Midtown Lunch

It only took one visit to Tahoe Galbi for me to rethink my position on the ubiquitous $10 All You Can Eat Korean BBQ lunch.  It’s not that I thought I wouldn’t be down with all you can eat Korean BBQ (how could it possibly be bad!?)  It was more me lamenting the fact that there weren’t any proper under $10 Korean buffets in Los Angeles.  I’m an old school buffet enthusiast, not just for the all you can eat aspect but also for the form itself.  Like carts at a dim sum palace, much of the joy I take from eating all I can eat is the buffet line itself.   But even though Tahoe converted me to this new way of gorging myself, it was clear it wasn’t going to be the end all be all $10 Korean BBQ spot of my dreams.  Room for improvement seemed possible, and it was then I decided I would need to try *all* of the $10 AYCE Korean BBQ spots in Koreatown before I’d be truly satisfied.  (You know… for science.)

Back in May Lunch’er “djjewelz” recommended Choi Ga Neh in the ML Forums, so I figured that would be as good a place as any to continue my quest.

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Even though there is technically no “Midtown” in Los Angeles and my quest for good food has no boundaries, when it comes to Midtown Lunch’ing in L.A. I’ve adopted a “between the goal posts” mentality since moving back west- trying to keep my lunches between Downtown and Santa Monica. So I never quite made it to Pal Cabron, the Huntington Park Pueblan sandwich specialist owned by the same family that owns Guelaguetza. I’ve always been curious about cemitas (most specifically, how exactly are they different than tortas?) and Pal Cabron was also given high praise by my two go-to Mexican food blogging experts. Well, last week Pal Cabron completely solved my problem by moving their operation to Koreatown- taking over the Guelaguetza space on 8th Street and Irolo in Koreatown.

Don’t mind if I do!

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As much as I love, and have done serious research on, all you can eat buffets across the country, there is one gaping hole in my canon of face stuffing experiences: all you can eat Korean BBQ.  Every time I drive through K-Town I stare lovingly at all the signs touting meat feasts of epic proportions- and the best part is, a ton of them are under $10. And yet, for some reason, I’ve never been able to the pull trigger.  Part of it is my allegiance to the true all you can eat buffet (like Hansong), where all the food is laid in one giant smorgasbord, ready to be defeated at the hands of my rather large gut.  Admittedly a real all you can eat master wouldn’t let that technicality stand in his or her way, so I’m forced to admit that the real reason I haven’t been to one of these places is sheer intimidation.  Not only are there too many places to choose from, but I wasn’t sure exactly what happens when one enters one of these places.  Yes, many have $9.99 lunchtime options- but with upgrades avaialble (that allow you a better quality of meat) was the $10 ayce Korean BBQ deal really worth it?

So, when a Korean friend offered to accompany me to one of his favorite spots, Tahoe Galbi (on Wilton & Wilshire), I jumped at the chance.  Not just to fill the gaping hole in my all you can eat buffet resume, but also the big gaping hole that pops up in my stomach every day around 11:45am.

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And now a quick lesson in how math can be applied to everyday food decisions… for example, the transitive property.  I loved the fried chicken sandwich made by Animal chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo on the Cart for a Cause.  Jon & Vinny loved the chicken at Dino’s Burgers on Pico.  Therefore it is safe to assume that I would also love the chicken at Dino’s Burger.  And I did. So, when Kogi Chef Roy Choi told The Guru that he liked the chachiangmian from Dragon Restaurant in K-Town I knew I had to check it out.  I’m an unrepentant fan of Kogi and Chego, and noodles with black bean sauce is one of my favorite Korean/Chinese dishes (so far here in L.A. I’ve only tried the great $5 version at Mandarin House, also courtesy of @thejgold).  So when I read on Dragon’s website that they offer a $10 lunch special with that dish PLUS a standard Chinese food option, I couldn’t resist.

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As much as I love the Asian food here in Los Angeles, there are two things that really bother me.  First… why have all the great dim sum places in the SGV started to favor menus over over carts!? (Carts is the best part of dim sum, damnit!)  And second, why is it that none of the all you can eat Korean food spots in K-Town are buffets?  What does a short fat Jewish guy have to do to get a proper Korean buffet in this town!?

Now, I know what many of you will say (on both counts).  “Wouldn’t you rather have food that’s made fresh?”  As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t.  I like the element of surprise in my dim sum, and the variety that you get on a great buffet.  So when I heard that Hansong, “Best Beef” winner at this year’s Korean BBQ Cook-Off, was a proper all you can eat buffet in Koreatown I got pretty excited.  And not even a $17 price tag could keep me from trying out this lunch.  (Desperate times call for desperate measures people!)

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I discriminate against no dumpling!  Chinese… Korean (mandoo)… steamed… fried.  I love them all.  So when Josh Lurie and Matt Kang invited me to try Myungin Dumpling in K-Town, I was down.  The place is not necessarily going to make you swoon, but it’s an interesting hybrid of Korean ingredients with Chinese preparations.  They give you some panchan (always a good thing) and have a pretty standard verison of mandoo, but I prefered the hybrids… like the giant steamed Chinese looking buns filled with kimchi, pork, jap chae (Korean glass noodles).  Check out Josh’s comprehensive review over on Food GPS>>

Myung In Dumplings, 3109 Olympic Blvd., 213-381-3568

Back in June, Squid Ink called the Cold Soy Bean Noodles at Ma Dang Gook Soo (869 Western, in Koreatown) one of the Top 10 Asian Noodle Bowls under $7 in Los Angeles, and now that we’re knee deep in summer “The Guru” reaffirmed his love of the same dish in a response to a reader question. The nutty, thick broth (if you can even call the sludge a broth) is unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before… and completely worth the trip.  The flavor is pretty subtle (borderline bland) and takes a while to completely comprehend.  But eat a whole bowl of the stuff?  I don’t know.  Even on the hottest day, I couldn’t imagine finishing the enormous circular troth you get for $8.25 (I guess they raised the price, because it’s not under $7 anymore.)

It’s far better to grab a few friends, and order a bunch of dishes…(isn’t it always?)

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