OK, slowly reemerging into society post-covid and need intel on who’s doing it great now. For reference, my gold standards have always been Parks, Ahgassi Gopchang, and Gwang Yang. But how does the landscape look now? All input welcome - have a pressing need for a private dining room party for 14 this weekend as well.
2 Likes
We went to parks and it was awesome plus they have way more open seating because of their parking lot conversion.
Park’s was solid in the parking lot. Looking forward to dining inside again.
1 Like
Tenraku is always a hit!
Anyone have recent experience at outdoor KBBQ locations that are doing it well? I love Parks and their outdoor setup is pretty much perfect, but they’ve been our go-to and I want to find a different/new spot for a future outing.
Question about Parks. I was thinking about going there for dinner. From the menu, it looked like an order of short rib/GalBi is $49 and that each customer is required to order one BBQ item. So, if two people go and are craving galbi, you are looking at $100 just for your meat? I know that chicken and other cuts of beef are lower, but if two people were craving galbi, $100 sounds high. What am I missing?
An order is a plate of sliced, uncooked meat. They require one order of meat per person, but you can absolutely both have some of each type of meat. It’s all meant to be communal and shared (you have one grill per table, one set of side dishes per table).The meat cooks on a grill in front of everyone and you can grab the pieces that you want. So in your case you could get one short rib and one other less premium item and you can both eat some of each.
2 Likes
I would recommend one of the combos. Gives you way more variety.
How do restaurants like Park’s BBQ enforce the one meat order per person requirement? I have heard of two drinks minimum but is it legal?
It’s high because they serve very high quality meat and their pricing is in line with other high end KBBQ places around town. And their banchan is some of the best if not the best of any KBBQ restaurant.
If you compare to paying $70 for a 12oz steak at a high end steakhouse, it’s actually quite the bargain.
7 Likes
I could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s actually one meat order per person at Park’s but a minimum order of two meats total. If you don’t order two meats, they just won’t fire up the grill for you, but you’re free to order other items off the menu (prepared dishes).
Most Korean BBQ places will have the two meat order as a minimum, not one per person. This usually is more applicable to solo diners, as some places won’t fire up the grill if it’s just one order of meat.
1 Like
I don’t think four of us ordered four meats last time I was there.
At many places if you get less than 2 orders they cook the meat in the kitchen and bring it out on the wooden platter.
Yup
Does Genwa Wilshire have solo dining at the bar?
oh genwa and their death by a million banchans strategy
2 Likes
I like OP’s list. the throne for best KBBQ is very much up for grabs…
Park’s is still pretty damn good, but it ain’t what it used to be… those banchans are not the same and things have gotten a little out of hand (haven’t seen their proper aged kimchi in at least two years, saw a weird corn salad thing one time I went and it was awful, eundaegu jorim ain’t all that anymore. the tangs and soups are still pretty good. naengmyeon not all that either). on the other hand, if you guys see me on the evening news murdered in cold blood it was Jenee Kim and she read this.
big groups, genwa is always the play. though I called recently and they require a $200 fee just to book the table (it’s not an order minimum… i was kind of shocked. smart business model, but also… damnit).
these days I find myself craving soot bull jeep for more of a rustic feel. the marinated meats are obviously not on par with park’s short rib or gwang yang’s bulgogi (then again, no one really is). the charcoal though… there’s no feeling quite like it
I also went to daedo in K-Town and though the interior is just drop-dead gorgeous, the meat is not as high quality as one might expect from a buildout/marketing of that magnitude. it’s CAB which is good enough, but just feels like a missed opportunity especially considering that they use cast iron and it would be really great for a fattier cut like wagyu (not to mention their portion sizes would leave a chihuahua hungry). also they trim the fat, which is a Korean preference kind of thing… though the preference of no Korean I hold dear. if you’re forced to go, DON’T SKIP THE COLD NOODLES. incredibly refreshing and great bounce on the noodles. (the original daedo in Korea uses korean domestic beef, with marbling akin to australian wagyu).
with a gun to my head, I still say park’s is the best… but now places like soowon galbi, chosun galbi, morangak and others are now in play…
8 Likes
I agree that Park’s is not as good as days of yore - for the higher end I prefer Gwang Yang. And Tenraku has been quite good for me as well.
1 Like
I love this phrasing. Can you tell me how I know a tang from a soup?
I always assumed they were the same.