Lunch with Lauren: Hello Chicken & The Buford Highway Shuffle

By Lauren Townsend for The Aha! Connection

This past Easter, my family friend, Chris Turner, asked me if I’d heard of the Buford Highway Shuffle, knowing my love of Buford Highway. I was immediately intrigued and found the non-profit, We Love BuHi. We Love BuHi’s goal is to strengthen the “multicultural fabric of the Buford Highway corridor through storytelling, special events and advocacy.” They recently launched the Buford Highway Shuffle, which combines my love of social media, snail mail (because the only time I look forward to the mail is Christmas), and eating. They send you an email with featured Buford Highway businesses, you post to twitter or Instagram and they send you a playing card IN THE MAIL. Not only is it a great way to discover all the great places BuHi has to offer, but it’s a fun incentive for you or your kids to try new things. This round, some of my favorites like, Sweet Hut, Food Terminal and Supermercado Chicago are on the list, but I also tried Panpaleta and Hello Chicken with an Instagram playdate at Dish Korean pending this Saturday. (An Instagram playdate is when you meet other like-minded Instagrammers, who don’t appear to be psychos, and meet-up). I’ve inquired as to when the next shuffle will be and when you can sign up, but in the meantime, you can get all the info for your own culinary adventure on their website.

So, first and foremost, Hello Chicken is delicious, and you should go; What you should order really depends on if you are eating alone or with others. Because my new job is eating for a living, I HAD to try all the things; it’s my job. People go for the fried chicken. It is delicious. It is also a lot of chicken and feeds 2 -3 people. So, most people can’t just roll in there hoping for a 2 piece snack pack, you have to bring friends or be prepared for a to-go box. Your other option is the wings. The wings are GOOD. I ate 10 soy garlic wings. I don’t even think I was hungry when I ate them, but they were that good. My lunch buddy (Cricket, age 5), opted for the lunch special lunch box, because she never does what I ask. This came with soup (which I’m pretty sure could cure most ailments), fried rice (you can get steamed), salad, topokki ( a popular Korean snack that’s like a spicy rice gnocchi) and she chose bulgogi beef, because that’s one of her favorites. It was all good. Honestly, you need to go hungry and because there is not a kids menu, be prepared to share with your child, if that’s who you feed. It is a great balance of approachable Korean cuisine that’s just inside the perimeter and has a great local beer selection.