Cheap Eat of the Week: the Korean fried chicken at 416 Snack Bar
By Gizelle Lau
Let’s say you finished dinner a few hours ago. You had one too many rounds at the bar and now you’re hankering for some good, cheap eats before heading home. At one time, there was little choice: a trip to Chinatown for some barbecue pork at Goldstone or a hearty bowl of soup at Pho Pasteur would probably have been in order.
Enter 416 Snack Bar, Toronto’s hottest new spot for late-night eats and drinks. Open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and often later, it’s all about cheap food sans cutlery, affordable booze and good times. The busy, bustling crowd is full of hot 20 and 30-somethings wearing the occasional plaid, not to mention a smattering of chefs and servers post-service. Behind the “bar” are owners Adrian Ravinsky and Dave Stewart, with chef Jon Vettraino executing each delicious, small, bar-sized plate to perfection.
New on the menu is a true KFC — Korean fried chicken, that is — bringing another international element to this eclectic menu that includes dishes like the Jamaican beef patty ($4), the sushi side salad ($5), the smorgasboard ($9/person) or one of the spot’s most famous dishes: the pork bun ($5, also comes as a fish or veg).
The Korean fried chicken ($5) begins with chicken thighs that are marinated in buttermilk for at least three hours, often longer, and if you’re lucky, overnight. After a quick dip in flour and corn starch, the chicken is blanched and then deep fried to order. The crispy on-the-outside and moist-on-the-inside chicken is finished with a sauce made with garlic, ginger and gojujang, a Korean fermented hot pepper chili paste (pick it up at PAT Central Market at Manning Ave. and Bloor Street W. in Koreatown).
The dish comes with four skewered pieces of chicken topped with sesame seeds and green onions. Order one plate for yourself — when it comes to fried chicken this tasty, sharing isn’t an option.
416 Snack Bar, 181 Bathurst St., 416-364-9320
Gizelle Lau is a food and travel writer and photographer in Toronto who lives from one meal to the next. Her column, Cheap Eat of the Week, highlights dishes that costs $10 or less. Follow her on Twitter for your daily dose of food from in/around the city.
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