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Business & Tech

Peck Peck Owners Take No Shortcuts with Their Chicken Wings

Degraw Avenue restaurant, part of Korean chicken trend, emphasizes quality over speed.

Making your customers wait is typically bad for business. But for the owners of Peck Peck in Teaneck, the wait is worth it for their made-to-order Korean-style chicken.

Stacy and David Yu, of Parsippany, run the restaurant. David was a sushi chef for 20 years prior to him and his wife opening Peck Peck in April 2011.

“Right now Korean chicken is rising,” Stacy said. “Everyone loves it; it’s a new trend.”

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Business has been steadily growing thanks to word of mouth and their central location at the corner of Degraw Avenue and Queen Anne Road.

The couple originally was going to open a sushi restaurant, but one already is located next to their business, so they decided to go with what they’ve been cooking at home for years.

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“My husband is a talented cook, and he knew what the trend was,” Stacy said. “He said a small place like this would be perfect because we don’t want to cook too many different items. Our only focus is on the chicken.”

Son Brian and daughter Jessica, who both help with cooking and delivering on the weekends, said they sampled numerous sauces before deciding on soy garlic, soy honey, and sweet and spicy for their signature wings.

“We experimented with everything,” Jessica said. “We tried different fruits in the sauces, too, like kiwi and mango.”

“We’re currently testing cilantro and lime as a possible new sauce,” Brian added.

Other menu items include chicken strips; wedge fries; pickled veggies; black and brown jasmine rice; and croquettes, which are deep-fried balls of minced chicken, potatoes, bell peppers and cabbage in a panko crust. Dipping sauces include honey mustard, spicy mayo and wasabi mayo.

ATTENTION TO DETAILS

Stacy said customers can be disappointed when they’re told they have to wait 20 minutes or so for their order to be ready. Wings take about 15 minutes to cook, and drumsticks take almost 30 minutes.

“Some people walk in and expect the food right away, but we tell them that we don’t pre-cook the food,” Stacy said. “After they taste the food, they say it’s worth the wait. It’s all about quality, so they have to wait.”

The wings have no breading on them but feature a paper-thin, crispy glaze that comes from having each piece painted with sauce by hand. Brian said tossing the wings in a bowl full of sauce would lead to an uneven coating and not that delicate crunch that occurs when you bite into their chicken.

“The preparation is extremely detailed,” he said. “It’s all handled with care.”

The care and attention to detail that the owners show toward their food also is extended to their customers, who often receive a small appetizer to enjoy while they wait for their order.

Crystal Caceres of Teaneck was treated to a small dish of pickled vegetables as she waited on her order of soy garlic chicken. She said it’s not surprising to witness such generosity in a Korean-run establishment.

“Korean culture focuses on hospitality,” she said. “That’s why I like to come here, and I like everything on their menu.”

Brian, who works in graphic design, is creating a website for the restaurant, which already has a Facebook and Tumblr page. He said his family will look at expanding the menu in the future, but for right now, they’re focused on creating ties in the community.

“Growing this location is a priority to us,” Brian said. “Even though we are a small business, we love catering and serving the people of Teaneck and the surrounding towns.”

Details:

  • Peck Peck is located at 250 Degraw Ave. It's open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. 
  • Customers can dine-in, carryout, or have their orders of $15 or more delivered. Catering is available for parties.
  • The restaurant takes credit cards (except American Express).
  • A very small parking lot is located next to the restaurant, so it’s recommended that customers park along Queen Anne Road.
  • Because the food is cooked to order, customers should expect to wait 20 minutes for wing orders and 30 minutes for orders that include drumsticks. If you don’t want to wait, it’s recommended that you phone in your order. Call 201-530-5858 or 201-500-5858.
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