Kong

There are certain things you can pick up from the street -- like smarts and cred -- that're exponentially better than others, like road rash, or hooker rash. Popping another one in the "good" column, Chinese street food from Kong.In Kong, likely Chinese owner/chef Michael O'Halloran's aiming to replicate the convivial atmosphere and home cooking aspects of Hong Kong's streetside open-air food stalls, via a laid-back 85-seater, fronted by floor-to-ceiling glass and decked with reclaimed pine bar/tabletops, along with an entire wall section of distressed plaster and cement adorned with a column of Chinese screed, and a raised-platform rear communal table, all lit by hanging bulbs housed in birdcages and chicken wire, to protect them against party fowls. Food kicks off with twelve takes on dim sum, from honey-glazed Chinese bacon w/ spicy roasted peanuts and sweet & sour garlic chili-glazed chicken wings, to barbecued pork spare ribs and a selection of dumplings like Mongolian lamb and three-way pork, which sounded like the best idea in the world at the time, but now things are weird and all your girlfriend talks about is how hot Zooey Deschanel is. There're also four varieties of buns, including beef short rib braised in garlic & soy and Peking duck; rice bowls run from Chinese barbecued salmon w/ hoisin sesame glaze, to stir-fried Chinese bacon w/ chilies & toasted peanuts, and there're also noodle bowls like braised beef brisket & roasted shiitake, crispy pork belly, and "Forever-Braised" lamb, which you probably shouldn't order halfway through your meal. Cocktails also rep Hong Kong, from Mai Tais and pomegranate lychee martinis, to Bacardi-spiked dragonberry; the bottle selection's brimming with Asian brews, including Halida Lager and three varieties of Hitachino Nest (Red Rice Ale, White Ale, Sweet Stout), while drafts include Lagunitas IPA and Stoudt's Scarlet Lady ESB -- meaning extra special bitter, which is exactly how you feel about Trixie these days.