Restaurant: Grandma Kim’s Family Diner
Location: 8384 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Canoga Park, CA 91304. (818) 346-1590
Date: March 23, 2024
Cuisine: Northern Korean
Rating: Solid
Finding yet another place in the western SFV.
Very casual Canoga Park Korean.
The huge menu.
Casual interior was crowded.
Banchan.
Potato soup.
Rice.
Beef Bulgolgi.
Fishcake soon tofu. Pretty good.
Not a bad family-style place.
Restaurant: Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong
Location: 3465 W 6th St. Los Angeles, CA 90020, Wilshire Center, Koreatown
Date: February 27, 2020
Cuisine: Korean BBQ
Rating: Very solid KBBQ
This dinner was several months in the planning — mostly because it got moved around once or twice.
But in any case I always like to try new KBBQ places. This one is in busy Wilshire Center which is a cool bustling courtyard in the heart of Koreatown. There’s also a Quarters here, which people also say is good.
The interior is the usual smoke infested den. The hoods don’t do much. Afterward one reeks of char.
This is the first of 3 tables. We kept moving to find one which fit the ever shifting count of people.
Banchan here are good but way too limited. They have good “condiments” but not so much in the munching department. The kimchee, however, is excellent. I’m not so into the pumpkin/squash. There are marinated daikon for the meat, which is excellent.
Seaweed wraps.
This salad is one of the more boring Korean salads. Sometimes I love them. All depends on the dressing.
This spicy green onion and bean sprout salad was better.
Kimchee pancake! This and the kimchee are their best (only?) real banchan.
Slightly sweet and spicy dipping sauce.
Cheesy corn and egg around the grill.
Cold “soup.” Very odd. Basically a lemon or lime half-frozen slushy with marinated daikon and pepper! Weird, but kinda tasty.
Kimchee stew.
Beef brisket stew.
Spicy pork with green onions. Slightly sweet and spicy. Great dish. Maybe one of the best of the evening.
Thin beef (brisket).
On the BBQ. Pretty mild. They cook everything and she loaded this all up too fast and at first had it cooked in that middle range which is bland. We had to put it back on and crisp it up.
Short rib.
On the grill, a bit more flavor than the brisket.
Our friendly server.
Steamed egg. Good with the spicy sauce.
Skirt steak. Definitely more flavor than the other beefs.
Marinated beef short rib. The best of the BBQ beefs.
Pork belly and jowl.
The jowl has an interesting chew.
Beef tongue. Nice texture and flavor.
Getting crazy with an innovative new flavor: Oaxacan Choco-Mole – The base is made with Valrhona 100% Cacao and intense Oaxacan Mole Negro from Guelaguetza restaurant — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #cocao #oaxaca #mole #molenegro
This is a signature Sweet Milk flavor — Italian Lemon Cookie Meringue Pie — Limoncello Zabaione base with lemon cookie flavor mixed with Italian Lemon Creme Cookies and Sicilian Candied Lemon and topped with house-made toasted Meringue — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato) — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #lemon #LemonCookie #cookie #Sicily #Sorento #Limoncello #Meringue #LemonMeringuePie
Overall, this is a very good (non AYCE — I prefer non) KBBQ. Meat quality is excellent but they could use more variety. I think Park’s BBQ is better for sure. Service is friendly, but they don’t take any kind of reservations. The banchan quality is excellent but they need more of them. I particularly like the spicy/chewy ones like squid or fish cakes. None of that here. We maybe didn’t order the best — I was actually kinda distracted with the table moves and never looked at the menu, so maybe there are some other interesting things. Best things were the pork with green onions and the marinated short rib.
Restaurant: Mister Bossam
Location: 338 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 388-5379
Date: January 26, 2020
Cuisine: Korean Ribs
Rating: Awesome, but heart burn central
On a chilly, quiet Sunday night — where in the best of worlds we should have had a Chinese dinner going — Yarom and I met up for a small Korean dinner.
Yarom saw this sign and we couldn’t resist trying it out.
The interior is very small and casual.
The menu is pretty specific with just a couple variants on two main themes (bossam and cheesy ribs).
Banchan.
pickled spicy raddish or turnip.
kimchee.
macaroni salad — our least favorite.
pickled cabbage.
fish cakes — I ate 3 bowls of this one, love the chewy texture.
marinated daikon.
Sauces. A spicy one left and a sweet one right.
Lettuce wraps.
The burner.
green onion + garlic bossam and sliced pigs feet — the luke warm pork (bossam) was much better than the feet.
Bossam is a pork dish in Korean cuisine. It usually consists of belly pork that is boiled in spices and thinly sliced. The meat is served with side dishes such as spicy radish salad, sliced raw garlic, ssamjang, saeu-jeot, kimchi, and ssam vegetables such as lettuce, kkaennip, and inner leaves of a napa cabbage.
Cheesy spicy pork ribs with cheesy eggs, corn, and hot dogs.
The cheese melts and they cut up and stir up the ribs. This part is scrumptious and very rich. At first it’s a little weird eating a Korean flavored spicy pork rib covered in cheese, but it tastes amazing. We ordered medium spice and it was actually very spicy with a long chili oil type heat. Gave me some heartburn. Cheesy eggs and hot dogs were good too.
Overall, this is a small place with a small menu. The bossam was I suspect good for bossam, but it’s not my favorite dish ever. The cheesy ribs were pretty awesome. Not a place you’d come all the time, but really interesting and tasty to try.
Restaurant: Park’s BBQ
Location: 955 S Vermont Ave G, Los Angeles, CA 90006. (213) 380-1717
Date: December 23, 2019
Cuisine: Korean BBQ
Rating: Great charcoal KBBQ
It’s been many years since I was at Park’s BBQ — before I started blogging in 2010 for sure — so when my friend Jerome mentioned that he wanted to try some KBBQ off we went.
