The spicy wings from K-Asian Kitchen in Beaumont, TX are the best I've ever had. It proves you can find good food anywhere — you don't always have to seek out a big city or a fancy restaurant to find it.
These aren't the best wings I've ever eaten. This is a picture of the best wings I've ever eaten. "All representations of a thing are inherently abstract," or so John Green would say, anyway.
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Ceci n'est pas use pipe. It's not a pipe. It's a drawing of a pipe. From The Fault in Our Stars, a smash-hit in teen lit that is also making grown-ups like me who love to read cry.
They come from K-Asian Kitchen in Beaumont, Texas — my hometown. I know, I know. Hometown bias, right?
No.
OBJECTIVELY, these are the best wings ever. So good that Guy Fieri, if he's reading this, should consider this an official suggestion for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. What makes them special is the delicious coating on the outside of the chicken. I don't know what it is, but somehow, they've been cooked to render them crunchy, instead of spongy or soggy like most wings. The sogginess, I'll admit, often comes from a wing sauce. I have my own problem with wing sauces.
In my opinion, a sauce can be used to conceal a poorly cooked or seasoned wing. But there's no hiding these babies — it's all beautifully cooked chicken under there. Delicious, delicious chicken.
An order leaves you with a generous portion for under $10.00. I'd coquette and tell you I couldn't finish a plate, but that would be a lie. Unladylike or not, you're going to want to eat every delicious bite.
They are served with your choice of fries or rice, but you should pick the fries. Not because the rice isn't good (it's excellent), but because wings and fries go together. My advice is to order them spicy, as pictured above. The plain ones are sold without the peppers and seasonings. In fact, this leads me to ...
MY GREAT SPEECH ABOUT LOOKING FOR GOOD FOOD
K-Asian is not exactly a high-class joint. I know that's a sticking point for some, but hear me out.
It doesn't look like much on the outside. It doesn't get much better when you walk in. But these people are in the food business, not the interior decorating business. In my opinion, some of the best food you'll ever eat comes from joints like this, or holes-in-the-wall. Yes, a $200 meal can be truly wonderful — but if you only ever consider the restaurants where the food costs as much as one month's rent, you're missing out.
Every now and then, an expensive meal at a high-class restaurant is just what the doctor ordered. But holes-in-the-wall can serve up some seriously great food, and you shouldn't miss out on what could be a very satisfying meal because you want to break the bank over dinner. Food is an art to taste — and taste isn't dictated by price tags.
Plus, there's not a Perry's Steakhouse in every place you'll visit, particularly if you find yourself stopping off in a lot of small towns.
To maximize your experience of food, you should make an effort to find great dives in your hometown and when you travel.
So the question you should ask yourself is: How do I separate the wheat from the chaff? The delicious from the potentially toxic? After all, if you're new to an area or just passing through, you won't have the lowdown on which places are great and which you should avoid like the plague. Because they might serve food that tastes just like the plague.
This is where the internet comes in. I recommend looking up reviews on UrbanSpoon or Yelp. It's the next best thing to talking to a local.
Don't be afraid to try local dives. You might just be in for the best food you've ever eaten.
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