Tag: Korean | Winston Wanders

Mike Winston’s Best Meals of 2015

Post author:Winston
Post published:02.03.2016
Post category:Guides
Post comments:0 Comments

Yes, I know this year-end list is beyond belated. Actually, I’m probably over a month late. Normally, I’m not one to make these kinds of excuses, but my life has been pretty hectic lately.

As you may or may not know, I’m getting married in a couple of months, so my time has recently come at an extreme premium and I haven’t been able to commit as much attention as I’d like to this little ~~publication~~ obsession. With that being said, over the next couple of months, I’ll be playing around with post style and formatting a bit in an attempt to find new ways to rapidly pump out awesome food articles with fewer publishing limitations on my end. Please feel free to give me feedback on the new content — I’m planning to review this little experiment in a few months and we can take it from there.

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Wing Wings: Hands Down the Best Chicken Wings in SF

Post author:Winston
Post published:03.17.2015
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

I was completely certain I was gonna love everything about Wing Wings. I absolutely love crushing buckets of chicken wings and I had heard such great things about the many unique varieties at this Lower Haight hole-in-the-wall and hot spot.

They’ve been featured in 7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat 2013, on Grub Street’s Best Places for Wings in SF, on Epicurious’ America’s Best Chicken Wings List, and in plenty of other high profile publications. To put it simply, their reputation precedes them. Beyond what I had read about online, I’d had already had the chance to experience their impressive chicken-preparation skill via the transcendent Fried Chicken served at their Off The Grid Picnic at the Presidio pop-up stall. I knew this was gonna be good.

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Get Your Korean Fried Chicken on at Bon Chon in Sunnyvale

Post author:Winston
Post published:02.27.2015
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

I think most New Yorkers have heard of (and had their fair share of) Bon Chon Chicken. After originating in New Jersey and expanding to NYC and truly blowing up with hype and mega-popularity, this mini-chain has now spread its reach across the US and around the world. There’s even two locations out on the West Coast near me in the Bay Area – one not far from my office in Sunnyvale. Since lunch options in Sunnyvale are so scarce, I’ve found myself stopping in whenever the urge for a satisfyingly deep-fried lunch strikes.

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Serious Sausage Sandwiches & Epic Meats at 4505 Butcher in the Mission

Post author:Winston
Post published:12.15.2014
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

*Editor’s Note: I’m sad to report that this butcher shop is no longer open.

4505 Butcher Shop is a big deal in SF. Formerly an extremely popular farmers market stall, this brick-and-mortar shop functions primarily as a permanent place to purchase really high-quality meats for home use. But, beyond the gorgeous cuts of steak and other game meats sold, they also make a variety of awesome sausages and hot dogs in-house. In fact, I hear that’s really how they made their name and became so popular.

All of their hot dogs, sausages, and cuts of meat are made sustainably from animals raised locally in Northern California and come with a glowing reputation for being some of the very best butchery around. In fact, these days there are many bars and fine dining establishments that proudly serve 4505 bacon-studded hot dogs in a variety of fancy preparations.

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The Very Best Airport Food I’ve Ever Eaten

Post author:Winston
Post published:12.05.2014
Post category:Guides
Post comments:0 Comments

It’s getting to be that time when we look back on the year in review and 2014 was a very big year of travel for me. Between working remotely in Silicon Valley while still officially living in NYC, moving from NYC to SF, and other miscellaneous leisure travel, I spent a lot of time in airports.

I know that airports get a bad rap when it comes to dining options and you know what, most of the time the food really does suck. But, every now and then I’ve been able to come across some truly excellent dishes. Beyond that, I’ve even managed to find a number of dishes served in airports that blew me away – the overacheivers – the kinds of things I would get even if I wasn’t stuck eating in an airport. Without further ado, read on below to see the best of the best to eat before you fly in the sky. (more…)

Hangover Cure: Korean & American Fusion Breakfast at Han’s Coffee Shop in the Tendernob

Post author:Winston
Post published:07.25.2014
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:3 Comments

Locals always have the best food tips. One drunken night out the town in San Francisco, I ended up chatting with a 10-year SF resident at a bar and it became abundantly clear that I was gonna be pretty hungover the next morning. After informing her that I was staying in the Union Square area, she told me that I absolutely must go to Han’s in the morning to cure my hangover.

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Fast, Healthy Korean Food in the Desolate Sunnyvale Culinary Wasteland at Bibimbowl

Fast, Healthy, Korean in the Desolate Sunnyvale Culinary Wasteland

Post author:Winston
Post published:03.31.2014
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:7 Comments

In Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale is one of the more vacuous towns in the area. It’s mostly filled with bleak, white-washed office buildings, parking lots, and roads leading nowhere. If you work there, as I currently do, you’ll quickly learn how limited the lunch options are, especially if you want to walk to lunch.

Fortunately for me, I’ve found a lunchtime gem in a nondescript mini-mall called Bibimbowl just a half mile’s walk from the office serving fresh, healthy, high-quality Korean food at a reasonable price.

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