Nearly two years ago I had the privilege of meeting Jeffrey Okafo, the owner of Jin's Chicken and Fish. It was a fine summer day, and I was over at Indie Coffee, my favorite Madtown java hub, writing a post for the Badger Herald blog, which I, as the new editor of the editorial page, had vowed to rebrand and bring to prominence.
I had just finished reading a post on the Critical Badger about the trouble Jin's was in because of an alleged scuffle with a cop, when I realized that the guy behind me, complaining loudly about Mike Verveer and the Vending Committee, was indeed the main character from the blog post. I figured I had to talk to him, and luckily, just as the reporter he was talking to (who later introduced himself as Dusty Weis) was about to leave, he told Okafo that he was sure "the campus press would pick up on this story." That was my cue. "Hi, I'm Jack Craver with the Badger Herald, would you mind telling your story again."
The story he told me was far-fetched. It could be true, but given Okafo's repeated incidents with authorities, I have to guess that it's not. But let's be fair, if I fried catfish that well I'd probably have a superiority complex too.
If the most recent citation really is the death knell of Jin's, the student body need not fear. Over the last year it seems that even more late-night vending options have appeared on State St. There's some great Mexican food, a West African chicken place (French speakers for all you Francophones) and several other places I can't remember. Jin's is probably the most popular, but there will always be a market for fried foods at bartime, so I think the invisible hand will replace Jin's relatively quickly.
