Midtown Lunch

The New York City me would punch the Los Angeles me in the face for saying this, but damn it has been cold lately, right?  It almost makes me want to stop wearing short sleeve t-shirts and flip flops.  Almost.  Yesterday morning seemed particularly chilly, although I don’t have any empirical evidence of this since I don’t really check the weather report that much (in contrast to when I lived in NYC, where checking the weather is a required morning ritual in the wintertime.) I also felt a bit of a sore throat coming on, so that could only mean one thing… soup day!

The last time I was sick, Ramenya proved to be an inspired choice. Pa Ord is where you want to go if you have a stuffy nose that needs clearing up. And I’ve always thought kal gook soo from Myung Dong Kyoja would be the perfect replacement for penicillin.  But now that I’ve been to Mountain Cafe (or San as it’s called in Korean) I think I have found a replacement for my Grandma’s matzoh ball soup.  (Sorry grandma!)

If you’re going to replace your grandma, might as well do it with somebody elses grandma!  Mountain is a tiny little shop where the open kitchen, which is run by two older Korean ladies, takes up more room than the 5 or so tables.  You almost feel like you’re eating in their house, and the menu is all soul warming Korean home cooking.

There are only four panchan (the little side dishes that you get at every Korean restaurant), but the kimchi is excellent and the stewed beef with peppers (shishitos maybe?) soaking in a slightly sweet and spicy soy mixture was one of the best I’ve ever had.  Yes, you read that right.  One of the free panchan is stewed beef!?  So great.

Clearly the #1 (abalone and rice chowder) is #1 for a reason, and seemed to be on every table.  I’m not normally a big fan of congee or johk, but there was something about this version that I really loved.  I don’t know if it was the raw egg that gets stirred in for extra creaminess, or just the mood I was in (weather + sore throat) but this bowl of ricey goop was amazing.  Obviously for $7.85 the abalone wasn’t a major component, adding just a bit of chewiness here and there, but once you factor in the banchan- which you are clearly supposed to mix in with the porridge- it’s hard to complain. I would sidle up to this dish again with no hesitation.

But I was really there for the #2, which is also not surprisingly the 2nd most popular thing on the menu: whole chicken soup ($10.65).  Sure it’s a tad bit outside the ML price range, but it’s a whole chicken! (Albeit a small one… but still.  A whole chicken!)  According to the menu the whole chicken gets stuffed with ginseng, garlic, jujube, pine nuts, ginger and sweet rice, and then stewed in a chicken soup with more rice… or as one of my lunch mates commented “not unlike the chicken soup you’d get at Canter’s”, if Canter’s was run by Koreans of course.  (Actually- is Canter’s run by Koreans?  I don’t think that would surprise me.)  The soup comes with a little dish of salt, which you should use liberally (it needs it) but other than that, it’s warm, inviting, and you feel more better (can I say that?) with every single spoonful.  I’ve always joked that I would loved to have had a Korean grandmother, but this soup seals the deal.

Even though those two dishes are the most popular, there are other worthwhile options on the menu… like the #9: rice cake dumpling soup (manduguk).  A lot of people at are table liked this dish the best, and if you’re a fan of dumplings or oval rice cake discs this is definitely the order for you.  So good (and at $7.40, it’s cheaper too!)

The #14 (bean sprouts, radish, chinese vermicelli, beef, in spicy soup with rice) wasn’t actually that spicy, but if you’re looking for something a bit beefier, with more veggies in it, this will be what you want to get.

Finally we couldn’t help but order the #5, which is basically the #4 (cow and ox foot in marrow bone soup with rice) + “special seasoning that is good for your stamina”.   The dish comes out in three pieces:  1)   A bowl of cloudy noodle soup that looks very much like sulungtang (I can’t read Korean, but maybe that’s what it is?)  2) A big plate of what I think was chopped up cow hooves that have been boiled until they turned white and gelatinous.  And 3) a small dish of sliced jalapenos soaked soy sauce with wasabi.  The soup was as bland as dishwater, but if you like the slightly chewy/slightly jello-y taste of tendon, the chopped up pieces of foot were super tasty when dipped into the soy/wasabi mixture- which for some reason is the only thing I remembered to take a photo of!

To those of you who are super adventurous eaters, and are curious what “stamina” looks like I sincerely apologize for my horrible oversight.  For those of you who are grossed out by looking at anything offal-y, you’re welcome.

Is this the best place to eat lunch in Koreatown?  Maybe not all the time… and unlike some of my favorite places in the neighborhood it’s not really meant for big blow out meals where everybody shares (we had 6 people at lunch yesterday, and it was a bit of a chore).  But if you’re looking for a solo lunch on a cold day, when you feel that first twinge of sickness coming on, Mountain should be your goto spot.  Now if only I could get them to take my health insurance.

THE +

• I just want a big bowl of chicken soup, with an entire chicken in it!
• I love me some Korean rice porridge, and there version is sooo good (especially once you add the panchan)
• Oooooh… their beef and peppers panchan is something special.  And makes the pricetag of the rest of the menu completely worth it
• Good Korean home cooking, perfect for a cold day

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say?)

• Where the Korean BBQ or bibimbap?
• Not really in the mood for soups or stew or pooridge
• $8 for rice porridge?!  No way… I don’t care how good their panchan is.
• I don’t like seasoning my own food, and a lot of their stuff is really bland
• Not good for big groups, or for sharing.  One dish per person, and you’re out.
• I’ll stick with matzoh ball soup, thank you very much

Mountain Cafe (aka San), 3064 W 8th St (just West of Vermont), 213-487-7615