With wing season culminating during the Super Bowl, here’s where to find the Korean-inspired spin on the Buffalo-sauced variety.
This modern storefront in Shirlington offers both traditional wings and boneless. The soy garlic swings sweet, with a glaze almost syrupy. The hot is shocking; it marries a smoky, rich barbecue taste with something more traditionally Korea-hot. The skin is a welcome crisp.// 4040 Campbell Ave., Arlington
This grocery store with a side restaurant and bar—the recently opened Del Ray location is the chainlet’s fourth—offers a small but wide-ranging menu starring Korean fried chicken. Dotted with black sesame seeds and dressed in the soy and spicy sauce, Streets’ nomenclature may be off: The wings lean sweeter that their heat-inducing name. There’s still that distinct crisp shielding the meat, but it’s far from the beauty of Bonchon’s version. // 3108 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
Cheogajip Chicken
A chain out of Korea, these wings offer a more sauced appeal, meaning a wet, not crisp, crust. The thick soy garlic sauce is mild and a little sweet with a bare tang. // 4300 Evergreen Lane, Annandale; 703-941-1506; 13814 Braddock Road, Centreville; 703-815-2344
Yona
Wet and vinegar-forward, these wings from the funky new Japanese ramen and small-plates restaurant rely on four different fresh chilies for a spicy, but pleasant, heat. // 4000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
Danji
Offered only boneless—and a huge portion of 30-plus wings for $16.99—the heat is soft, not searing on Danji’s chicken, and the crunch lends a bit more give, akin to General Tso. // 13826-B Braddock Road, Centreville; 703-830-3800
The standard-bearer of Korean fried chicken, the crust is like glass shattering, the spicy sauce’s heat comes on strong, and the soy garlic flavor is full-fledged savoriness. It is a marvel. // Multiple NoVA locations
( February 2016 )
