Sat, May 28, 2005
Quality Korean Barbecue in Los Angeles
#
I'm about to wax poetic about Korean barbecue, but first, I need to
clear up a misconception. There is much, much more to Korean food
than barbecue. The reason there are so many Korean barbecue
restaurants in this country is that Americans, not Koreans, are
obsessed with meat. (IS0)
Those of you who have read
my
previous
entries about
food may be surprised to
hear me complain about this, because I clearly love meat. True
enough. But I love food in general, and I find this narrow view of
this widely varied cuisine annoying. That said, I also know that
Korean food is an acquired taste for most Americans -- we eat lots of
spicy, salty, fermented, fishy foods -- and that when folks ask for
restaurant recommendations, they usually want barbecue. (IS1)
For the most part, I'm ambivalent about recommending Korean barbecue
places. The meat quality at most places is about the same, so I tend
to differentiate them by the marinade (which I find too sweet at most
restaurants), the quality of the banchan (the small appetizer
plates that come with the meal) and other items on the menu, and the
service. I, like many others, enjoy Brother's in SanFrancisco for its
wood-fired grills and friendly service, but I'm not blown away by the
food there. (IS2)
When folks ask me to recommend good Korean restaurants in LosAngeles,
my hometown, I'm usually stumped. Unlike the BayArea, Korean
restaurants abound down south. Nevertheless, the same thing holds
true: The quality at most of these places is about the same. (IS3)
Thankfully, I'm stumped no more. Last night, my parents took me to
ChoSun Galbee, located in the heart of
KoreaTown in LosAngeles. The food there is good. Damn good. (IS4)
I knew my experience there would be different as soon as they brought
out the raw meat, which looked amazingly fresh and beautifully
marbled. Most restaurants marinate their meat overnight, which is
actually overkill, because the meat is sliced very thin. The chef at
ChoSun Galbee marinates the meat immediately, which
has the added benefit of showcasing the quality of the meat. This is
only a good thing, of course, if the quality of the meat is worth
showcasing, which is probably why most restaurants don't do it. (IS5)
The shorter marination time did nothing to decrease the melding of the
flavors, which was less sweet and slightly more complex than most
restaurants. I was especially impressed by the daeji bulgogi --
spicy pork -- where I detected strong hints of ginger and cinnamon, in
addition to the usual garlic, soy sauce, and gochoo chang (hot
pepper paste). (IS6)
In addition to the daeji bulgogi, we had bulgogi (thinly
sliced beef) and galbee (shortribs), both of which were excellent.
I thought they skimped on the galbee portions, but "skimping" is
relative. I was so full, I could barely walk out of the place. (IS7)
We also had the mul naengmyun -- chewy noodles in a cold broth
-- which was okay, but not overwhelmingly good. As with the meat,
the quality of the ingredients tasted high, which is usually as much
as I can ask for when ordering naengmyun. (I'm a naengmyun
snob, so take my review with a grain of salt. If anyone knows of a
good place to get bibim naengmyun in the BayArea, let me know.)
Same went for the banchan -- good, obviously made with decent
ingredients, but not extraordinary. (IS8)
(One reason naengmyun tends to be mediocre at most places is that
it's actually a North Korean specialty. As you can imagine, the
recipes and techniques for making it well have not been widely
disseminated. That said, it's not impossible to find a decent bowl in
LosAngeles, which is more than I can say for the BayArea. It's an
absolute travesty.) (IS9)
Apparently, I'm not the first to sing ChoSun Galbee's
praises. It's a big restaurant with a beautiful patio area, and the
place was packed. If you find yourself in LosAngeles, and you're
looking for good Korean barbecue, ChoSun Galbee is
the place to be. It's slightly more expensive than your average
Korean restaurant, but the quality makes it well worth it. (ISA)
/food |
Posted at 10:34am
Mon, Jan 31, 2005
Pizza in Cambridge, Organic Food in Oregon
#
As the SuperBowl rapidly approaches, many of you are undoubtedly
putting in your advance orders for pizza. For those of you in
Boston, I recommend Beauty's Pizza.
