BonChon has a Groupon Featured Deal for up to 65% Off

Two-Course Asian Fusion Meal for Two or Four With Drinks (Up to 65% Off). Four Options Available. Check it out on Groupon’s site today:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/bonchon-midtown

You can always check up currents specials and our Menu on
http://www.BonChonMidtown.com

Hot Town, Summer in the City!

As I frequently stroll around our neighborhood, I stumbled upon this little gem the other day; the Luke’s Lobster Roll Truck!

It’s funny that Luke’s Lobster named their truck “Nauti.” But what’s not funny is what these guys peddle. As any red-blooded American can tell you, lobster is awesome (despite the fact that they were considered food only suitable for prisoners… lucky prisoners). Lobster rolls are even better. And to get to the epitome of awesomeness, even better when one is consuming such deliciousness on a hot day in the summer time. Mayonnaise, butter, salt and their secret blend of spices makes Luke’s Lobster Roll a great choice any day. Furthermore, you can grab it from their truck in our very own Midtown East! We all know food from a truck is pretty cool so follow @LukesLobsterNY on twitter to get the updates as to where Nauti will be. Chow down! What do you guys think? Would you ever want to see BonChon chicken coming from a truck?

BonChon Midtown @ The Citibank Business Expo!

So we were given the great honor of taking part in Citibank’s first Business Expo! The management and employees of the branch at 49th/3rd Ave were kind enough to invite us in for an afternoon to give out free samples of our Soy Garlic and Spicy BonChon chicken wings and help us spread the word about the newest BonChon opening on 2nd Ave/51st in Midtown East. We had about 100 sample pieces to hawk to the unsuspecting of the branch. We had thought that maybe most people would have at least heard of BonChon’s Korean Fried Chicken but to our surprise, it was a mix! Needless to say many people who didn’t know about us that came by were both intrigued by the concept and impressed by the flavor of the samples. A big “Thanks” to every at Citibank! Make sure to stop by there for your banking needs –they really are a nice group of people!

Thinking About Drinking: Ice

I came across this post on the Spir.it blog today about ice. It talks about a very simple but important step in building any type of drink: icing the glass. Now one probably wouldn’t ordinarily think much about ice. However, as any bartender worth his/her weight will tell you, it is a critical part of any drink. When I was a bartender for catering gigs back in college, the first thing you learn is icing glasses. Furthermore, most many classic cocktails are built over a full glass of ice. Having a full glass of ice not only softens the alcohol, it also helps moderate and incorporate the other ingredients involved in making a cocktail.

In any case, I’ll stop talking and give you guys the link to the article. Enjoy! (
http://www.thespir.it/articles/how-to-chill-a-glass/
)

Eating Good in the Neighborhood: Schnitzel and Things!

If you are a fan of the mobile food phenomenon I’m sure that you’ve come across the Schnitzel & Things Food Truck. What Schnitzel & Things churns out from that tiny space inside that truck is quite impressive. The truck has been a contender and crowd favorite at the Vendy’s –the annual Food Truck awards event held on Governor’s Island in New York. Therefore, imagine what they can do now that they have a physical location in our very own Midtown East! The new Schnitzel & Things storefront is located on Third avenue between 45th and 44th street, right across from the new German beer hall, Bierhaus. Looks like we are getting our very own mini-Germany/Austria/Europe in Midtown East!

If you’ve never had schnitzel, it’s a traditional Austrian delicacy consisting of a thinly pounded cut of veal or pork which is then breaded and fried… and it’s delicious. There’s actually quite a long history regarding the dish. It’s beyond the scope of this blog post but for the uber-curious amongst you, check out the wikipedia page on Schnitzel. Though as you might guess, we here at BonChon Midtown can always find something redeeming about any sort of fried food!

http://schnitzelandthings.com/

Definitely give it a try! It is delicious and now that they have their own spot, you don’t have to chase around a truck all day! Congrats to the Schnitzel & Things guys!

Bibimbap Burger @ Social Eatz

We’re glad that BonChon Midtown local neighbor, Angelo Sosa’s “Social Eatz,” will be opening their doors very soon! Located on 53rd between 3rd and 2nd Avenues, Social Eatz will be focusing on sandwiches –many with an Asian flair.

