I hope you enjoy the chicken.

Hi Carol - It could just be that they need to straighten things out.

Hi FH - The way this chain is expanding, it's just a matter of time!

Hi Dennis - Check them out, I'd love to know what you think.

Hi Hao - there are so many different brands of olive oil......

Hi Unsureeater - I've had the chicken from Zion, in the case with the Soondae, etc....They were usually quite sogged out by the time I ate them. The flavor wasn't bad, but not even close to what I consider KFC, from back in the 80's:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2005/10/chicken_like_al.html

Hi Elmo - No they messed up my order. I'm going back just to try that fried rice...I am.

Hi PE - LOL! You are always so very nice.....

[Sandy]

I tried the two-piece original chicken combo, which came with fried rice and salad. The fried rice was pretty boring, but not horrible. Both chicken pieces were white meat; the meat was very moist and the batter was very crunchy. But it seemed to be lacking in flavor, and I'm with Kirk - I'd rather have salt & pepper wings.

[Kirk]

Hi Sandy - I'm glad you had a chance to check it out. And greetings from Chiang Mai!

[Dobbson]

I had the 10 pack of Volcano Wings last night. They were delicious. Super spicy. They went out of their way to give me verbal warnings before giving it to me. Usually places can't keep up with my need for spice, but this hit the spot. I didn't go expecting anything special so it turned out better than I though.

And, as an added bonus, I've learned the entire layout of my intestines throughout the night.

[Kirk]

Hi Dobson - At least you know your intestinal system still works.....

[RightCowLeftCoast]

I work just down the street from this place, on Vickers, and when it replaced the Thai place I was sadley disappointed when that left. But I gave it a wirl.
Anyways, it was OK. As others have said a bit much for what you get, and the wait makes you want to call in any order, and their portions are way to big for a single person for dinner. I'd go again, but as I live in East "Chula'juana", it's not something that I would go out of the way for.
As for Mo's Island Grinds, soemthing not relating to this post, I can unfortunatly confirm the rumor about why it closed. That is it wasn't because of health violations. But I won't say more than that.

[Kirk]

Hi RCLC - Nice to hear from you...it's been a while. All the OC food bloggers love this place, but I'm not too impressed.

[micaela]

hi Kirk! Just thought I'd let you know we tried this today -- husband was in SD and shlepped a 10-pc order all the way back to Yuma for the rest of us. I reheated it in the oven for a bit, so I'm not sure if that made it crispier than it would've been if we'd eaten it at the restaurant. I'm going to concur that the chicken's not bad but it's also definitely not worth the price -- it wasn't any better than what I've had at chain buffet places like Hometown Buffet. We didn't get any olive oil aftertaste on the chicken.