You probably know him as Ashy Larry, but long before Donnell Rawlings came up with his famous alter ego he was accustomed to developing many. His career as an actor has included memorable roles on HBO’s The Wire and an appearance in Spiderman 2, while his most famous work remains working as a stand up comedian and writer/performer on Dave Chappelle’s Chappelle’s Show.

But, when we learned that, prior to appearing on stage/screen/TV/radio, Rawlings was a soldier, serving in the U.S. army in South Korea, we realized he’d be a perfect subject to taste the latest foodie craze: Korean BBQ chicken. From food blogs, to epicurean rags, the evidence is in. Be it in Flushing, or downtown Tribeca, gourmands city-wide are seeking out the best Korean take on an American classic. So, we took Rawlings to Chambers Street’s Bonbon, a restaurant that claims to be “redefining chicken.” His thoughts follow.

What's your first impression?
Well, any time somebody is bold enough to say ‘redefining fried chicken,’ you got to give it a shot. And then the whole décor… it really looks like a good safe place to eat fried chicken.

Yeah, they didn’t go too fancy in here.
Sometimes less is more. They didn’t go too crazy with the decoration, but it just looks like I've got to give it a try.

So this place has a lot to live up to right now?
Yeah, I mean, I don’t see any feathers plucked anywhere.
[We picked up our piping hot wings.]
We didn’t get the cole slaw?

Do they have cole slaw?
Yeah man. We need cole slaw.

I think they just gave the bun and the rice. How’s the rice? Let’s start with that.
It’s good, nice and sticky. [Pointing at the chicken] Is it different flavors?

Yeah, they have sweet, they have spicy, and they have mild. We got a little bit of everything. Is it spicy enough for you?
Yeah, but it isn’t like… I had chicken in Jamaica; it’s not Jamaica spicy, it’s sweet. It’s not too uncomfortably hot.

Would you come back here again?
Yeah, the best thing about fried chicken is when the crust is not too thick. I like it crispy like this.

How do you think this bun compares to a typical American fried chicken biscuit?
It’s not buttery enough. I know they’re trying to go healthy, but when you got a biscuit it’s got to be buttery. It’s not flaky.

I like those little boneless strips - they’re really good.
Oh. Damn, this one is spicy. Whoa.

Yeah, they put some garlic in there too.
The only other thing that’s different is that they don’t use a lot of flour, they don’t use a ton of batter, it looks like it’s just like, like…

Flash-fried?
Yeah, that’s the new white word to make you feel more comfortable. Flash fried is the new thing that doesn’t make it seem so fried. I can tell they do is that they do an egg base and they dip the chicken in it without the flour, that’s the only difference.

Do you ever take a date to Koreatown to impress her with your language skills?
Oh yeah, that’s the best. I start speaking Korean, ordering in Korean, and then get a couple of drinks. The best thing about the bulgogi tents when we were over there was that they had this drink called soju. It’s like their moonshine and the tricky part about it was they had no like government regulation of it, so you could catch a bad soju experience and be drunk for a couple days. The tradition was to take a shot and eat some food, take a shot, eat some food...

Was there a lot of organized crime?
There was a black market. That was the hot shit. I mean I used to like Newports, so I got them any way I could get them. I had a hustle over there where I used to get American beer from the base, and they didn’t have a lot of American beer, so, I had a little scam going on. Like one beer could be worth four packs of cigarettes and shit. It was cool.

How does Bonbon compare to the fried chicken you had in Korea?
Its not as authentic, I can identify every part of this chicken. Over there it’s like Jeopardy of chicken, you might have neck, gills, feet, whatever.

And you prefer that? You like a little gizzard mixed in?
Yeah, I’m adventurous.

~Hunter Walker

Go There:
Looking for a Korean fried chicken eatery beyond the borough of Manhattan? Try Flushing favorites: KyoChon, 156-50 Northern Boulevard, (718) 939-3002, and Kyedong, 150-54 Northern Boulevard, (718) 939-8300

Third photo by Scratchandsniff via Flickr
Fourth and Eighth photo by Slice via Flickr