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9 Great Korean Restaurant Franchises (and bad ones)

9 Great Korean Restaurant Franchises (and bad ones)

There's something I'd say for Korea that I wouldn't say for America--there are some freakin' good restaurant franchises that I'd recommend even over independent restaurants. Their quality is consistently good. These Korean...

Nashville Hot Chicken in Seoul: Rocka Doodle vs. Brave Rooster’s

Nashville Hot Chicken in Seoul: Rocka Doodle vs. Brave Rooster’s

Nashville Hot Chicken has hit Seoul. There’s been buzz about this new style of fried chicken in Seoul, a feat that is hard to imagine in a country that alleges to have more establishments selling fried chicken than there are McDonald’s worldwide. What is Nashville Hot...

Linus’ Bama Style BBQ 라이너스 바베큐

Linus’ Bama Style BBQ 라이너스 바베큐

Location: Itaewon Cuisine: American BBQ Reservations: Taken Suggested Items: Pork, Brisket, Ribs, Fried Mac & Cheese Balls, Skinny Fries... EVERYTHING Birmingham, Alabama, native Linus Kim started making his mark in Seoul by holding BBQ pop-up restaurants for a...

Grilled Intestines in Gangnam–Yeontabal

Grilled Intestines in Gangnam–Yeontabal

Location: Gangnam, Sinsa, Jongno Cuisine: Korean BBQ Reservations: Recommended Suggested Items: Hanu ribeye Other Amenities: English menu, Valet parking Phone: Check map Location  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oyFqh_zWa8 * Please help complete this review by adding...

Myongwolgwan 명월관

Myongwolgwan 명월관

Location: Sheraton Walkerhill Cuisine: Korean, Fine Dining Reservations: Recommended Suggested Items: Beef Galbi, Yukhwe Other Amenities: English spoken, Valet parking Phone: 02-450-4595 Location  * Please help complete this review by adding information in the...

PIERRE GAGNAIRE à Séoul

PIERRE GAGNAIRE à Séoul

Location: City Hall, Lotte Hotel Cuisine: French, Korean, Fine Dining Reservations: Recommended Suggested Items: ANYTHING Other Amenities: English, French spoken, Valet parking Phone: 02-317-7181 Location ...

Review: Dick Blomster's Korean Diner, Guerneville, Calif.

Review: Dick Blomster's Korean Diner, Guerneville, Calif.

Finding California wine country's hottest new 한식 hanshik (Korean food) can be as challengingly fun as discovering next pinot noir wine sensation, but it's equally well worth the effort. Dick Blomster's Korean Diner, formerly known as Hi Five Korean/American Diner,...

BCD Tofu House – Los Angeles

BCD Tofu House – Los Angeles

Bukchang-dong (or BCD) Tofu House has been one of the most popular Korean restaurants for years. I believe it's one of those rare Korean restaurants that was born in America and made its way back to the Motherland, Korea. They have 15 locations in and around the Los...

Bukchon Mandu 북촌만두

Bukchon Mandu 북촌만두

Location: Franchise
Cuisine: Korean
Price: $
Reservations: No
Suggested Items: ManduGuk (Dumpling Soup), Sae-u Mandu (Shrimp-filled Dumplings), Modeum Mandu (Dumpling Sampler)

Dong Indong 동인동

Dong Indong 동인동

Location: Sinsa-dong
Cuisine: Korean
Price: $$
Reservations: Taken
Suggested Items: Galbi Jjim, Gul Jeon (Pan-fried Oysters)

Palsaik Korean BBQ – Los Angeles

Palsaik Korean BBQ – Los Angeles

I would like to deeply apologize, to all the ZenKimchi followers, for my long absence. I'll be more diligent in posting more often. One of the representative Korean foods is 삼겹살 (samgyupsal), uncured pork belly, or the Korean bacon. As a matter of fact, samgyupsal's...

