It’s been about a year since Dak & Bop closed in Houston’s Museum District. While Houston has its fair share of Korean fried chicken spots, nothing has popped quite like Jason Cho’s signature soy garlic chicken or his sriracha honey lime sauced wings. The good news: It looks as if Houston’s long D&B hiatus is ebbing away.
Cho is launching a pop-up series at Kokee Kitchen, the restaurant that took over D&B’s former space at 1801 Binz St. He told Chron he’s been advising and mentoring Kokee owner Kwanghyun Ko since the space switched hands. Unfortunately, Ko was diagnosed with lung cancer in January, just months after opening.
Cho rallied to help him and his former Dak & Bop staff, who now work at Kokee, with a Labor Day D&B popup. The plan was to sell Korean fried chicken from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Cho said they ran out of chicken in roughly 45 minutes.
“People still like it. I only posted it on Dak & Bop’s social media: first come, first serve,” Cho said. “So I called him back and said I was more than happy to help out … all proceeds go to you because of chemo and running the business.”
The Dak & Bop series is running from Sept. 21 to Oct. 31. Cho’s signature wings will not be available initially as Kokee does its own Korean fried chicken (Kokee is also home to Django’s Hot Chicken and Kokee Tea). But Cho did say there will be certain days during the pop-up where D&B wings will be available. Some of the restaurant’s classics will make a return, including the truffle parmesan fries and the garlic bread.
“I told him you either win the lottery or you don’t, but aside from that I’m not expecting anything to return,” Cho said. “I went through the same stuff. I had multiple restaurants at the same time and I was diagnosed with a thyroid disease. Looking back on it, I wish I had someone to help me out or gracious enough to give me time. It would have meant a lot to me.”