Chicago Eats - bopNgrill

Asian fusion - as my new found food-lovin' friend put it, lots of places get this concept wrong. A place that gets it right? bopNgrill (Rogers Park, 6604 N. Sheridan). bopNgrill is a place that serves burgers, fries, and other "fast food" style eats with an Asian twist. They also serve fast-casual, more traditional Korean fare. And that's when the name makes sense - "bop" in Korean translates to rice (or food). You guys can probably figure out the "Ngrill" part. 

Updated: Good friend Kathy over at Sweet Kat's Creations sent along some beautiful shots of the food we ate, so I've replaced them. While you peep the new pics, read her awesome blog as well!

Soft Shell Crab'wich

Let's start off with something that just so incredibly awesome, it had to be posted first. Soft shell crab'wich. For. Real. A WHOLE SOFT SHELL CRAB inside of a bun??? It's so crazy, it had to taste weird, right? No way - this thing was seriously incredible. I think everyone that got a piece of this guy thought the same - the crab was cooked so that crispy outside and moist/juicy inside. The overwhelming statement: a lot of places do soft shell crab, but not many places do it well. bopNgrill, another pleaser. No wonder they sold out!

Kimchi Burger and bNg Burger

These weren't my burgers, but the above is the kimchi burger (right) and the bNg burger (left). For the uninitiated, kimchi is a traditional Korean side-dish (or main dish, depending on who you asked) that's pickled/fermented cabbage. It's also usually spicy, and can also be made from radish, cucumber, or various other vegetables.  I've had the kimchi burger before, and here it comes topped with kimchi, bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg, cabbage, and a gochujang (Korean chili paste) mayo. I believe they also saute the kimchi  in some toasted sesame oil that adds another flavor profile to the burger. The kimchi burger stands as my favorite burger here.

The bNg burger is topped with 1000 dressing, jalapenos, cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions. I didn't try this burger (yet!), but will try it soon as the girls that had it raved about it. 

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

I ordered the bbq pulled pork sandwich with slaw. The pulled pork was crispy (almost like it was fried after being pulled?!?) with a tangy sweet bbq sauce. Although this was great, it's definitely not the house specialty. But then again, after having had the kimchi burger and softshell crab'wich, well one can see why.

Kimchi Fries

Yes. Kimchi fries with pork and bacon! So this has green onion, sesame seeds, pork (dehji), regular bacon, cheese sauce, and of course, the same sauteed kimchi that tops the kimchi burger. I've had the kimchi fries at Del Seoul, but I definitely think that these are a superior representation. Why? Two things; first, they use the liquid cheese sauce instead of "real" shredded cheddar cheese. Although this might sound backwards at first, Del Seoul's version suffers when the fries cool down. We all know what a mess cool, congealed cheese can look, taste, and feel like. Second (and arguably, more importantly), bopNgrill sautees the kimchi in sesame oil as I mentioned above. This definitely makes a huge difference in both taste and texture. If you go here (and by if, I mean when), GET THESE.

Pork Belly Tostadas

Bonus! Will gave us some pork belly tostadas that he was experimenting with. I'm not sure exactly what the sauce/salsa was, but this was amazing, and I'm looking forward to the addition to the full-time menu!

This was my second time at bopNgrill, and I think they've actually improved since my first visit. I also tried the Umami burger my first time, but unfortunately the picture didn't turn out. The Umami is topped with tograshi mayo, sun-dried tomato confit, bacon, truffled duxelle (finely chopped mushrooms sauteed in butter), and smoked gouda. Seriously, does anything on this burger sound bad? This one was decadent and full of so many different flavors, I didn't know what to do. But the truffled duxelle REALLY stood out in this burger, and really made this one unique meal.

bopNgrill impressed me and everyone that I know that's tried it, and the prices are super reasonable. I'm already looking forward to my next visit to give the other menu items a try. If only I had 2 stomachs like our bovine friends...