Unidentified Flying Chickens’ Soy-Garlic Fried Chicken, One of Our 100 Favorite Dishes

Dish no. 97: Soy-garlic fried chicken from Unidentified Flying Chickens (71-22 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights, 718-205-6662)

Nestled under the 7 train, Unidentified Flying Chickens offers a basement hideaway from the bustle of Roosevelt Avenue. It also serves a mean Korean-style fried chicken, a version straight outta Seoul, tender, grease-free poultry that comes encased in a light, crisp crust. It’s best ordered with the soy garlic sauce and enjoyed alongside traditional cubed, pickled daikon. The restaurant’s basement dining area has an impressive range of local beers on tap, and it occasionally screens movies (on one visit, Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto”). And there’s good news for East Village residents: expect a UFC outpost in the former Apiary space any day now.

In advance of our 2014 Best of NYC issue, we’re traipsing through the boroughs and divulging our favorite dishes of the year. They’re presented here as a countdown, but we’re listing them in no particular order. Consider this a guide to what’s good to eat in this town right this very second.