Park’s is seriously OG. It’s been around for a long time, has real charcoal grills, and very high quality meat.
Even on a random Monday in December at 1:45pm there was a 30 minute line!
Each table has its own dedicated hood.
It’s hard to see down inside the grill but there are real charcoal chunks in there — none of that modern gas fired cooking!
The menu. We went for set P2. The server said it served 4. We were just 2. I figured it’d be about the right amount of food!
Salt and pepper vinegar.
Hot sauce and fermented spicy bean paste (love the stuff because I love fermented Asian everything).
Salad is of course one of the ban chan.
Daikon radish wraps.
Rice crepe wraps.
A kind of kimchee.
Spicy pickled cucumbers.
Some kind of green.
Marinated bean sprouts.
Chewy fish cakes — delicious — I ate 3 bowls of them.
Broccoli.
Spiced potatoes or radish.
Crunchy sweet pickled veggies. Really good.
Taste of Parks P2.
Mushrooms and Zucchini – in the back various beefs.
Rib Eye Steak, and back right Pork Belly.
Boneless Beef Short Rib (left), Beef Brisket (center), Ggot Sal (right).
Bulgogi (with the green onion on top).
Park’s Gal-bi – probably my favorite.
Meat on the grill.
Steak on the grill.
More meat on the grill.
Pork belly.
Overall, other than the bit of a wait, everything was great at Park’s. This isn’t a new style whacky or AYCE joint and they have a fairly traditional set of dishes and cuts but the meat is fabulous and the charcoal flavor great, so this is some really satisfying very Korean KBBQ — as it should be. Service was very great too.
Restaurant: Chosun Galbee
Location: 3330 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 734-3330
Date: November 2, 2019
Cuisine: Korean BBQ
Rating: Solid KBBQ fun
Instead of a wine dinner night, this dinner is a big school parent KBBQ and Karaoke night.
We had two huge tables at K-Town classic, Chosun Galbee — above is the ladies table (guys table behind the camera).
We drank beer and solju — together in my case as I learned from some of my Korean friends 2 weeks before.
Salad.
Glass noodles with beef. Slightly sweet and tasty.
Banchan.
Love the potato salad with the raisins.
But my favorite is the chewy spicy squid (orange shredded carrot looking stuff).
Kimchee and pickles.
Seafood pancake. Delicious.
Shrimp and veggies on the grill.
Almost done.
The beef comes out.
Various condiments.
Like this lettuce wrap with included beef and sauce.
Chicken.
More meats.
Fried Rice with stuff.
Interesting fermented tofu soup — quite nice.
More beef.
And even more.
This was an enjoyable dinner — of course they only ordered about half the beef rounds I would have (it was a group set menu) but it was delicious regardless. Very classic K-Town style.
Then off to Pharaoh for some private room Karaoke.
Walk like an Egyptian.
But sing like a bunch of LA school parents!
Restaurant: Chunju Han Il Kwan
Location: 3450 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 480-1799
Date: October 29, 2019
Cuisine: Korean Army Stew
Rating: Hearty spicy goodness!
After a great Brunello dinner downtown, Liz, Erick and I felt the need for some K-Town Second Dinner fun. So off to:
Chanju Han Il Kwan, a Korean Army Stew place. Notice that it’s right next to Seaweed, the Armo Sushi place I went a week or so before.
The interior is drop ceiling meets Korean classic. I like the wood panels.
Banchan! Tofu and veggies.
My favorite here is the chewy spicy fish cake (the orange thing in the center).
The crunchy pickle kimchee (lower left) was great too.
Spicy kimchee pancake. Good stuff late at night.
The main event: Korean army stew. It’s basically chili-garlic paste with the kitchen sink dumped in, including ramen and spam and rice cakes!
A close up. Hearty and delicious.
Red bean (purple) rice.
This was simple, cheap, and tasty. Definately hearty too. I was so stuffed after (it was, after all, second dinner!).
Restaurant: Get Bbul BBQ
Location: 3189 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006. (213) 380-7070
Date: October 21, 2019
Cuisine: Korean Seafood BBQ
Rating: First time and I liked it
On reading this, you must recognize that this is “Second Dinner.” After a special Krug Champagne dinner event — with 5 or so courses of modern cuisine — four of us just didn’t feel full enough so headed out to Korea Town to “snack.”
Never been to this kind of Korean Seafood BBQ so I was excited to try.
The interior — hoods as usual.
The menu. We ordered most of it of course.
This plate has seen some heat. Anyway, we ordered the works.
Various condiments for wrapped up one’s BBQ. Radishes, sauce, egg (both yolk and white), carrots, peppers, cabbage etc.
More fixings.
Leaves and oniony stuff.
Salad.
Soy and garlic.
Hot sauce. It is a Korean restaurant after all.
Coming off our Champagne tasting we decided to go with Solju / Beer shots. Sort of like a sake bomb. You fill a glass about 3/4 with beer.
Then drop a shot-glass of solju (Korean vodka) in to make sure it’s extra strong. Tastes great too!
Crispy fritters with mayo. Great drinking food.
Seafood pancake. This was a delicious one too.
Corn “pudding” with dynamite or whatever on top and baked.
Cold sliced pig foot salad. Yum (really was good).
Korean fluffy egg.
Our modest seafood plate arrives.
The BBQ is real coals.
Eel (left) and hagfish (right). Not sure I’ve had hagfish before. It looks like snack. Abalone was on the far right.
They cut up the chunks as it BBQs. Hagfish had a delightful chewy texture white the eel was nice and rich.
Dinner comes with special Korean Michael Jackson “white gloves” so that you don’t burn your hand while working the hot grill. They really helped actually.
Clams. When they open you eat them.
Spicy Soft Tofu Soup with Seafood. Delicious and a bit spicy.