My old college mate, EricSilberstein, owns the joint, and if he's as
good at making pizza as he is at starting companies, you'd better get in line now. (I95)
Speaking of techie friends and their restaurants, if you're ever
cruising I-5 in southern Oregon, stop by Summer Jo's for dinner. My ex-DDJ colleague,
MikeSwaine, owns the restaurant and organic farm with his partner,
NancyGroth, and the food there is fantastic. (I96)
/food |
Posted at 12:16am
Sun, Nov 23, 2003
The Quest for Santa Maria Barbecue, Part II
#
Yesterday, I journeyed south to what is now known as "the O.C.," or
what my friend Christine refers to as "behind the Orange Curtain." I
think of it merely as my new home away from home. The trip gave me an
excuse to revisit an earlier quest: to sample some authentic SantaMaria barbecue. (BR)
To recap: Last July, I took a detour from my normal route south to
visit TheHitchingPost, a steakhouse in Casmalia, one of SantaMaria's
neighboring towns. While the food was good, there were two flaws in
the experience: The restaurant served steak, not barbecue, and it did
not serve pinquitos, a bean native to the Santa Maria Valley and an
integral part of the SantaMaria barbecue experience. (BS)
Going Grassroots (BT)
Having been disappointed by the restaurant experience, I decided to go
grassroots. I had read that the natives often congregated downtown on
weekends to smoke tri-tip and cook beans. I called the SantaMaria
Chamber of Commerce to confirm the story.
The woman who answered the phone did just that, waxing poetic about
how various community groups camped out on Broadway Street, the main
downtown thoroughfare, every Friday and Saturday and hosted barbecues.
She recommended visiting the Valley Christian barbecue just south of
Stowell Road. (BU)
See more....
/food |
Posted at 12:03pm
Mon, Jul 28, 2003
Santa Maria Steaks at The Hitching Post
#
About a month ago, my friend Justin mentioned a town near Santa
Barbara, California that claimed to have the world's best barbecue.
As I explained a few
weeks ago, I claim to be somewhat of an authority on barbecue, having
eaten it outside of California. To be so near (well, about 250
miles away) yet so ignorant of a place claiming to be the cradle of
barbecue civilization was somewhat of a shock to me. (4N)
I attempted to right that wrong yesterday at
The Hitching Post, a steakhouse in
Casmalia. Casmalia is a former mining town in the Santa Maria Valley,
about 75 miles north of Santa Barbara. (4O)
Santa Maria barbecue has its roots with the Spanish ranchers who
populated the region in the 1850s. To reward los vaqueros after a
successful cattle herd, the ranchers would throw a feast consisting of
top sirloin crusted with garlic salt and pepper and cooked slowly over
a red oak fire, salsa, and pinquitos, a pinkish bean. Both the
beans and the wood are native to Santa Maria. (4P)
See more....
/food |
Posted at 10:26am
Fri, Jul 18, 2003
Heavenly Brisket at Flint's
#
This blog is supposed to be a work journal, and it is. But the
temptation to write about other things is strong, and I am weak. I am
especially weak for good barbecue. (38)
In the summer of 1997, my then-boss, Jon Erickson, took me to Rickey's
Pit in Kansas City, supposedly one of Bill Clinton's favorite meat
joints. To this day, I have not had better smoked catfish. At the
end of that trip, I almost missed my plane back to California in order
to sample the succulent offerings at the Great Lenexa Barbecue Battle. (39)
I've had decent barbecue in the Bay Area, but nothing that matched my
Missouri/Kansas? experience. (The closest was at Big Nate's in San
Francisco, but having former NBA great Nate Thurmond take my order
might have affected my judgement.) Until yesterday. (3A)
See more....
/food |
Posted at 4:16pm
