Pelicana Chicken Atlanta

Pelicana Is the Finest Korean Fried Chicken in New York | Eater NY

"I found Pelicana on the third floor of Food Gallery 32, a food court in the heart of K-town at 11 West 32nd St., between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, and it felt like the best version of Korean fried chicken New Yorkers can probably find outside of Korea. Established in 1982 to deliver clean-packaged fried chicken, Pelicana was one of the first brands in Korea to commercialize fried chicken for delivery; CEO Hee Kwon Yang sought to Koreanize the Western dish with a sauce made from garlic, onion, and gochujang, calling it yangnyum tong-dak, which became a sensation and an essential part of Korean food culture. When I visited the packed spot—shiny marble counter, paper boxes lined up, open kitchen, loud with people and K-pop videos—I ordered a whole heavily-breaded, steaming-hot chicken (half Pelicana signature sauce, half honey garlic) after waiting about 20 minutes. The chicken looked exactly as I remembered from childhood: bright ruby red and insanely crispy; the yangnyum sauce tasted familiar—saucier with a hint of gochujang, almost like kimchi fried rice in flavor—and the honey garlic was sweet-but-not-too-sweet, savory and garlic-y in a way that complemented the crispy batter perfectly. The experience flooded me with nostalgia, exceeded my high expectations, and convinced me that Pelicana’s approach—bursting flavors and an insanely crispy, thick-battered chicken—is extraordinary; I now proudly call this my new Korean fried chicken temple in NYC and plan to try as many flavor combinations as I can." - James Park