BOOM BOOM CHICKEN
ADDRESS: 827 West Palmdale Boulevard, Palmdale, CA 93551
Whenever I’m out on business travel, it definitely provides me a good opportunity to branch out and try new restaurants. There’s still always going to be some local staples I hit up while in Palmdale (I’m looking at you, Q&Q Hawaiian BBQ), but I was looking to change things up this past trip.
I found Boom Boom Chicken while scouting out the local restaurants on Google Maps. I was in the mood for some fried chicken, but didn’t feel like hitting up Popeye’s (although they are still really good). One weekday after work, I stopped on in with some of my coworkers to see what the place was about.
One step into the restaurant and that fried food smell hits you almost immediately. However, it’s not before long that you get adjusted to it. The place seemed to be pretty popular, as most of the dining tables were already taken up. Luckily, one group was just leaving as we finished placing our orders, so we swooped on in to grab the empty chairs.
Like the name might suggest, chicken is the main specialty of Boom Boom. You have the choice of getting them either bone-in or boneless. I’ve more recently converted over into the bone-in wing camp, more because of how much breading I’ve found to be on the boneless wings at other places.
I was definitely feeling hungry that day, so the 10-piece wing combo really caught my eye. You’ve also got eight different flavors for the wings to choose from, both a mix of sauces and dry rubs. I went with one of each: original spicy Korean sauce for one half of the wings and lemon pepper dry rub on the other half. Just to sample some more items off their menu, I also dropped an order for the pork dumplings as well.
What I ended up with was probably more food than I should have eaten in just one sitting. Ten wings, six pork dumplings, and a full basket of fries was no joke; my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach in that instance.
My first stop were the pork dumplings, which I thought were only average at best. It seemed like they might have been frozen dumplings that were dropped right into the fryer. Not to mention that they were priced at $8 for the plate, I’ll definitely save my money next time.
I thought the wings themselves were actually pretty tasty. They were lightly breaded and fried to a nice golden brown, followed by a toss in the sauce or dry rub of your choice. Between the original spicy Korean and lemon pepper rub, I think the spicy Korean sauce edges out the other. It wasn’t too overpowering and gave the wings that nice sweet and spicy flavor.
Some of the flats were a bit scarce on the meat, but I think quantity of wings helped to make up for that. As far as French fries go, these were also pretty average. I probably should have asked for some ketchup on the side to help offset going from one fried item to the next. But I think they were still a good side item to go with my baskets of wings.
If you’re feeling a craving for some fried chicken, Boom Boom certainly isn’t a bad place to stop in and pick some up. There’s some flavor variety on the menu, depending on what you’re in the mood for. It’s also a local alternative to chains like Buffalo Wild Wings or Popeye’s. Maybe during a future trip when I’m out there again, I’ll take another visit to sample some more flavors on the menu.
Let’s now take a look at the Boom Boom Chicken Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** 10-Piece Wings (Bone-In) **
Original spicy Korean sauce (pictured left) and lemon pepper dry rub (pictured right).
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Pork Dumplings
Six fried pork dumplings, served with soy sauce and corn salad.
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** French Fries **
Thick-cut French fries, fried to a golden brown.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Boom Boom Chicken:
Food: 4 / 5
Overall, the food itself was probably a little above average. The dumplings missed the mark for me, but the wings helped to turn things back around. Several different flavor options for the wings allow you to choose something you’re in the mood for that day.
Atmosphere: 3.75 / 5
The place is definitely set up as a fast-casual restaurant, where you pick up your food from the counter and take a seat to start chowing down. It did feel like the table placement was a bit condensed though, so you might feel a bit close to the neighbor next to you.
Service: 4 / 5
Placing the order up at the counter was pretty straightforward. Given the crowd that was there at the time we stopped in, I felt like we didn’t have to wait too long before getting our food.
Price: 3.5 / 5
If you dissect the pricing of the 10-piece combo to take out the fries and the soft drink, you’re left with $7.50 for just the wings. At $0.75 / wing, that’s not too bad at all. It’s the pork dumplings priced at $8, however, that skews things for me with regards to menu pricing. That just seemed way overpriced to me.
Overall:
15.25 / 20
(76%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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