Back in the fall of last year B(est of the) B(est) Q(uality) Chicken returned to San Diego taking the spot of a Convoy institution Ichiro's. Now honestly, I wasn't all that thrilled as my experiences with the chicken at the former location. The chicken had a strange fishiness, that even the Missus could make out. So I really wasn't in a rush to check them out.
But then, my good "FOYs" Candice and "Xiāngjiāo" mentioned how much they enjoyed the chicken from bb.q; though that was tempered on the other end of things by my other "FOY" ChrisR who was kind enough to email me:
"Too much breading and not enough meat on the wings, though the proportion was okay with the legs. The soy-garlic sauce was blunt, overpowering, and, bizarrely, faintly sweet."
So, ok….looks like I had to check them out.
Just to be clear; each time I visited, I placed online orders……and each time I still had to wait when arriving at my given time; actually, on my last visit, I purposely arrived 10 minutes late….which made me worried about my wings just sitting cooling their heels….well, I guess chicken don't have heels…let's call it "cooling their metatarsals"….but I ended up waiting another 10 minutes for my food. Guess lunch business is booming?
On my first visit; I really wanted to "taste the chicken". That is, just breaded and fried without all the sauces and such. Unfortunately, wings were not available prepared that way, so I ordered the Golden Original Boneless (8 pieces $13.59). I also was curious about the Kimchi Fried Rice ($12.99). Man, almost thirty bucks for lunch!
I actually really enjoyed the Kimchi Fried Rice.
It looked quite dark and that egg was overcooked for my taste, though the edges were nice and crisp. I really enjoyed the smoky spice, it was nicely seasoned, good pickly-fermented tones and decent saltiness. This was a nice version that I'd gladly have again.
As for the chicken……
On the good side; unlike the chicken at the former "bb.q" there was no fishiness. The chicken was somewhat unevenly breaded, though it was nice and crunchy. In my opinion, this needed more seasoning as I thought it to be fairly bland and it seemed to have been fried fairly "hard" as the meat was on the dry side. At least it wasn't greasy.
The pickled radish, while a bit on the sweet side helped to cut the "fry-o-lated" flavors….
In some ways, at least in my opinion this was a much improved version of BB.Q Chicken. And of course, since I try to do more than one visit before posting, I returned and this time ordered the Ddeok-Bokki ($12.99) and got the Soy Garlic Wings (8 pieces $14.99)….man, who'd have thought we'd see the day when 8 wings cost like fifteen bucks???
As for the Ddeok-Bokki.
This was seriously not to my liking; the rice cakes were under-cooked and hard. I also like a nice coating on the Ddeok-Bokki, but this was more like a broth, which other than having some spice was really weak and watery. I'll pass on this in the future.
As for the wings.
The wings weren't evenly coated in sauce and I found the breading to be more hard then crunchy. The sticky sauce had barely any garlic flavor and was more cloying sweet than anything else. I'd prefer a more balanced flavor and more savory tones as well. The chicken, like on my previous order was also on the dry side. The drumettes were on the large side which threw off my preferred batter/skin to meat ratio, especially since the meat was on the dry side.
Still, my friends really liked this place so I decided to give them one more try. I wasn't in the mood to dish out thirty bucks for lunch so I just ordered the Spicy Galbi Wings.
Perhaps in some way, the third time was the charm. The wings were still more hard than crunchy, though the meat was quite moist this time around. While still being on the overly sticky and sweet side, things were somewhat balanced out by a mild spiciness and savory notes. Also note that the drumettes on this visit were on the smaller side which I prefer. So, if I ever come back, I'll try something inline with this flavor profile.
Overall, I find the breading on the wings here to be on the overly hard side. I also think the glazes used are on the sweeter side and lacking balance. Though I guess it's all about personal preferences. You just might enjoy the wings here like Soo does. So, give them a try and let me know what you think.
bb.q Chicken
4344 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 1130am – 10pm
Suday 12pm – 9pm
At the far (Northeast) end of the mall on the Northwest corner of West Point Loma Boulevard at Sports Arena Boulevard, a few doors down from the original location of Gaglione Bros, is the longstanding (more than 40 years) location of Natural Style Chicken.
The menu is pretty simple, primarily consisting of rotisserie cooked chicken 
which you can see spinning in the oven at the front window if you arrive early in the morning.
A chicken teriyaki plate ($11.99) weighs close to (if not more than) one pound. Rice, an iceberg salad and chicken- a LOT of boneless, skinless, tender, juicy rotisserie chicken. Served with a warm, house-made teriyaki sauce that isn't too sweet and not salty; just right. An easily shared meal.
But, the owner is Korean and there are both kalbi and bulgogi plates offered. The bulgogi ($14.99) plate is wonderful, with thin sliced, marinated beef, griddled on a stovetop with cabbage, carrot and onion slices. So tender and so much flavor! This day we opted for the vegetable/fried rice (+$2) which was made to order with carrot, onion and egg. Very good (again, the plate was heavy and shared). 
There are a few side dishes on the menu. The onion rings ($4.99) are an excellent choice. Hand battered, expertly fried, light, crunchy, not greasy.
Chicken Kyoza (Korean gyoza/mandu)(five for 5.99, ten for $8.99) are also perfectly fried dumplings , filled with chicken and cabbage and served with a tart, vinegar-based sauce. 
