Midtown Lunch

It’s been over two years since the Korean chain Bibigo opened its first U.S. location in Westwood Village, bringing fast food bibimbap and spicy pork to UCLA students and Westwood office workers.  And while writers who got treated to free meals raved about it, those of us who spend any time in Koreatown were slightly less enthusiastic.  A great Westwood lunch option, no doubt.  But nothing to get overly excited about.

Staying true to its goal of becoming the McDonald’s of Korean food, Bibigo has opened two more L.A. locations since then,  Including a “casual dining” location in Beverly Hills and most recently an outpost at the Century City Mall food court. And even more recently they added a few new items to the menu at their Westwood location, one of which is worth checking out.

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Oh, kooky fast food concepts imported from Korea!  I wish I knew what to think of you.  Sometimes you are so amazing you change the way we look at a classic food we thought we knew well (Kyochon anybody?).  Other times, your eccentricity is part of your charm (hello, School Food!)  But often you make us just step back and say “WTF?” (Isaac Toast, I still still don’t know what to make of you.)   So when Eater reported that Bibigo! was opening in Westwood Village last week, hoping to be the “”McDonald’s of bibimbap” I didn’t know what to think.  Claiming to be the McDonald’s of anything is not a plus in my book (it’s like saying you want to be the Taco Bell of Jamaican food.) And if you  in Koreatown across the street from, say, this place or this place or this place you’d have no need for Bibigo.  But if you work in Westwood, a fast food Korean rice bowl place sounds like a pretty great idea.

Check it out after the jump…

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