We walked by the location recently and I snapped a picture on my iPhone. The place looks bright and clean. It’ll be a great place to grab a quick bite.

Social Eatz Under Construction

One thing on the menu that looks absolutely delicious is the Bibimbap Burger. Basically, it’s Bibimbap on a bun. What I found really interesting was the incorporation of the runny egg into the sandwich. Messy? Definitely. But who doesn’t like biting into a runny egg and the mouth-feel of that savory, sticky yellow yolk?

We wish Mr. Sosa the best of luck! And Hey! If you’re from Social Eatz and just happen to want us to come by and give that burger a try, give us a shout!

Check out an interview with Angelo Sosa detailing his burger below.

http://media.thefeast.com/designvideo/embeddedPlayer.swf

Photoshop Fun: Michael Jackson, Bubbles and BonChon

The restaurant business ain’t just about cooking and food. There is a heavy marketing and promotional aspect to being a restaurateur. Maybe you don’t need marketing if you are Ferran Adria or Alain Ducasse but for the rest of us, it can’t be avoided if you want to be successful. This is why, after much deliberation I found myself trekking out to deep Brooklyn (Bushwick, if you want to be picky) to the studios at 3rd Ward for their Photoshop Intensive class.

Now, I am not a Photoshop novice. But neither am I a power user. My experience with the application in the past has been limited to some light photo… umm…  editing, usually with HILARIOUS comedic results and detrimental professional consequences. But I digress. With all of the design work going into the menu, web, and print marketing I figured I could use a refresher in the application. Every little thing we can do ourselves ultimately saves us dough and that’s a good thing.

If you don’t know about 3rd Ward, it’s actually a very cool concept. It’s like an artist community but they also happen to teach a whole bunch of really interesting classes like woodworking and welding. Additionally they do a lot of digital design and media classes. Needless to say with that much on offer, they need a lot of space at reasonable prices which is partially why they are all the way out in Bushwick. If you are interested in learning more about 3rd Ward, click here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular part of New York City, I can sum it up by saying that it’s… colorful. Given that the L Train was experiencing limited service on the day of my class, I got a wonderful compulsory walking tour of the area surrounding 3rd Ward –by the way, my most interesting discovery? A White Castle on Metropolitan Avenue (SCORE)! After about 20 minutes of walking from the Lorimer Street stop, I arrive at 3rd Ward offices, ready to take on Photoshop.

Our teacher, Aaron, was a really capable and knowledgeable guide to the workings of Photoshop. After reviewing the basics, we went on to do some photo editing. For some odd reason, the source file that we ended up choosing was a picture of the Jeff Koons sculpture of Michael Jackson and his monkey, Bubbles. Coincidence? I think not. Apparently, this picture has a very clear background and good contrast so it’s not a “Bad” picture to practice on –in other words, it’s not “Black or White” it has contrast and thus, you can’t “Beat It.”

Okay. Got that out of my system.

Honestly though, it was a bit weird staring at the image of those two, MJ and Bubbles, forever immortalized in gold and alabaster sculpture while intently tracing their outlines with Photoshop’s “magnetic lasso” tool. I’ve never eyeballed a monkey so hard in my entire life. I think a little bit of my soul died right there. But as things go, we cut out the shapes of MJ and Bubbles and started manipulating that image along with a few others –some created, some borrowed from the internet.

Like I had mentioned before, I’m not exactly a novice at using Photoshop so soon my mind began to wander and my creative juices were now suitably amped up (it may have been the White Castle). Eventually my thoughts began to turn to BonChon and that glorious golden fried chicken. Soy-Garlic or Spicy? It didn’t matter, I craved it. I had to have it. Being imprinted  on my psyche and thus influencing my creative sub-conscience yet unable to leave the class, I began to cut, paste, and free-transform my inner hunger into an expression of my yearning. I worked furiously. Nothing could stop me. Soon it started coming into focus, yet I could only guess at its deep rooted origin. MJ and Bubbles on a remote island shore with the object of my affection lying beside them. Their world burned in a haze reminiscent of what, I don’t know. Hell? The fire in a kitchen? Or the flame that sets hearts ablaze?

Posted below is my creation. My Art, My Chicken, My Love.

Michael, Bubbles and BonChon