A plate of chicken wings seduced me.
And so I will return to Bimbamboo, a new restaurant in Boulder, for those fowl sirens alone: crisp, hot, nearly incandescent with flavors of soy and garlic, ginger and chile pepper and sweetness. I tore into one, and found it difficult to stop; I could have eaten nothing but chicken wings all night; I woke up the next morning thinking about them. Bimbamboo’s “Seoul Style” chicken wings are the fried-appendage version of crack cocaine.
But don’t get me wrong: There’s much more to Bimbamboo than fueling and feeding an addiction to crunchy meat. No, this place offers other routes to rehab.
Consider the sweet potato fries with pickled ginger cream. I have eaten sweet potato fries many times. You have eaten sweet potato fries many times. Neither of us ever liked them much. But Bimbamboo knows what it’s doing with sweet potato fries, although the restaurant’s triumph with this dish has a lot to do with the cream. It offers not a whisper of ginger. Not a shrug, or a breeze, or even a clap. The cream shouts, “I’m ginger, and I’m sexy!”
To which I wanted to shout back: “Yes! Yes, you are!”
Then there are the spring rolls. They are in contention for the best spring rolls I’ve ever tasted. I’m not exactly sure why. They have the almost-feathery crunch of good baklava. They are deep-fried and nearly without grease. They are punched with flavor.
If the chicken wings are like crack, maybe the fried squid is a cold gin martini. Addictive, beguiling and highly attuned to temperature: The martini had better be frigid, and my advice with the squid is to eat it immediately, while it’s hot and the marinade of lime, dill and garlic will dance on your tongue.
Bimbamboo’s menu is packed with small plates like the ones described above. We also tried a “stick trio from the barbecue” — grilled chicken, shrimp and beef on skewers, with dipping sauces — that was bland, “Thai crispy noodle meatballs” that were interesting (excellent fish-sauce-spiked meatballs wrapped, oddly, in fried noodles), and kimchi pancakes that held promise. My wife, Annie, found them soggy and lacking entirely in kimchi flavor. I did too, but we both at least liked the idea: kimchi rocks, pancakes rock, and together, much rocking should happen.
We didn’t even get to entire menu categories, like soups, sandwiches, salad bowls and rice bowls. Next time, I’m digging into a Korean beef wrap, with some Bombay chicken noodle soup. And without question, some more chicken wings. And to any talk of chicken- wing rehab, I say “No, no, no.”
Bimbamboo
Pan-Asian 1710 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-442-4575. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Front burner: Flavor-packed and innovative menu.
Back burner: Sandwiches are a bit expensive — $9.
Douglas Brown: 303-954-1395 or djbrown@denverpost.com
Another recommendation
Z Cuisine À Côte
Happy news for Z Cuisine fans: You can now start recommending it to people without sabotaging your chances of getting a table. The restaurant has opened up a satellite just two doors down, with plenty of overflow seats, a charming French wine list and small bistro plates to go with. 2245 W. 30th Ave., 303-477-5657.
Tucker Shaw