Grilled Intestines in Gangnam

Grilled Intestines in Gangnam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oyFqh_zWa8 The fine folks at Yeontabal 연타발 invited me over for a night of some lovely beef intestines and heart. I'm usually skeptical of a lot of upscale Korean restaurants because they usually think fine dining is just a bunch of...

Cheonghakdong 청학동

Cheonghakdong 청학동

Location: Mapo
Cuisine: Korean, Snack Food, Pub Grub
Price: $-$$
Reservations: No
Suggested Items: Modeum Jeon (Various Pancakes), Modeum Twigim (Various Fried Things)

Jumunjinhang 주문진항

Jumunjinhang 주문진항

Location: Mapo-dong
Cuisine: Korean (South Jeolla Province)
Price: $-$$
Reservations: Accepted. Especially need them on weekend evenings.
Suggested Items: MulHui, Hui DeopBap

Jiri Mountain Eats – Eden Restaurant

If you find yourself in the vicinity of popular tourist spot Jiri mountain, I've got a must-visit bibimbap restaurant for you to try out. Eden Restaurant, or, 에덴식당, keeps odd hours and you'll need to call in advance to check their availability and make a reservation,...

Mimine–For that craving

Mimine–For that craving

Location: Hongdae, Sindorim Cuisine: Bunsik (Korean snack food) Reservations No Suggested Items: Gukmul Ddeokbokki (Ddeokbokki "Soup"), Fried Shrimp Other Amenities: Some English NOTE: Pictures are from former location  

Jaws Food

Jaws Food

Location: Franchise
Cuisine: Bunsik (Korean snack food)
Price: $
Reservations: No
Suggested Items: Ddeokbokki (chewy rice cakes), Twigim (fried stuff), Kaetnip Twigim (Deep fried stuffed perilla leaf)

Al Matto

Al Matto

Location: Haebangcheon
Cuisine: Italian, Brunch, Pizza
Price: $$
Reservations: Possible
Suggested Items: Pizza!!

Restaurant: Korean BBQ Plus!, Concord, Calif.

Restaurant: Korean BBQ Plus!, Concord, Calif.

Serendipity brought me to this restaurant on the east side of the San Francisco Bay area. I had an appointment with friends in Concord early one February morning. By noon, our meeting was over, and I was hungry. Rather than waiting until I returned to more familiar...

Hidden kimchi: Java Hub, San Anselmo, Calif.

Hidden kimchi: Java Hub, San Anselmo, Calif.

Many assume the territory between San Francisco and Sonoma County wine country an hour's drive north is bereft of Korean cuisine. I did, too, until I discovered one long-disguised as a coffee shop. Java Hub Cafe is Marin County's only noted venue for Korean victuals....

Vatos Urban Tacos

Vatos Urban Tacos

Location: Itaewon
Cuisine: Mexican, Ko-Mexican
Price: $$
Reservations: Taken
Suggested Items: Kimchi Carnitas Fries, Galbi Tacos, Mexican Martini

Seoul Garden, St. Louis

Seoul Garden, St. Louis

I haven't visited St. Louis in 18 years, and I certainly don't remember the city for its Asian food. So it was a treat to eat at a Korean restaurant there during a recent 20th high school reunion trip to rural southern Illinois. St. Louis is the nearest major...

Wa! Ssada Restuarant – Los Angeles

Wa! Ssada Restuarant – Los Angeles

Let's test your 'gringo-ness.' When someone says sushi, what comes to your mind? If you said raw fish, then congratulations - you're one of the truest of the true gringos. Sushi is the vinegared rice that the slices of raw fish, or any other toppings, rest on. Ok,...

Myungdong Grill Restaurant – San Francisco Bay Area

Myungdong Grill Restaurant – San Francisco Bay Area

Recently, a few of my friends have been asking me where to get the best Korean food in the South Bay (San Jose Area of California). It's then when my drill down questioning starts, because some places make great soups while others make great meat dishes. It is very...

