The Chicken Lab

A Hit Korean Fried Chicken Stall From Baltimore Is Coming to D.C. | Eater DC

"A fledgling Baltimore stall slinging South Korea’s famed gangjeong chicken, The Chicken Lab operates a fast-casual counter in South Baltimore (1065 S. Charles Street) inside Federal Hill’s Cross Street Market and will add a second D.C. location next year. Husband-wife duo Daehee “Danny” Wi and Hyeyeon “Hye” Jeon run the operation—Wi leads the kitchen and Jeon handles everything else—and Wi draws on childhood flavors from Incheon, where whole streets are devoted to gangjeong. The signature dish features battered, double-fried chicken tossed in a sticky, sweet-and-spicy sauce with chewy fried rice cakes, onions, and peppers, finished with scallions, sesame seeds, peanuts, and a side of pickled radish; Wi also applies the gangjeong treatment to shrimp and vegetarian dumplings. The fried chicken bowl, a slightly lighter option, combines steamed white rice, mixed salad, glassy japchae noodles, fried chicken, and a drizzle of homemade sauce, while kimchi appears atop cheese fries and in stir-fried rice with a fried egg. Wi reports about 60–80 gangjeong orders on a typical Saturday (doubling on home Ravens or Orioles game days). Hours are Tuesday–Saturday 11 a.m.–8 p.m. and Sunday until 7 p.m., with online ordering, in-store pickup, and local delivery; the menu will soon expand with more vegetarian options and dessert drops like bingsu." - J.B. Hollander