Daniel B.
Yelp
bb.q Chicken (or "BBQ Chicken" or "BBQ Olive Chicken," whatever you want to call it) pumps out solid Korean fried chicken in metro Atlanta OTP (outside the perimeter). If you're looking for good Korean fried chicken in Doraville/Chamblee, this might be the best spot currently. In Doraville, I like Hello Chicken too, but it's not as popular nor as highly rated: http://bit.ly/2LUnesw. Harue Korean Chicken Snack Bar isn't bad either: http://bit.ly/381xVQ9.
As I wrote in my review for the bb.q Chicken in Duluth (https://bit.ly/3MDXyMi), this international chain once had another Duluth location that opened back in March 2011. That location closed and the current Duluth location opened just off of Pleasant Hill Road near I-85 in August 2019. In 2021, the chain added two more Georgia locations: Suwanee in March 2021 (https://bit.ly/3I0xBmF) and this Doraville location in June 2021. The bb.q Chicken footprint and in general, the Korean fried chicken footprint, has continued to expand in Atlanta.
A couple Korean fried chicken restaurants opened close to where I live: Choong Man Chicken opened its first ITP (inside the perimeter) location near Georgia Tech in August 2020 (https://bit.ly/3tAeYk7) and local joint Mukja Korean Fried Chicken opened in November 2020 (https://bit.ly/3HMYBFS). Both of those are good too. So, there's more good Korean fried chicken in and around Atlanta than there used to be, which is good thing. For quick, easy Korean fried chicken near me, I'd probably go to Choong Man on 10th Street and call it a day.
Choong Man (or "CM Chicken") might be *the* best of them all. In addition to the CM Chicken location in-town, the chain also has locations in Duluth (http://bit.ly/33A5FCv) and Suwanee (https://bit.ly/3pKyHwt).
All that said, I don't think you can go wrong with bb.q Chicken. This is one of the top Korean fried chicken chains. It's been around since 1995, originating in South Korea. The "bb.q" doesn't stand for barbecue. It stands for "Best of the Best Quality." Some of the old branding for this chain - "BBQ Olive Chicken" - existed to show off that the restaurants deep fry their chicken in olive oil. I think that's part of what sets bb.q Chicken apart from the competition.
During my visit to this location, the menu had Whole Chickens in nine flavors, Wings in 10 flavors, and Boneless chicken in 11 flavors. Outside of chicken, there were Korean snack foods like Ddeok-Bokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes) and fast-food sides like fries and onion rings. $11 Boneless Combos, that include fries and a soda, and $8 Chicken Cup Bap rice bowls are lunch menu exclusives, offered Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm only.
I've been eating more boneless Korean fried chicken (and American wings) lately and decided to go that route this time. Our server, James, told me that bb.q Chicken's Boneless chicken is made from thigh meat, which is what I prefer (dark meat). I ended up ordering a Half & Half Boneless ($25) and a medium size of the Honey Garlic Boneless ($14) for myself. The order lasted me 3.5 meals. One of my friends got a medium order of the Honey Garlic Boneless too and another friend got a chicken Sandwich Combo ($11) with sweet potato fries (+$1). The latter came with both coleslaw and bb.q Chicken's "Secret Spicy" sauce on the side. For my Half & Half Boneless, I chose half Golden Original and half Secret Spicy. The Secret Spicy sauce is a sweet, non-spicy sauce made with tomato, onion, garlic, and spices. Yes, it's *not* spicy, contrary to the name.
To give you a sense on sizing, one person can easily finish a medium order of chicken. The "Half and Half" combos are equivalent to two mediums.
The chicken I had at the bb.q Chicken in Duluth was crispier, but it was also bone-in. My favorite flavor here was the Honey Garlic. It had a sweet, sticky, and delectable sauce. I recommend it. My Secret Spicy chicken was drenched in sauce, perhaps too much. However, it still tasted fine. I will say that all the sauce negated any crispiness the chicken tenders originally had. I ended up using the extra sauce on my Golden Original chicken and it worked out well. My leftovers heated up nicely in the toaster oven: 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes per tray. The food packs and travels well and lasts for days. My leftovers were just as satisfying at home as they were fresh, dining in.
bb.q Chicken is located on Buford Highway OTP in the old Treasure Village shopping center. Treasure Village is much less seedy these days. bb.q Chicken is in the space formerly occupied by beloved Korean family-style restaurant Don Quixote: https://bit.ly/3vO74Gv. The space has been completely cleaned up, renovated, and modernized. The atmosphere is that of a casual, fast-food, takeout joint with big wall/window graphics and pictures, and K-pop music. Capacity is limited to about 20+ seats on either side of the dining room. There is no outside seating.
Service was good. Our orders were fried up and ready relatively quick.