Red Wings: Korean Fried Chicken Done Right. Really Right

Comments (0) By Jonathan Kauffman Wednesday, Apr 13 2011

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Kimberly Sandie

Yani wings, front and center: hot and sweet and garlicky.

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Red Wings

3015 Geary
San Francisco, CA 94118

Category: Restaurant > Bar Food

Region: Richmond (Inner)

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Details

3015 Geary (at Blake), 422-0012, www.redwingskor.com. Hours: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. daily. Muni: 38, 43. Wheelchair accessible. Delivery available until 11 p.m.

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The other two styles go from the frying pan to the sauce pot, with mixed results. I've eaten the manul chicken, which is tossed with a sugary soy and garlic glaze, twice; one time, the batter had clearly sat in the syrup for longer than it should, and gotten soggy, but the other time the manul wings came out glossy and crackling, as if the cooks had studied San Tung's legendary wings and then improved upon them. The fourth variety, the yani chicken ($8.50/$15.90), is the honest-to-goodness red wings the restaurant's title promises. It is tossed with the same chile-powered sauce as the duk bokki — a brash shout of red pepper, a keening sweetness, the growl of garlic — and a new napkin is needed for every wing. After a few sticky, spicy bites, the necessity of the pickled daikon and light Korean lager becomes clear.

Do you go to Bob's Donuts for its muffins? Do you stop by McDonald's for cappuccino? (Uh, strike that.) Does Red Wings have to excel at anything besides chicken and beer? Though the restaurant does have another subspecialty, which I discover on one visit when we order so much food that the server brings over one more: feather-light, contorted, perfectly fried sweet potato chips ($5.90), dusted in white sugar instead of salt. Snicker all you like at the seasoning: The basket may be empty by the time your next jug of beer arrives.