Column: Corner Jip’s Korean-style fried chicken is a flavorful find

Korean fried chicken is not your average bucket of Popeyes slop. And Buena Park is not your average Koreatown.

Over the past five years or so, the Beach Boulevard stretch of old-school Korean restaurants near Knott’s has spilled over the 5 Freeway and into several shopping centers, now entirely full with Korean barbecue, Korean desserts, Korean bakeries and Korean supermarkets.

Corner Jip opened last year away from the epicenter of this new-wave KTown, but it’s still one of the best places in O.C. to experience chimaek, a portmanteau of a Seoul-started dining trend that combines the Korean words for chicken and beer.

At Corner Jip, then, you order some pitchers of light beer — from a local craft brewery, if you so desire — along with a big plate of fried chicken — or perhaps just the wings — and spend hours watching sports on TV, playing pool or just hanging out with your crew.

The chicken is fried twice, making the skin itself thin and crackly — the meat stays juicy inside — and it comes with a selection of dipping sauces so everyone can find their flavor.

Corner Jip is at 6552 Auto Center Drive, Buena Park. For more information, call (714) 752-6700.

SARAH BENNETT is a freelance journalist covering food, drink, music, culture and more. She is the former food editor at L.A. Weekly and a founding editor of Beer Paper L.A. Follow her on Twitter @thesarahbennett.

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