Dining review: No temper tantrums, only smiles at Angry Chicken in Colorado Springs
Nov. 17—There's nothing hostile about Angry Chicken & Juicy 88 Hotdog — just a little taste bud provocation, which proved to be just fine.
Although dining in is certainly an option at this small, bright, order-at-the- counter restaurant in a South Nevada Avenue strip mall, we ordered online for carryout. Like most places offering an online option, the process is easy. My only complaint is the inability to select a specific time to pick up. However, I received an email immediately after placing the order with the time the food would be ready.
The restaurant has a separate area for picking up takeout, and my food was waiting when I walked in the door.
Initially, I was put off by the size and cost of the portions: $23.99 for a whole chicken; a half order is $12.99. In fact, this is a deal! For the $24-ish price, we ordered half and half, getting the original fried chicken along with the signature sweet and spicy variation.
The chicken is thinly coated with rice flour and spices before frying. The result is a bronze, crusty veneer that seals in the juices. The sweet and spicy is much the same but with a sticky sauce, so use a knife and fork or have plenty of napkins on hand. Both varieties have a subtle spicy zestiness. This is not the kind of chicken that comes in a bucket!
Other chicken choices include spicy soy, garlic, roast and nude. The menu also features wings, beef or pork bulgogi, katsu chicken. Several dipping sauces can be ordered to further enhance the flavor. Really, though, they aren't necessary. The chicken is flavorful as is. We did try the honey-garlic sauce, which we liked more for dipping the onion rings than with the chicken.
Small servings of dice-size cubes of pickled radish and house-made coleslaw are included; this wasn't indicated on the online menu. Had I known, I would not have ordered a full size side of the slaw; nonetheless, I liked its creamy dressing and crunchy, fresh cabbage and carrots.
We added onion rings ($4.99) to our order. Like the chicken, these are light and crispy. Other sides include french fries, cheese corn (something I'll order next time), rice, macaroni salad and dumplings. Prices range from 50 cents to $6.99 .
Juicy 88 serves Korean-style hot dogs, which is a popular Korean street food. They're misnamed as corn dogs. Yes, it's served on a stick, but that's where the similarities end. A thick rice flour batter hides the all-beef hot dog. We ordered one with half mozzarella cheese ($3.99).
Think mega mozzarella stick with gooey melted cheese as the top half and the meat as the other.
I'll skip the hot dogs next time; the coating was too thick and there was too much melted cheese (cheddar and American are also available). The inside texture was gummy.
There is also the Angry Dog, also $3.99: half pepper Jack with the exterior covering drizzled with a spicy sauce.
Overall, the online process was smooth, and our order was exactly as placed.
Angry Chicken & Juicy 88 Hotdog
Korean-style fried chicken for carryout or dining-in
Location: 1869 S. Nevada Ave.
Contact: 719-694-9730; angrychickencsco.com
Prices: $3.99 to $26.99
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday; closed Tuesday.
Details: Credit cards accepted. Wi-Fi.
Favorite dish: Half and half (fried and sweet and spicy) chicken
Other: Gluten-free dishes available.
