- We're outside of Dancen which I think
is one of my favorite places in Chicago.
This is my wife, by the way, Rochelle.
- Hi.
- [Matthew] When she was in grad school in Chicago,
we would come here together
and we would basically hang out with some friends,
get this amazing thing that's called buldak
or spicy fire chicken.
So what they do is they grill the chicken
in the front of the restaurant.
I mean, they have this grill that actually comes
out into the dining room and the fire just billows out.
The whole place smells like amazing, burning chicken.
It is awesome.
So we're gonna be joined by Ashok,
the senior editor of Eater Chicago.
- [Rochelle] And Kristina, one of my best friends from L.A.
- [Matthew] We're gonna get transported to Seoul
as soon as you walk inside.
(lively music)
- Kombe. - Kombe.
- This is a place where you could be, like,
already ready for bed, in your pajamas,
and then someone thinks of the idea and says,
"Hey, Dancen?"
And you're like, "Hell, yeah, Dancen."
- You never say no to Dancen.
- No.
(lively music)
- One of the best things they do here is fried pork skin
and the texture of this things is so, like,
indescribably awesome.
- That's really hot.
(girls laughing)
Oh man.
- Like chicharrón?
- Mm-hmm.
- Mm.
- It's so awesome, oh my God.
- It's so good.
- [Rochelle] Here have another.
- I'm, like, I don't wanna put it down.
(loud laughing)
- Well, what they do to prepare this
is they basically are, like, deep-frying the whole pork skin
and the thing is frying out.
Then what the cook does is empty out the oil
and then pour soju on it, and the thing just ign--
I mean the whole thing balloons up
and ignites on fire and she has to put it out
before it starts burning.
- I think it's so impressive they've got the tall flames,
but not a bit of it is charred or burned.
It's great.
- So the fire chicken is the thing
that everybody orders, but the spicy pork skins
is like a sleeper hit.
- [Male] We got chicken gizzards.
- Koreans have a very colorful way of describing this dish,
it's called Dak-Ttongjip,
which is literally chicken ...
- Butt hole?
- Well, I don't have to tell people it's chicken butt holes.
Dak-Ttongjip literally means, like, chicken s***house.
- That's worse.
(loud laughing)
- Alright, so, this thing is really chewy.
- It's a little work out on my molars.
- [Matthew] Yeah, yeah, it's a ...
The older you get, the more uncomfortable
it is on your dentures.
- I like the, kind of, the crust on the outside.
Like, I'm always, it's just like when they go way spicy,
I guess that's what the peppers are for,
but it's not, it's quite nice actually.
- [Matthew] Yeah, it's not spicy.
- You have to pop like a Chicago hot dog, I think.
- Well, the case ...
- Snap?
- Yeah, the snap.
- Very observant.
- Oh, Vienna beef (mumbles).
(loud laughing)
- [Matthew] So you guys have come here a lot.
Tell me about your crazy times here.
- I felt like we came here at least once a week.
- Now that you live far away,
do you kind of appreciate how lucky you were?
- Yeah. - I do.
I wish there was something like this in L.A.
by our house in Florence.
- And that's why chefs love this place,
it's 'cause it's so rare in Chicago it's a genuinely unique experience.
- This is the fire squid and you gotta actually finish it
on the table so they give you this little butane burner.
As this thing heats up, you basically stir it,
and it will just, spicy paste that covers the whole thing.
And then on the bottom, there's chopped squid.
As this thing reduces, it just becomes more intense
and, like, this amazing, spicy, savory thing
that you have to pick at while you're drinking.
It's started reducing.
Smells amazing.
- We're gonna get some caramelized bits at the bottom?
- Oh yeah, uh huh, yeah, it actually gets really sweet
'cause the paste has some sugar in it, right?
So as it reduces, it gets that caramel-y, spicy flavor.
It's hot.
Gotta blow on it for, like, 30 seconds.
- That's good.
- It's much sweeter than anything we've had today.
- [Matthew] Mm-hmm.
You're right about the caramelization.
- [Ashok] I'm gonna scrape the bottom of that dish off.
- [Matthew] Yeah dude, do it, yeah.
- It's not too hot again and the bits at the bottom
are gonna make it, like you said,
it's gonna get better the more you wait,
the more you sip on your drink,
that last bite is gonna be delicious.
- We should do that, hold on.
- Yeah, we've been neglecting the drinks, guys.
- Shame on us.
- Cheers.
(lively music)
- [Matthew] Ashok, what do you see here?
- I see gooey goodness that we're about to consume.
(everyone laughs)
Look at that.
- [Rochelle] Oh yeah.
- Why wouldn't you want that?
- Why?
- It's molten. - Yeah.
(everyone laughs)
- Oh, it's hot.
(everyone laughs)
- [Ashok] I like how it's like a deep dish pizza.
- This?
Oh yeah, it is kinda.
It's like totally Chicago appropriate.
- I've had it without the cheese and it's just,
the cheese cuts the heat.
- It is really spicy and each individual,
kind of, nodule of chicken is coated
in this spicy, sweet glaze that's just a little smoky
from the fire, and it's tender, you know.
It's so, it's just addictive though.
You're like, "Oh man, I need another bite."
The fattiness of the cheese ...
- [Ashok] Great combo.
- It's so good, it's so evil.
It truly is, like, wrong.
- Is this on my diet? - [Matthew] And it's right.
Like yeah, there's the guy in the middle of the dining room,
he's just constantly working this chicken
to make sure it's perfectly seared.
I love it.
They're using nice thigh meat and so,
it's got a richness, you know, it's not dry at all.
Um, it's well-seared and it's really well-covered
with the glaze.
It's just kinda infused into the actual chicken.
After eating this, I think, unequivocally,
this is the reason to come here.
This is the best late-night dish
that you can get in Chicago.
It's like this repetitive formula
where you take a shot, you have a little vegetable
to like calm you down, and then you go for the fire chicken,
and then before you know it, like four hours later,
you've racked up a $500 bill.
Everybody in the Chicago restaurant scene
knows about Dancen.
- Places like this that do food at, like,
such a high quality mark, we're gonna appreciate it more
and it's so unique.
Couple that, it just makes it
for such a wonderful experience.
Where are you gonna get, like that fire chicken
with that wonderful cheese and that char?
You're not gonna find it anywhere else
and Chicago just doesn't have too many
high caliber Korean restaurants,
so when one does it right, we're gonna appreciate it.
- [Matthew] Yeah.
- [Ashok] We're gonna love it.
- Thanks so much for coming, guys.
Thanks for hanging out with me, Kristina and Ashok.
This was an amazing time.
Thank you so much for watching K-Town
and if you want to see more of my adventures
in Chicago, click right here.
- Korean food.
This is like one of the most craveable, amazing things
you will eat.
This dish must be finished
and I don't usually finish all the food.