Spicy noodle and tofu soup. Because when it’s time for second dinner, you need a second stew too!
Cheesy clams and scallops on the BBQ. The cheese melts into a yummy mess.
Some kind of conch or clam back there.
Giant oyster!
Grilled shrimp.
The four of us actually managed to eat most of this feast — pretty impressive after having this dinner right before!
I’d like to come back to Get Bbul a bit hungrier and get even more, but what I had was very good and quite interesting. I’ve never had this kind of grilled seafood with these exact trappings and it was quite interesting.
Restaurant: Mirak
Location: 1134 S Western Ave A2, Los Angeles, CA 90006. (323) 732-7577
Date: April 11, 2019
Cuisine: Korean Goat
Rating: Solid, but small menu focused on goat
Mirak’s is a Korea Town place specializing in Black Goat. Gotta try the exotics, right? Plus, goat is the most popular meat in the world!
It’s that barely-labeled place with the yellow sign in the back corner of this Western Ave minimall.
The interior is well… typical.
This sauce was interesting. Mustard, mustard seed, chili, sesame oil. What’s not to like?
Cooking is partially done table-side on the little burners. Truth is, I’m not sure these are even legal, but who cares.
Every Korean place has banchan. This salad was okay.
And the spicy daikon.
Don’t really need the bean sprouts.
Eggplant and kimchee are good though.
And the cabbage in vaguely sweet water is a bit of a mystery.
This is the main signature item — the black goat stew.
Eventually it gets roiling and is actually quite good. Meat is very cooked, which for goat is a good thing.
This was a kind of sizzling duck with garlic and onions dish. Excellent.
Then pork belly.
They do most of the cooking.
It’s pretty good, if a bit piggy, when finished.
Bulgolgi. This was a winner, tender, sweet, and full of flavor.
Goat ribs. They tasted okay, if a bit gamey. The rubbery texture of the skin I could do without.
Rice to go into kimchee fried rice.
Seaweed and seasonings.
Combine it all in the bottom of the goat soup.
And fry it up to make the kimchee fried rice — which is pretty excellent.
This one was done in a different base and so was slightly different.
Kimchee, chewy pork, and tofu. Awesome dish actually. Lots of flavor and heat.
Chicken and potato red pot. Pretty good too.
Chewy spicy squid. Excellent, actually.
As usual I BYOG (brought my own gelato):
New flavor — Limoncello Biscotti — Limoncello Zabaione base with lemon cookie flavor and Lemon Oreos — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Tastes just like lemon cookie! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #lemon #limoncello #Zabaione #LemonCookie #Oreo #LemonOreos
Fresh back from Hawaii I created this new flavor with things I dragged home — Big Island — Coconut dairy base, Macadamia Nuts, and Fresh Mango — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Island Fever! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #Hawaii #MacadamiaNuts #nuts #mango #coconut #tropical
The gang.
Yarom and the owner (with someone else’s banchan).
Overall, Mirak is tasty, but it’s a very small, focused menu with mostly goat. We pretty much ordered everything. The goat stew is very good. As was the bulgolgi and a couple other dishes. Ambiance is vintage k-town but they are very nice and let us bring our wine too. This is not entry level Korean, but more a place you go if you are exploring “the real Korea town.”
For more LA dining reviews click here.
Restaurant: 8 BBQ
Location: 863 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005. (213) 365-1750
Date: December 24, 2018 & March 17, 2019
Cuisine: Korean Pork BBQ
Rating: Tasty Stuff
Christmas Eve (and day) are great excuses to go eat Asian food because — l it’s just tradition — and they’re open.
I was sorta hankering for SGV Chinese but Yarom wanted to keep it “local” and head to KTown.
The debate as to which place to grace with our rambunctiousness eventually settled on 8 BBQ — which was good by me because I’d never been and it was on my list.
8 BBQ, which used to have some other name, is a KBBQ place that specializes in pork belly BBQ — specifically 8 different flavored variants!
It was packed (we had to wait a bit) and was equipped with the usual Korean ventilation.
The table was preset with banchan and these interesting looking perched grills — which struct me as a burn/spill waiting to happen.
The banchan parade included spicy pickled bamboo or radish (hard to tell).
Noodle salad.
This awesome spiced cold tofu.
These pickles.
And this incredibly addictive but simple salad — Yarom and I ate two bowls of it ourselves (there was another bowl on the other side of the table and like most banchan it was “infinite refills”).
Pineapple on the grill?
Oh, and these marinated daikon are less for munching but for wrapping meat in.
We ordered combo A to start which included 8 flavors of pork belly, seafood soybean stew, banchan, salad, and mozzarella kimchi fried rice on 12/24/19. On 3/17/19 we ordered combo A and a beef combo.
And they immediately start grilling up an infinite supply of kimchee and spicy bean sprouts.
This is the seafood soybean stew, which was pretty tasty — although it’s always hard to eat those crab claws.
I think some kimchee went in here to “spice it up.”
A different kind of kimchee soup — no seafood.
Here is the 8 ways of pork belly. From left to right: wine, original, black sesame, garlic, herb, curry, miso, and red pepper paste.
They start grilling up the first 4. Look like bacon — I wonder why?
And a bit like fish when half cooked.
Then it gets cut up. The waiter does most of the grilling. Of this set, I probably liked sesame and garlic best. Wine was kinda weird.
The second set starting off.
And done. This whole set was really yummy. Loved curry, miso, and red pepper.
Then we ordered some steak’ums — I mean Prime Beef Brisket.
Grilling. They keep replacing the kimche etc.
Finished beef. Nice, but not a TON of flavor.
Prime Korean Style Boneless Rib.
On the grill. This was meatier with a good steaky flavor.
Marinated Galbi Bulgogi.
On the grill. This was my favorite beef as the marinate gave it a ton of sweet/soy flavor.
