The wings and fries are definitely here for the college kids, but don't lump 10 Q Chicken into the ranks of late-night munchies fast food. They're taking a little bit more of a thoughtful approach to fried chicken.
"We have wings, tenders, sandwiches, and then we put our own unique twist on it, which probably comes from our background as Korean Americans," said David Yoo, the co-owner.
Unlike most places that use thighs around town, at 10 Q, they opt for the breast.
Extra Course: Matcha Green Tea soft serve at 10Q Chicken
Extra Course: 10Q Chicken
"We brine it overnight in buttermilk, we tried other brines as well but we feel the buttermilk gives it a really nice texture, a really nice juice to it and you get a little bit of tang from the buttermilk as well," he said.
First into flour, then submerged in eggs, the final step is coarse, crunchy panko breadcrumbs.
"It gives a little lighter, crispier texture to it," Yoo said.
Soft brioche rolls are buttered and then toasted, and for the Korean sandwich, they get a base of togarashi mayo, then thinly-sliced daikon radish.
"We use a pickled radish, that is very popular in Korean cuisine as well," Yoo said.
Then he adds the fried breast and it's ready to serve. Other options include a hot version with jalapenos, or go retro, and keep it simple: a base of garlic mayo, some pickles and a mound of shredded lettuce.
You can take the same approach to wings: either doused in hot sauce, or a more Korean version with sesame and garlic, or none at all. They make all of their sauces from scratch.
"On our wings we do a Gangnam-style sauce and that's basically our take on Korean fried, marinated chicken," Yoo said.
So even if you don't go with the Korean version of the sandwich, with the togarashi mayo and the radish, just getting the standard one with the juicy breast, the pickles, the garlic mayo and the lettuce...this is a fantastic chicken sandwich.
10Q Chicken
816 Church St., Evanston
847-859-6100
https://www.10qchicken.com