Review: Korean Village Wooden Charcoal BBQ House, San Francisco

Review: Korean Village Wooden Charcoal BBQ House, San Francisco

The restaurant was nearly empty when we sauntered in at 1:45 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. Two men were engaged in an animated conversation in a Chinese language at a table on the opposite side of the restaurant, their words echoing off the walls and the mirror that...

Oppadak – Awesome Chicken Eats in Seoul

By Jason Yu In the early afternoon here in Seoul, Korea, a delightful smell is just around the corner.  As my friends and I head for the restaurant, the fresh aroma is coming from not just any Korean restaurant.  While Kimchi, bulgogi and bibimbap may be Korean...

VIP Restaurant, Anchorage, Alaska

VIP Restaurant, Anchorage, Alaska

On trips to see family in Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, I make it a point to visit VIP Restaurant at least once. It's located in the Valhalla Center, a retail and office building amid the Korean business cluster along West Northern Lights Boulevard. There are a...

Petra Palace

Location: Itaewon Cuisine: Middle Eastern Reservations: No Suggested Items: Falafel, hummus Other Amenities: Phone: 02-749-9329 Location * Please help complete this review by adding information in the comments

Shy Bana 샤이바나

Shy Bana 샤이바나

Location: Soraemaul, Gwanghwamun, and other locations Cuisine: American (Southern) Reservations: Accepted Suggested Items: Hmm... the sides? Other Amenities: English menu Phone: 02-536-2441 Website: Location How the FUCK is this gumbo? And served with a shitty burned...

San Tung Chinese Restaurant – San Francisco Bay Area

San Tung Chinese Restaurant – San Francisco Bay Area

Jajangmyun (자장면) is one of the national foods of Korea, you will not find one Korean person who doesn't like it. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but you get the idea. The said tasty noodle dish is Chinese in origin. However, it was created with Korean people's...

San Francisco Restaurants: YakiniQ

San Francisco Restaurants: YakiniQ

I'll admit, despite how it looks or tastes, it's pretty hard to mess up Korean BBQ. Let's call it Korean grilled meat, to be more accurate. The Korean meat marinade is not that difficult to make, either. The real art is in the type of meat and its preparation. Of...

Itaewon’s Biggest Rip-offs?

There's a pretty old thread on Dave's--HEY, come back! I feel the same way, but sometimes they have useful info in there. I just got sucked into this 14-page thread called "Ripoff restaurants in Itaewon" that was started in 2009 and noticed that certain places popped...

Tov Tofu, Santa Rosa

Tov Tofu, Santa Rosa

Tov Tofu in Santa Rosa opened in late 2010 and is the latest Korean restaurant to open in Sonoma County, a winegrowing region about an hour north of San Francisco. Bear Korean in Cotati opened several years ago, followed by the now shuttered Nha Bee in Santa Rosa and...

Bulgogi Brothers 불고기브라더스

Bulgogi Brothers 불고기브라더스

Location: Chain Cuisine: Korean Reservations: Accepted Suggested Items: Beats me Other Amenities: English menu Location Check here * Please help complete this review by adding information in the comments

Review: New Garden Restaurant, Los Angeles area

Review: New Garden Restaurant, Los Angeles area

Written by Taeyang Yoon Rowland Heights restaurant known for jajangmyeon Continuing our journey down the 'Korean' section of Colima Road in Rowland Heights, we stop at one of my favorite places. I have been coming here on a fairly regular basis for a few months now....

Zazang Korean Noodle, San Francisco

I found this little Korean noodle shop in San Francisco within walking distance of the University of California at San Francisco's medical offices and a Kaiser Permanente hospital. This section of Geary Boulevard is a busy boulevard with little parking. The nearest...

Maple Tree House 단풍나무집

Maple Tree House 단풍나무집

Location: Itaewon, Samcheong, Myeong-dong Cuisine: Korean Reservations: Optional Suggested Items: Pork cheeks Other Amenities: Phone: Check map Location   [gallery type="circle"...

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