A chunk of the beef plate.
Grilling.
The whole rib eye.
Grilling
And cut. Super juicy. Delicious. We ordered 2!
Thick cut pork belly.
Grills up nice and juicy.
Starting our mozzarella kimchi fried rice by throwing some of the already grilled kimchee in the pot.
Then here is the rice, seaweed, greens.
That goes in too.
And the mozzarella on top.
I snapped a picture of it all melted and while it’s hard to see the cheese it was insanely good. I always like kimchee fried rice but the mozzarella really takes it up a bunch of notches.
I convinced people to try this Spicy Buckwheat Noodle and it was also insanely good. The slippery noodles had great texture and there was a good bit of kick and a really nice tangy/spicy vibe to the sauce.
There was some vinegar and Korean mustard in case you wanted to have even more tang and (mustardy) spice.
Here are the noodles all mixed up.
Then we ordered the secret “9th pork belly” the Bulgogi style marinate.
On the grill. This was a great pork too as it had that signature Korean sweet/soy thing going on.
And to finish a steamed egg which was soft and pleasant.
On 12/24/19 I wasn’t drinking this evening and there were only 5 of us be here were the wines:
Piggy!
Overall, I was really impressed with 8 BBQ. The menu isn’t gigantic but it has just enough variety to make a really interesting meal and the food quality and taste was really good. You wouldn’t go every week because there isn’t a ton of variance here, but I’ll certainly be back as it was really delicious. Pretty “low carb” friendly too (except for the fried rice and noodles).
Afterward we wandered out into the cool misty Christmas Eve night in sear of Boba Tea — brining us to the Kung Fu Tea House!
Amusing snacks.
And the usual assortment of bobas and slushies.
A constant stream of old kung fu movies were playing on the TV!
Weird shrimp and squid chips.
And our quintet of teas. I got a passionfruit slush (40% sugar) with a bunch of bobas and jellies. They have a lot of jelly options here. Awesome night!
Restaurant: Dha Rae Oak
Location: 1108 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006. (323) 733-2474
Date: July 20, 2018
Cuisine: Korean BBQ / Duck
Rating: The pastrami duck was awesome, others so-so
Los Angeles’ Korea Town is a gold mine of interesting Korean restaurants.
And I’ve wanted to try Dha Rae Oak and its famed “stuffed duck” for years. And so even though I returned from China only 20 hours ago I head out to meet the guys.
A very unassuming frontage on Western.
The inside is a bit nicer, with the BBQ grills and hoods all over.
Banchan!
Kimchee.
Pickled onion.
Omelet.
Pickled mustard green or something.
Yarom’s hedonist meetup page actually drew in someone new and young and female. She’s unlikely to want to hang out with us old fat guys again despite our scintillating conversation!
Salad. Very zesty dressing and nice texture. Sadly, this might have been my second favorite dish.
Dips for the meat. Spicy oil and mustard.
Plate o’ meat ready for grilling. Most of this is beef. Most of this was very dry, seemed over cooked and bland on the grill. Nowhere near as good as the usually heavily marinated KBBQ.
Pork belly or bacon. This was one of the better regular grilled meats.
Frozen sliced duck. Decent, but a touch dry.
Grilling.
Grilled.
Big sheets of short rib. This was pretty decent too.
Purple bean rice.
Skewers (from some other table).
Pastrami duck. This was by a factor of 3X the dish of the night. Smoked pastrami/corn beef like duck.
That is then lightly grilled to sizzle up the fat. Really excellent and takes the cold smoked duck (which is also good) up to 11.
Famous clay pot stuffed duck. The inside is stuffed with all sorts of Korean grains and seasonings. But it isn’t that strong and the meat itself was a touch dry. It was nice, but nothing amazing.
Pickled vegetable noodle soup.
This was okay too, with a little bit of heat, but I’ve had much better noodle soups.
Overall, I was kinda disappointed in Dha Rae Oak. I had thought the stuffed duck would be amazing. Instead it was the smoked duck that was the real winner. And that would have been totally fine if the bulk of the other dishes had been tasty, but a lot of the meats were under-seasoned.
For more LA dining reviews click here,
or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!
Wines for the evening:
Restaurant: Hamji Park
Location: 4135 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 733-8333
Date: July 10, 2018 & December 23, 2021
Cuisine: Korean Pork BBQ
Rating: Great ribs and pork
K-Town adventure time, with LA’s awesome Korean food scene.
Hamji Park has a couple outputs, but we go to the Pico one. The small chain specializes in Pork BBQ Ribs (Korean style, of course) and various other pork products.
The interior is pretty much all K-Town — down to the ceiling hoods.
This is a surprisingly short menu for a Korean place.
Ron brought some of the insanely good: 2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 97. The 2006 Comtes de Champagne is striking, especially in the way it brings together elements of ripeness and freshness in a hypothetical blend of the 2002 and 2004. Smooth and creamy on the palate, the 2006 is all about texture. There is a real feeling of density and weight in the 2006, qualities I expect to see grow with time in the bottle. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. The 2006 has been nothing short of magnificent both times I have tasted it. Comtes de Champagne remains the single best value (in relative terms) in tête de cuvée Champagne. I suggest buying a case and following it over the next 20-30 years, which is exactly what I intend to do. There is little doubt the 2006 Comtes de Champagne is a magical Champagne in the making.
Hamji Park is fairly old school so they have a minimalist array of banchan.
Cabbage with miso dressing.
Broccoli.
Marinated cabbage.
Marinated spicy something? A bit chewy, this was one of my favorites.
Bean sprouts.
Sweet potato.
Chewy fish cakes, always great.
Pickled veggies.
Spicy squid.
Bean sprouts.
Cabbage and chili paste.
