Vol. 10, Issue 3, March 2022
Your community. Your magazine.
®
The Premier “Shop Local” Community Magazine Directly Mailed To 15,000 Homes In Carrollwood, Lake Magdalene & Avila
Family-Owned K’s Chicken & Grill Offers Delicious Korean Fried Chicken and BBQ to Carrollwood By Deborah Bostock-Kelley Move over, Colonel Sanders, there’s a new KFC in town: Korean Fried Chicken! Located in a busy Carrollwood shopping center, the only Korean restaurant in the North Tampa area for miles, the family-run restaurant boasts chicken in a way you may never have tasted before. Recently opened in May 2021, K’s Chicken & Grill is the creation of mother and son duo Seong Ja Hong, owner, and Sean Woo, manager. A chef in Korea, Seong Ja first brought her passion and talent for cooking for over 30 years in her birthplace to create a small, ten-table, but hugely popular restaurant in Jacksonville. While in operation, Gangnam Korean Restaurant was named “the number one Korean restaurant in Jacksonville.” When the pair decided to open in Tampa Bay, they knew they wanted a large location that could accommodate special occasions like birthday parties, graduations, anniversary celebrations, and other large events. K’s Chicken & Grill can comfortably seat up to 150 guests. Seong Ja and Sean purposely took the nontraditional route when creating the interior concept for K’s Chicken & Grill in Carrollwood. The décor is modern and
See “K’s Chicken” on page 12
INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Editor: Loyal to Local..........................5 Robotics State Championship............................8 Corned Beef Recipe.........................................10
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Loyal To Local - Always As the COVID-19 situation seems to be slowing down within our community, we would like to take a moment to check in. We continue to encourage you to take care of yourself and your loved ones by observing recommendations from public health officials and staying home if you feel unwell. Many local restaurants and businesses have been hit hard by COVID-19, with many suffering huge financial losses. Now is a great time to “buy” local first by ordering products and food to-go from your favorite local shops and restaurants! As you know, our publication’s primary focus is to cover all the great things that our incredible city of Tampa Bay has to offer. We focus our efforts on informing the community about local businesses and what products and services they have to offer you and your loved ones. We are proud promoters of a “shop local” mentality. When you shop locally, you benefit from a personalized customer service experience, as local business owners are usually running and operating their own shops. They feel personally invested in your purchase. Local business owners genuinely care about you and your family; they want to get to know you and want to make sure you’re enjoying the products or services they offer. After all, they are your neighbors. When you decide to shop local, you’re making a personal investment in your neighborhood and community. In fact, for every $100 spent, roughly $68-$73 of it returns to local activity. For Advertising Info 727-943-0551 I info@nnlflorida.com or visit tbnewsandlifestyles.com
Money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local companies, service providers, and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as our region’s tax base. Whether you realize it or not, by supporting small businesses you are individually stimulating the local economy with your support and, in turn, helping shape your community’s unique character and personality. By shopping local, you’re also supporting incredible local charities and non-profit organizations. Most of our featured local businesses and their owners are very involved in helping their communities prosper, and the majority donate a lot of their proceeds to local charities and non-profit organizations. Where we learn, shop, eat, drink, and play—all of it makes our community home. At the end of the day, it’s free to give a business a shout-out on social media, leave them a kind review, or hype them up through word-ofmouth. We’re doing our best to lift up all the small businesses we can right now, but we could use your help! Tampa Bay’s one-of-a-kind local businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Let’s keep Tampa vibrant, eclectic and unique; let’s keep it local.
Carla Dubis Tedeschi MARCH 2022 5
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Corned Beef in Pressure Cooker Recipe courtesy of BergHOFF Ingregients and Instructions: • 3 lbs. of corned beef • 1-1/2 cups of chicken stock • 1 large onion, thickly sliced • 1 (12oz.) bottle of beer
Allow steam to release. Refer to manufacturer’s dorections before removing cover. Remove corned beef from cooker and let rest, loosley covered with foil, for 10-15 minutes. Thinly slice; serve and enjoy!
Remove corned beef from packaging. Reserve spice package to use. Rinse meat and pat dry with a paper towel. Place onion at the bottom of the pressure cooker. please corned beef on top of onions. Add the chicken stock and beer. Close pressure cooker, according to directions. Cook 45 minutes: Begin by using high heat, then as steam starts to appear, turn heat down - between medium and low.
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K’s Chicken- story continued from page 1 trendy, with a huge TV playing popular KaPop music like BTS in the background. “We want people to feel like they’re eating in Korea, a definite Korean vibe.” The restaurant serves Korean favorites, including Kimchi Fried Rice, Japchae glass noodles and vegetables, and Dolsot Bibimbap. Perhaps, it is best known for its famous Korean Fried Chicken and the justrecently-added, mouthwatering, all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ that comes with a side of rice and Banchan (Korean side dishes). “Guests cook their meat at the table, eat it right off the grill when it’s done cooking, so it’s more fresh and tasty.” Korean Fried Chicken has a different type of batter, frying method, and seasoning than what Americans may expect of typical fried chicken. It comes out extra crispy, accompanied by a flavorful sauce for dipping – Sweet and Spicy, Honey Garlic, or Cheese. “What people love most about Korean Fried Chicken is the Korean sauce. They have so many sauces in Korea. We have a few of them, and people like it.” To complement the meal, for patrons of legal age, K’s Chicken & Grill offers rice wine and ten different types of Korean alcohol called
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SoJu. Like Sake from Japan, SoJu is a popular alcoholic beverage in Korea. “Everybody drinks Soju, more than beer, in Korea,” she said. “Once people drink Soju at the restaurant, they love it.” Seong Ja explained her goal of opening her restaurant. “We want to provide quality Korean chicken and BBQ to the North Tampa area in Carrollwood,” she said. “Fortunately, people like our food and like our restaurant. We are doing our best to survive during Covid. We recently started all-you-can-eat, and most of our customers are coming to have it.” Seong Ja said many customers come to celebrate their birthdays because if they bring four or more paying friends, the birthday guest eats for free. When asked what her favorite menu item was, Seong Ja said it was both of their most popular items: the Korean Fried Chicken and BBQ. Visitors can’t speak highly enough about their experience with the food and staff at the new restaurant. A guest reviewed on Facebook, “This place has a very nice ambiance. The inside is clean, tastefully decorated, and spacious. The food is GREAT and reasonably priced. They have
authentic Korean dishes, and the wait staff is very kind!” A patron on Yelp loved the food and the service for a large party: “Do yourself a favor and go check this place out! We went here for a friend’s birthday as
suggested by a friend, and it was the best decision of the year! We had a party of 12, and they were easily able to accommodate. Servers were very attentive, and food came out at a good pace. I can’t express how good this
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place was and how on point everything was. I’m totally coming back and telling all my friends and family about it! Do yourself a favor and get yourself down to K Chicken!”
Korean foods of American people. We trying our best now to be called the best Korean Friend Chicken and BBQ restaurant in Tampa.” K’s Chicken and Grill is located at 14380 N Dale Mabry Highway. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 430 – 10 PM, Friday and Saturday, Noon to 1030 PM, and Sunday, Noon to 10 PM. To learn more, visit Facebook https:// www.facebook.com/KChicken-Grill-Korean“We focus on what Take-out is available, and BBQ-112579300871518 we are good at and what the restaurant is also listed or Instagram: https:// on DoorDash and GrubHub American people like. I www.instagram.com/ feel like there are too many for delivery. kchickenandgrill. To make menu items in other Korean Seong Ja explained the reservations, call (813) 373restaurants, like 40 or 50. We reason behind their many 5842. want to focus on the favorite positive reviews:
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