Crisp Chicago

Benders in general are not good for you. Whether it’s a work bender that deprives you of sleep and fun or a Las Vegas bender that strips you of your dignity. Lately, we’ve been on a fried chicken bender, which has helped us sleep, but often leaves us searching for what little dignity we may have left. And while we often question our life decisions, we aren’t questioning the food at Crisp, particularly their jumbo fried chicken wings.

There are two reasons why we love the wings at Crisp. The first is the Seoul Sassy sauce, which will undoubtedly be the one seed in the East region of the 64-team March Madness sauce tournament we plan on holding. The second is the fact these wings are juicy and perfectly fried.

The wings aren’t the only thing worth eating though, and some of Crisp’s other items definitely serve a much-needed purpose. The Korean burritos are a great way to grab a quality bite, and the Buddha Bowl bibimbaps are pretty good too, even if we think they lose a little bit of luster by not being served in a hot stone bowl.

Crisp is a serious-takeout-operation, but wings are always best when fresh out of the kitchen, so you can also consider taking a trip to this low key spot that unassumingly blends in with everything else on the stretch of Clark in Lakeview. Post up at one of the communal picnic tables or take a seat at a small bar where you can take in a usually solid soundtrack of tunes. The dudes working at Crisp always look like they are having fun, and the feeling is contagious when you take a bite into those Seoul Sassy wings.

Food Rundown

Kimchee

Get a side of it to eat plain with your wings or to mix with the bowls or burritos.

Seoul Sassy Whole Jumbo Wings

These wings are the sht. The Seoul Sassy sauce is on the sweeter side and absolutely divine. As we already pointed out, they are real wings, so an order of five for yourself should do the trick. Spring for the half chicken over the wings if you want some white meat too.

Buffalo Fried Chicken

We ordered half of a buffalo chicken once just to test it out. It’s solid if you like buffalo sauce, but the Seoul Sassy is just too good to get anything else on the chicken front.

Buddha Bowls

Buddha Bowls are Crisp’s take on bibimbap. There are three different sizes, the only difference being the number of veggies you get. They are served in a tin bowl, which makes them not as good as bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl because of the lack of extra cooking and crispiness of the bottom rice.

Korean Burrito

Burritos, but with a Korean twist. Steamed white rice, lettuce, tomato, corn, onion, and seasoned carrots all wrapped in a flour tortilla with your choice of bulgogi, chicken, or veggies. We prefer the bulgogi version.