Chimmelier’s focus on fried chicken pays off - Review - San Francisco - The Infatuation
"Chimmelier, the LA-based Korean fried chicken spot, already has locations in the East Bay, but SF’s first outpost is a lunch-time pop-up inside of Jilli, another LA transplant. The main draw to Chimmelier is the K-Fried Chicken Burger. It’s massive with a lightly-coated chicken thigh spilling out from in between the buns. The sandwich is heavy, slathered with kimchi thousand island sauce, and a thin layer of pickled slaw and a lone perilla leaf that helps cut through the richness. Other dishes are less compelling and best gotten just to add some variety to a group order. The pan-fried tteokbokki in a gochujang-adjacent sauce are unevenly fried, and the honey chicken bowl veers into being almost too sweet. Since most people are taking their food to go, getting a seat is usually easy. Note that everything is fried to order, so there will be a wait, but the cartoons projected on the wall can keep you occupied.
Food Rundown
K-Fried Chicken Burger
We like the added twists to a traditional fried chicken sandwich with the perilla leaf and slightly spicy kimchi thousand island dressing. The chicken thigh is masterfully fried—the thin layer of crust is airy and crunchy.
PlayMute
video credit: Patrick Wong
Tteokbokki
A fine shareable starter. The rice cakes are pan-fried to the point where the outside is crunchy but the inside maintains its chew, though a few pieces are overdone and tough.
photo credit: Patrick Wong
Honey Chicken Bowl
The chunks of fried chicken are plump and crispy, but the coating and sauce are almost overwhelmingly sweet—but if you get a bit of rice and lettuce in each bite, it works.
photo credit: Patrick Wong" - Patrick Wong