Zipz

-KingT's Wing Fling Well today we head north to Howard street and the into the Roger's Park neighborhood to a popular place amongst the locals called Zipz. Located not too far off the Red Line stop it's a Chicago fast food place with just about everything on the menu. It's been around since 1980 and has seen Howard street grow into a more respectable place and luckily has survived and is still an option for cheap quick eats in the area. This is the type of spot that you will find in many hoods throughout America. It's also a place that many people are also scared off by from the looks and it's customer base but you need not worry 'cause everyone loves Zip'z Express. a favorite stop of locals around Howard street Whether you want gyros, fried fish, Polish sausage or hot dog, a pizza puff, fried rice or maybe some tacos, they got them all. It's Asian owned so they actually have an entire part of the menu dedicated to Asian food which is what drew me in there when it came highly rec'd over on LTH for their chicken wings. A couple months back we featured a spot famous for their Korean wings called Great Seas and when discussing them Zip'z came up as another spot with some great Korean fried wings. So it wasn't long before I was off to try this spot that I had driven by many of times but never made it inside to try anything. "Oriental" part of menu at Zip'z So on my initial visit I was taken back by the menu and all of its offerings but knew I was there for the Korean style wings which came described on the board as "Zip'z oriental wings are fine examples of Korean fast-food style chicken wings. They are sweeter and more citrusy than Great Seas wings, crunchier too. By default they are pretty hot (although I always ask for them spicy). They are not shaped into those little drumettes either (but they are cheaper)." I actually ordered chicken wings on my first visit and they came out fried with hot sauce on them. I then looked at the menu closer and saw they also have Oriental chicken aka Oriental wings. Well it wasn't a terrible mistake because the whole fried chicken wings were perfectly fried and the only thing holding them back from Harold's territory was the sauce. It was pretty standard, but the wings were damn good. I was not disappointed. Zip'z Chicken Wings Since I ordered a 5 piece wings with fries and pop that came out to $5 with tax and I wasn't stuffed, I had to get the Oriental wings and I'm damn glad I did. They cut these wings at the joint and you can get them with white rice (fried a little extra) or fries and they come in a number of sizes from 8 pieces ($5) to 50 ($25). I got a ton of white rice considering the price with my eight piece order. Everything was described as is above in the quote and this was the best meal I had for $5 in a while. I am intrigued by the other Asian offerings on the menu and think the fried rice might be good but I cant pass on the wings when I'm stopping in. These are legit. Zip'z Oriental Wings I'll be back for more real soon. Zip'z is one of them places that had some character. All the people coming in and out were regulars and knew the happy Asian couple who own it and were happy to be seeing them. On my first visit, one young (and pretty dumb) dude even decided to empty a Swisher Sweet and then proceeded to fill it in the corner while he waited for his chicken sandwich, he then stepped outside and lit it while he waited. Oh Howard street, you haven't changed all that much after all and I like it that way. Great Korean style fried wings Zip'z Ice Cream and Chop Suey 1635 W Howard St. Chicago, IL 60626 (773) 465-8868