The Other Critics

Kauffman Gets Drunk at Red Wings; Reidinger Loves Him Some Mazzat

Michael Bauer may have clicked his ruby-slippered heels and gone on vacation to Kansas this week, but Jonathan Kauffman remains in town, and he’s really loving Red Wings in the Richmond this week. What do they have there? Korean chicken wings, and beer, and soju. Kauffman describes the wings, known as yangnyeom dak, as “better than any wings I’ve eaten at Toyose, Little Skillet, and KFC… The chunks of chicken, the size of a 5-year-old’s fists, are covered in a sturdy batter that comes out of the fryer craggy and uniformly gold. Crunch through the oilless shell, and the meat is shiny and succulent, almost as if it has been brined.” Sounds like a good drunk snack to us! [SF Weekly]

Also, Kauffman makes a sidebar shoutout to Sunrise Deli (2115 Irving), where he encounters some totally divine falafel. “[They had] an inimitable crunch — lacy and grainy at the same time — that endured, even after they had soaked in a pool of hummus for 10 minutes.” [SFoodie]

And finally, Reidinger heads to newish Lebanese eatery Mazzat on Fell Street, and finds he rather enjoys the clove-scented chicken shawerma, though some friend he’s with does not. And we quote, “The party of the second part didn’t care for the clove, and I understood the objection — clove has a strong personality — without joining it. The discordant association, for me, had to do with Christmas, since clove, with its penetrating perfume, is a key ingredient of mulled cider, a holiday favorite. On the other hand, the presence of clove meant that the wrap (with its flatbread skin nicely pressed and warm like a freshly ironed shirt) would never be mistaken for a burrito.” [SFBG]

Kauffman Gets Drunk at Red Wings; Reidinger Loves Him Some Mazzat