Albert brought: 2015 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. VM 93. Pale orange. Lively, expansive citrus pith and red currant aromas are complemented by suggestions of chalky minerals and white flowers. Sappy, concentrated and precise, offering palate-staining red berry and blood orange flavors and a hint of spicy white pepper. Shows excellent thrust and persistence on the mineral-driven finish, which emphatically echoes the floral and citrus fruit qualities. I’m impressed by the way this wine balances the opulence of the vintage with vivacity and I suspect it will reward at least another eight or so years of patience — standard behavior for this bottling, which ages more like a red wine than a pink one.
Stir Fried Octopus with Noodles. This is some great octopus. Nice and tender with a great Korean spicy sauce and sleek rice noodles.
From my cellar: 1990 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste. RP95-96. The 1990 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a wine that I had not tasted for a number of years. For a long time it was stubborn and tannic, uncommon attributes in what was such a comely vintage. Now at 26 years of age, this bottle served by Xavier Borie suggests that finally the 1990 has come round. Deep in color, it has a gorgeous bouquet of black fruit, potpourri, graphite and melted tar. There is warmth here, but it does not impede upon the articulation of its origins in Pauillac. The palate has clearly melted in recent years, and maintains superb balance and weight. Sure, as Robert Parker himself remarked, it is evolving at a glacial pace—slower than the 1998 tasted alongside. That means its pleasure is going to be prolonged over many, many years.
Ron brought: 1973 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello. JG 94. The 1973 Monte Bello was another wine that I had two bottles of from an auction purchase, and so when the first bottle did not show brilliantly well, I was able to let the second bottle rest and additional nine months, which seemed to settle the wine back down nicely. The second bottle was a glorious example of Monte Bello that very much showed the more “Graves-like” personality of this wine in many vintages, as it offers up a superb, “cool” fruit-toned bouquet of cassis, leather, cigar ash, a hint of eucalyptus and petroleum jelly, and a complex base of gravelly soil tones. On the palate the wine is fullish, deep and very complex, with beautiful focus, fine mid-palate depth and a very refined, poised and meltingly tannic finish of great length and dimension. The ’73 Monte Bello has retained excellent acidity (perhaps due to it only weighing in at 12.8% alcohol), which has kept the wine fresh, vibrant and showing great grip on the backend. A very finesseful and elegant vintage of Monte Bello, which is not short on either depth or power.
Pork Spare Ribs. A bit sweet and sour, tons and tons of porky meat. Really great ribs.
Beef ribs (bulgolgi).
From my cellar: 1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 94 points. Opulent but balanced, dignified without slathered oak or exagerrated maloloactic fermentation. Good show.
Salad. Nice acidic dressing, and really good.
Ron brought (but we didn’t open): 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. JG92+. The 1990 Château Beaucastel is a lovely wine and is just about ready for primetime drinking, but will continue to improve over the coming five or six years and then cruise along for decades from that point forward. The bouquet offers up a fine blend of dried raspberries and red currants, roasted game, incipient autumnal tones (fallen leaves) and a potpourri of spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and a touch leathery in personality, with a good core, melting tannins and fine length and grip on the complex finish. Having had the good fortune to drink several older vintages of Beaucastel at peak maturity, my gut instinct with the 1990 would be to let it rest in the cellar for just a few more years and allow the last layer of aromatic complexity to emerge here, though it must be said that the wine is really lovely on the palate right now.
Albert brought: 1995 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 93 points. Lovely, complex farmyard, truffles, undergrowth, ripe damson fruit mellow leather and spices. Beautiful wine drunk with five spice duck fried rice and was perfect.
Pork Neck Stew with Potato. This was the surprise of the evening for me. Super delicious Korean stew. Rich savory broth, succulent pork meat, hefty potato. Just all good if not much of a looker. 3 or so times they “added broth” to it too which rejuvenated the whole dish. This could feed a family of 4!
Erick brought: 2004 Bond Vecina. VM 95. A very pretty and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2004 Vecina is also the first wine in this tasting that shows some degree of aromatic development. Even so, the 2004 is huge on the palate, with a bold, exotic expression of very ripe fruit. Scorched earth, smoke, tobacco and leather give the wine its distinctive, brooding personality. This is impressive stuff.
Yarom brought: 1998 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Upper Block Gaudeamus Vineyard. 94 points. Have always loved this wine…and have purchased and drunk my fair share of it. Lot of people panned it, so that’s why I was able to buy a bunch at crazy good prices over the last 10yrs! Well, last bottle I had was 6 yrs ago, which was another great bottle, but starting to show some age and sourness. In my best Mark Twain voice….”The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” THIS bottle tonight is spectacular! Starts off with a little funky barnyard brett, the good kind! Dark silky berry fruits…perfectly ripe and liqueured…with the slightest green streak of tobacco, sage and herbs, which I find fascinating in this wine…like you would Heitz Martha’s. Full bodied and rich with mocha oak barrel, cedar spice, cocoa powder…but NOT over the top sweet like you see in most Cabs now. Youthful, plush full mouth feel, complexities all over the map….and plenty left in the tank. I’ve only had a couple Schrader Cabs other than this one…but I can say that this 98 is still my fav!
Seb brought: 2014 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard. RP 99. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon LPV is from clone 337 from the Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena. This shows Mission Haut-Brion-like characteristics as it has in the past, with crushed rock, wet gravel, scorched earth, blackberry and blueberry fruit. It is clearly one of my favorites of this entire tasting. It has 14.5% natural alcohol and was aged in 90% new Darnajou and 10% new Taransaud barrels. This is a killer effort.
The pork cooker — actually used (by us) for beef.
Marinated Beef Sirloin.
Very tough, not too much flavor. Actually the only disappointing dish of the night.
Pork belly.
Pork belly cooking.
Bacon. Yes, it’s actually slightly different than the pork belly.
