Fuku

I survived my first trip to the American dentist. After an hour of polishing and cleaning and scrubbing and scraping, my English smile was taken away and I walked out of the surgery one step closer to achieving that glinting American grin. To celebrate making it through that traumatic hour, B picked me up and we walked through the busy streets from Washington Square to East Village for one of David Chang's newly famous chicken sandwiches at Fuku.

With standing room only and a concise menu of chicken sandwich, a couple of sides and a selection of drinks, we ordered a sandwich each and grabbed a space at the wooden bar which winds round the room.

A few minutes later, B's name was called out and he was handed a brown paper bag containing two heat proof food bags with the word 'DELICIOUS' printed repeatedly all over them. Opening up the bag, we were greeted with a face full of steam. A soft, disintegrating potato roll was almost comically wrapped around a huge chicken thigh which spills out on either side. A few pickles are squished into the middle and an umami rich butter is spread on the inside. The first bite into the chicken reveals a kick from the habanero purée and spices that the chicken is marinaded in before it's covered in buttermilk and fried. A crisp, flavour-packed interior leads into the most moist and juicy chicken. With a dab of the Chang-branded Ssäm sauce for an extra punch, this chicken sandwich was devoured in a matter of seconds.

Fuku, 163 First Avenue, New York, NY 10003