FRYBABY
Korean restaurant · Buckman
1015 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97214
Highlights
Korean fried chicken with snow cheese, gochujang, soy garlic
Korean fried chicken with snow cheese, gochujang, soy garlic
"The Lil’ America pod has quickly become one of our favorite food hubs thanks to Frybaby—their menu of Korean-American fried chicken means hyper-crunchy wings and massive drumsticks that are seriously meal-sized. The move here is to order a bag, a.k.a. the chicken combo with a side (get the kimchi mac and cheese). The soy garlic glaze might be the obvious choice, but don’t shy away from the snow cheese, a slightly sweet umami blitz that’s akin to parmesan shaken from a container but actually good. Take a beeper, find a seat at a communal picnic table, and wait to be dazzled." - krista garcia
"This cart’s fried chicken has quickly amassed local praise since its opening just over two years ago, more recently snatching the seal of approval on its gochujang wings from YouTube celebrity chef Joshua Weissman. At Frybaby, owner Sunny Hatch hones in on a Korea-meets-American South concept, dousing double-fried chicken in a choice of soy garlic glaze, gochuchang sauce, or “snow cheese,” a signature sweet-salty cheese powder. Enthusiasts swear by the crackling exterior the batter creates — a gluten-free blend of rice, potato, and tapioca flour; others will be tempted to add a burst of umami to their wings by ordering a side of “Korean sparkle” powder. Side dishes are on brand with the concept, including banchan-style foods like smashed cucumber salad and classic American mac n cheese tossed with homemade kimchi and furikake." - Katrina Yentch
"This fried chicken cart within the Lil’ America pod has become famous thanks to the thunderous crunch of its wings and drumsticks’ crackling skin. The combination of rice, potato, and tapioca flour helps maximize the crispness of the chicken, which remains juicy due to the makgeolli in the batter. Get wings tossed in snow cheese or saucy with gochujang or soy glaze; when it comes to sides, the kimchi mac and cheese is a must." - Janey Wong
"A small Korean fried-chicken cart operating out of the Lil' America pod that celebrated a two-year anniversary this month and won major local honors in 2023 (Eater Portland’s Best New Food Cart and Oregonian’s Food Cart of the Year). The owner, Hatch, says, “The initial goal was just to add one more Korean restaurant to Portland proper.” He leaned on local mentors while building the concept — reaching out to Sunshine Noodle’s Diane Lam for cooking lessons and Facebook-messaging Kim Jong Grillin’s Han Ly Hwang, a two-hour phone call that Hatch refers to as “the reason it exists.” Hatch describes rapid demand: “We’re maxing out the cart, which is awesome. Hopefully looking to expand more in the future.” Long-term ambitions are explicitly modeled on fast-food franchising: he wants a fast-food chain like Jollibee and imagines “a drive-thru.” He frames the market opportunity succinctly: “There’s a lot of fast-casual places, like Chimcking and Bonchon, but there’s no Korean Popeyes.”" - Thom Hilton
"The crunchy, snow cheese-dusted wings coming out of this buzzy member of the Lil’ America cart pod on Southeast Stark are rapidly approaching icon status. Korean American, Texan-raised chef Sunny Hatch pulls from both facets of his heritage at this cart, both in the double-fried chicken wings dredged in a blend of rice, potato, and tapioca flour and in the Southern-influenced sides like the kimchi mac and cheese and creamy sesame lime slaw. Opt for wings over drumsticks for maximum surface area and thus optimal amounts of the gochujang, soy garlic glaze, or salty crumbles of snow cheese." - Rebecca Roland