Spicy Soup.
This was great fun. Good food, particularly the ribs, neck soup, and octopus. The wines were awesome too and we brought both too many and way overkill stuff for KBBQ — but that’s how we roll!
Restaurant: Yup Dduk LA
Location: 3603 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 263-2355
Date: June 6, 2018
Cuisine: Korean Ddukbokki
Rating: Spicy!
I had just spent 2 hours at the China Consulate waiting in line when I saw this sign:
How could I resist? What kind of lover of spice would I be?
This little KTown hole-in-the-wall had a line of about 30 “kids” (18-25 maybe) waiting for a seat.
The interior is new but minimal and judging from my 1 hour visit the cliental consists 95% of young Korean American women on their cel phones (later it was packed with more of same and hordes of them outside).
The menu is very simple. Basically one dish (see below) with a variety of add-ins and a couple of carby sides.
And here it is: Original Ddukbokki with Ramen Noodles and Yup Dduk Fries. This dish is basically a giant bowl of carbs (with a bit of sausage) drowned in gochujang sauce — that’s the red stuff in case you were wondering. And it’s topped with gooey mozzarella.
Eating down a bit you can see the main contents: the fried carbs, noodles, chewy bean curd, chewy fish cakes, and really chewy cylindrical rice cakes. It’s carbs and spice. I got “original” level in the middle of the spice scale and I’m glad I did because despite my “skillz” at Szechuan, super hot Indian, and mega-hot Thai this sauce was oppressively hot. Both spice level and temperature. Even pulling the contents out and attempting to cool them down, I was left with a badly seared mouth. The volume and the very insulated bowl kept it near boiling for 45 minutes!
I should also point out that these dishes are big enough for 2-4 people and there is no small size. I couldn’t even finish half of it. I didn’t order sides either because it was so large, but sharing and having a few (non-spicy) sides would definitely be better.
I drank at least two entire jugs of water!
This was a tasty dish — but I needed more people so I could share it, and I wish it wasn’t so temperate or cooled off faster because I really burned my mouth. Koreans and Japanese have asbestos tongues! It is a one dish restaurant, however, and VERY spicy — so don’t go if you don’t want a giant bowl of spicy carbs!
Restaurant: Yangji Gamjatang
Location: 3470 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 388-1105
Date: January 2, 2018
Cuisine: Korean
Rating: Excellent neighborhood Korean
Only 24 hours after traveling halfway across the world (on my way back from holiday) some friends summoned me out to a quick meal in K-Town. We originally wanted to go to Sun Nong Dan but there was a huge line and they don’t allow so we went next door instead.
From my cellar: NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.
Menu on the wall.
And laminated. Lots of stews — but that’s Korean homestyle food :-).
David L brought: 2012 Deux Montille Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 91. Subtle aromas of apple and minerals. Restrained and fresh, showing lovely cut to its sexy floral and spice flavors. Finishes with a touch of phenolic bitterness that calls for some time in bottle, but this very attractive version of Preuses has the density of material to support it. I managed to leave this very successful wine out of my Chablis coverage in the last issue.
banchan (free appetizers).
Sauce for something.
Bean sprouts.
Spicy pickled stripes of some vegetable, or maybe squid. I liked ’em.
Cucumbers.
Kimchi.
Sweet bean curd.
Spicy pickled radish.
Marinated potato. Slightly sweet.
Baby asparagus and sausage.
Spinach fried dumplings. Very hot and crispy. Nice texture, but not super exciting.
From my cellar: 2002 Maison Leroy Bourgogne-Grand-Ordinaire. 93 points. Balanced and complex. Medium body. Very nice
Spicy beef stew. A bit less sweet than next door. Beef short ribs with potatoes and rice noodle tubes. Yummy!
Spicy pork sparerib stew. Same sauce (and everything else) except for having pork ribs. A bit more “savory” and spareribby than the beef.
Yarom brought: 2008 Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture Gudarrà Riserva. 90 points. I thought this tasted like Aglianico. It’s from Basilcata down in the very south part of Italy. A nice volcanic wine.
Spicy noodles with lots of stuff. I think they describe it as “mixed thick cold noodle.” Basically the same stuff as bibimbap but noodles instead of rice.
It got a special “hand job” (with gloves).
Here it is mixed up. Not bad at all.
Kimchi pancake. I like the Korean seafood pancakes better. This one was a little bland.
Seb brought: 2015 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. 92 points. SO heavy and modern — tasted like grape juice with oak and vanilla extract.
Spicy sweet and sour chicken. Not spicy at all, and very sticky, but quite delicious.
Ox bone soup with beef brisket and noodle. Very bland beef and noodle soup. Just collagen basically from cooked bones. Not my thing, but it’s “what it’s supposed to be” for this dish. I had to dump a bunch of spicy sauce in. Beef was pretty good though.
Overall, a nice casual Korean place with some variety on the menu (mostly soups and stews) and they were really really friendly. Plus they allowed wine.
Afterward we headed down the street for some rolled ice cream!
Restaurant: Shaking Crab
Location: 203 Adams St, Newton, MA 02458. (617) 795-1630
Date: October 19, 2017
Cuisine: Korean Cajun
Rating: Solid and spicy
During my Boston visit some of my friends took me to Shaking Crab, a “cajun” seafood joint. Interestingly, it’s EXACTLY like the LA area Boiling Crab.
The menu.
My MIT friends.
Onion rings.
Salty shisito peppers. This batch wasn’t very hot.
A sort of long island ice tea kind of thing with Bourbon.
The meat of the meal is all served in plastic bags. Seafood soaked in garlicky chili sauce. You can chose from 4 sauces and various heat levels.
This was Dungeness Crab. A bit hard to break into.
Lobster tails. Hard to get out.
