Bian Dang and Pastel OUT at Food Gallery 32
Only yesterday we were nodding our heads at Robert Sietsema’s love letter to Food Gallery 32, and in particular The Village Voice’s ode to Bian Dang’s awesome porkchops, when we received a shocking tweet from @CaraPaige. “No more Bian Dang” at Food Gallery 32, we were informed. Sadly, we’ve confirmed that to be the case. Instead of awesome deep fried Taiwanese goodies, a new stall, dubbed “Mr. Fish” has replaced Bian Dang. And instead of Korea’s quixotic take on Italian food, a stall called “Doyaji Pork House” has replaced Pastel.
More photos and menus of the newcomers after the jump.
Dojayji’s menu, which seems to be mostly tonkatsu, Japanese/Korean style curries, and omurice, all thankfully under $10.
Bian Dang has been replaced by Mr. Fish, which embraces confused fusion sushi rolls.
The menu, while mostly affordable, gets a solid shrug of the shoulders and an eye-roll. Certainly not a replacement for Bian Dang’s pork chops or General Tso’s chicken.
Meanwhile the 3rd floor space, previously occupied by Crepe Monster, lies un-utilized.
The reason for the shakeup isn’t entirely mysterious. From an anecdotal perspective, I’ve noticed short lines at Bian Dang and no lines whatsoever at Pastel during my frequent visits to Food Gallery 32. While I wish that both stalls had stuck around longer, it seems that Bian Dang and Pastel weren’t aligning with Food Gallery 32’s strategy (whatever that may be).
Posted by Chris H. at 8:30 am, July 20th, 2012 under Food Gallery 32.
13 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
13 Comments
-
-
Didn’t Pastel serve various katsu also? I got pork katsu from one of the stalls a while ago and it was quite good.
-
yes, you’re correct. It seems like it was more or less a re-branding rather than a complete change. However, the pastas seem to be gone for now.
-
The pastas had been gone for quite some time, since they changed to a streamlined menu. This is almost certainly just a re-brand.
-
-
-
Nooo…I love Bian Dang.
-
Sucks! Isn’t there a sushi roll stall already on the left as you walk in?
-
Man, if you can go where the hell ever in K-town and probably find actual real kimbop, why are these guys even trying?
-
To both you and midtown_eater: kimbap and maki sushi are not the same thing. It is possible to be in the mood for one but not the other.
-
-
Sad. Bian Dang was my favorite at Food Gallery. It will force me to try something else.
-
sad… hopefully they’ll reopen somewhere close.
-
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
-
They still have the Bian Dang truck, I went there Friday. Awesome
-
I’d welcome a Korean convenience store to the ‘hood, though to make the transition a bit more seamless, have separate sections for products with and without mayonnaise. At least if you read hangul you’ll know the word reads almost exactly as it does in English (
마요네즈 ma-yo-ne-ju).
I hope this is a move for Bian Dang to open a brick & mortar of their own near Midtown.