“Blue Crab” and cajun sausage. Max spicy. It wasn’t that spicy, the sausage was small, and I’m pretty sure that isn’t blue crab. Still, it was pretty tasty (shells and all).
Shrimp and clams. Really liked the clams. The shrimp tasted good but were a touch annoying to peel. We paid extra for no heads – worth.
This place is tasty, and reasonable (for all that seafood). But it is a mess. They give you bibs, gloves, etc. And the staff was very helpful. He helped crab the crab and shuck some stuff. Still it’s messy. One of my favorite parts was the garlicky slurry with the Dungeness Crab. It tasted just like XO sauce.
Restaurant: Sun Nong Dan
Location: 11712 San Vicente Blvd.Brentwood, CA 90049 310.826.9222
Date: January 18, 2017
Cuisine: Korean
Rating: Tasty!
We left our epic traditional sushi dinner the other night at Ginza Onodera a bit hungry and so headed east to Korean Town for Second Dinner!
Sun Nong Dan is a 24 place serving up delicious Korean Stews.
Typical mini-mall Korean joint interior.
The menu is essentially a couple different tunes along the same theme.
Banchan include kimchee.
Pickled radish or turnip.
Colon sweeper spicy greens.
Plus there is this dipping sauce for the meat in the main event.
Koh Galbi Jjim. Braised beef short ribs, ox tail, and a spicy red sauce. The short rib was deliciously tender. The ox tail full of flavor but much bonier. The whole thing was served at tongue searing temperatures — but the red sauce was thick, both a tad sweet and spicy at the same time and wholly delicious.
This was some seriously good spicy beef stew!
Particularly soaked over rice.
Sun Nong Dan really hit the spot after our lighter “first dinner” and I definitely DID NOT leave hungry! Note that there is no alcohol here.
Restaurant: Lee’s Noodles
Location: 401 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 351-9963
Date: November 2, 2016
Cuisine: Chinese Korean
Rating: Tasty little spot
Ah, Los Angeles is home to so many tasty Asian restaurants.
Lee’s Noodles is located in the heart of Korea Town, and while it says “Chinese Restaurant” on the sign, it’s really more Korean/Chinese or Chinese/Korean. Does this make it Yanbian? (the prefecture in China between North Korea and China). I’m not sure. Or maybe it’s just the kind of food made by Chinese in Korea. Either way, let’s move on to the food.
The inside is recent, but not exactly elaborately decorated.
The menu.
And like any Korean place it comes with banchan.
Cabbage with Russian dressing. Communist influence? Just kidding.
Some fairly lame kimchee and much better yellow pickled daikon radish.
Signature Dok Dok chicken. Drumsticks with “spicy glaze.” The glaze turned out to pretty much mean honey dipped fried chicken. Absolutely delicious. Very sticky too. Hot and fresh.
Steamed dumplings with meat and kimchee. Nice light steamed potstickers. Delicate flavor.
Spicy Seafood Soup Noodles. A giant bowl of seafood and noodles drowned in the Korean “red sauce” (aka siracha-like sauce). We got it mild and it still had a bit of kick.
Pan-fried glass noodles w/ pork over rice. This turned out, along with the chicken, to be a standout. Nice woody flavor from the mushroom. A little bit sweet. Delicious.
Overall this was a super reasonable ($40 total) and extremely tasty little meal. I’ll certainly pop by again on one of my many K-Town lunches.
Restaurant: Da Jeong
Location: 3909 1/2 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 931-8900
Date: March 14, 2016
Cuisine: Korean
Rating: Great homestyle Korean
Los Angeles is blessed with a huge Korea Town and an extensive library of Korean food.
Da Jeong is a home style place that’s famous (at least among my friends) for its Korean fried chicken. But somehow I’d never tried it.
Pretty much beer friendly food.
Like any good Korean place, Da Jeong comes with an array of banchan (small usually pickled dishes). This one was a spiced pickled cucumber.
Kimchee, the classic.
Greens and onions.
Bean sprouts.
Chewy radish and peppers, vaguely chewy and quite tasty.
Little “candied” fish. Sweet, spicy, and briney.
Seafood pancake. This omelet/pancake is served with a soy sauce-like sauce. It was full of green onions and all sorts of seafood goodness. Really quite excellent.
Soy sauce shrimp. Raw or marinated prawns soaked in soy sauce. You twist off the head and chomp. As we noted, this was an “advanced” dish. Not so hardcore as the raw crab, but hardcore enough.
Fried chicken. Had to get this of course. Very crispy, with a strong Asian salt and pepper in the batter. We found it a touch mysterious which part of the chicken we were getting under all that fry, and the cuts are different than classic American breast and thigh. I’m guessing it was mostly dark meat. It was pretty darn awesome though.
Hearty Korean Spicy Beef Stew. That standard red Korean sauce with beef and cabbage and green onions and other stuff. Certainly a hearty hot stew.
Purple rice (rice with a bit of red bean).
I have to come back here with the Hedonists and a bigger gang and/or someone Korean. Food was very good and I could tell the ingredients were super fresh and the execution excellent. I don’t really know enough yet about Korean food to know how to order well, and with just the two of us we only got to try a few things — plus with portion sizes as they were we had WAY too much food.
Restaurant: Feng Mao Lamb Kebab
Location1: 3901 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 935-1099
Location2: 414 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 388-9299
Date: October 26, 2015 & April 25, 2016 & October 14, 2019
Cuisine: Korean
Rating: Really tasty
Los Angeles is blessed with America’s largest Korea-town, and as such we have so many fabulous Korean dining options.
Feng Mao has a tremendous menu of Korean and Korean/Chinese items, including a vast array of things available for grilling.
Notice the built in ducts! (Olympic location).
And the pop up wood charcoal grills.
The private (side?) room at the Western location.
The vast menu.
2010 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard. VM 93. Ash, game, tar licorice, incense and dark cherries are some of the notes that emerge from the 2010 Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard. A pretty soft, understated wine, the 2010 also has a hint of wildness running through it. Today, the 2010 is a bit compact, but I very much like the sense of grace here. Sweet floral notes reappear on the finish, adding a burst of freshness and vivacity to a finish underpinned by lovely streaks of saline minerality. In 2010 yields were too low for Kistler to bottle the Cuvee Elizabeth Pinot. The little fruit that came in was blended into the Kistler Vineyard Pinot.
agavin: not bad for a “fake” pinot
Some flavored salt for dipping and a little mini salad.
And various other banchan. Broccoli and garlic.
Bean sprouts.
Shredded pickled spicy radish.
Peanuts.
More banchan.
Garlic cucumber. Marinated and with a nice texture.
Beef and cucumber.
Numbing stew. Very good with mala.
And looking close, pig’s blood!
Spicy beef tendon, but we wondered if tripe, too chewy.
From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage. VM 94+. Saturated ruby. Superripe aromas of blackberry, blueberry, clove, minerals and black licorice. Very ripe but precise and penetrating. At once lush and powerful; seamless but with terrific thrust. Black fruit, flint, spice and dark chocolate flavors offer considerable density and verve. Finishes with substantial noble tannins that arrive very late. Has all the elements for longevity. Give this 10 to 12 years before pulling the cork. This comes across as a bit denser than the young 2001 but not finer. The Chaves clearly did a superb job of harvesting in 2000.
agavin: WOTN for most of us, although the competition wasn’t fierce.
Plate of raw stuff ready for grilling.
And more skewers.
Beef on the left, lamb on the right. The beef was a bit sweet and fabulous. The lamb full of flavor.
2012 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles. VM 91. Deep ruby. Smoky, oak-spiced blackberry, licorice pastille and olive paste on the nose, with subtle floral and mineral nuances adding complexity. Velvety, sweet and nicely concentrated, offering dark berry liqueur and fruitcake flavors that slowly tighten up with air. Supple tannins come on late, giving shape to a long smoke- and spice-tinged finish. As approachable as this wine is today, I think that it has the material for cellaring.
They do most of the grilling here, which makes it easy.
Pork belly. Eventually this chars down to carbonized bacon.
Pork belly and lamb spareribs. Both good.
Squab or some other small bird.
Getting there.
Pork belly wrapped around enoki mushroom.
More meat and sausages.
Sausages were great. Squid was icky.
Sardines!
Condiments for the skewers.
Steamed egg. I love this kind of simple dish.
2009 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT. VM 91. Deep red with ruby highlights. Reticent aromas of raspberry, red cherry and chocolate. Then large-scaled, fat and chunky on the palate, with highly concentrated red fruit and herbal flavors showing creamy depth and noteworthy persistence. This rather powerful wine stains the palate on the long, ripely tannic finish. I would have liked a bit more finesse, but many drinkers will love this.
Jellyfish salad with meat, veggies etc.
The mustard sauce is mixed in. Great stuff.
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2004 Torbreck Descendant. Parker 98. The 2004 Descendant, an old oak-aged blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier from a 12-year old vineyard, offers up notes of blackberries, ink, sweet truffles, and acacia flowers. There are 1,000 cases of this full-bodied, intense, rich blockbuster. It will drink well for 10-15 years.
Bean curd “pasta” with chili. Delicious.
Stir fried mushrooms.
Steamed pork dumplings. Good, although I’ve certainly had better.
Sauce for the dumplings.
2005 Favia Cerro Sur. 93 points. Cherry, bell pepper, cedar, and licorice on the nose. Lot’s of strawberry and cherry jam on the palate which heat/spice from the alcohol. Beware, this is a fruit bomb.
Fried sweet and sour pork. Almost certainly the best sweet and sour pork I’ve had. We got 2-3 orders. Super scalding and delicious.
Purple rice.
Eggs and zucchini. Light and mild.
2004 Sean Thackrey Petite Sirah Sirius Eaglepoint Ranch. 92 points. Color is very dark. Medium legs with a silky mouthfeel. This is the oldest Sirius in my cellar and is drinking really well right now. A classic Thackrey version of petite sirah. Always one of my favorites.
agavin: more balanced and not as overwhelming, good.
Spicy fried eggplant. Yum!
Pan fried pork dumplings. Doughy, but I liked them even better than the steamed.
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2010 Saxum Terry Hoage Vineyard. Parker 95+. The 2010 Terry Hoage Vineyard is a blend of 46% Syrah, 33% Grenache, and 21% Mourvedre that comes from Jennifer and Terry Hoage’s west side Paso vineyard. Less gamey than when tasted from barrel, it offers up a pure, beautifully fresh bouquet of red and black fruits, spring flowers, ground pepper, leather, and wet stone-like minerality that flows to a rich, fabulously concentrated, and textured palate. Showing the savory, mineral characteristics of the vintage, as well as noticeable underlying tannin, this gorgeous effort needs short-term cellaring, and will thrill for over a decade.
agavin: needed about a decade more time!
Fish filets boiled in chili oil. Feng Mao’s take on this classic Szechuan dish was awesome.
Lots of numbing chili oil heat! Great with rice.
Glass noodles. Mild and good.
Crispy potato pancake. Like a Korean latke.
Seafood pancake. Yummy!
Egg with chives. Awesome. Seems so simple, but tons of flavor.
Cumin chicken bones. Just ok.
Shredded pork with cilantro. pretty good.
Clams with brown sauce.
Spicy noodle soup. Very nice, with a pleasant, medium spicy broth and nice thin egg noodles.
Fried chicken. This was actually from next door at Da Jeong. Many in our party claim this is the best fried chicken ever.
Overall, this was a great meal. Really tasty and nearly every dish was good. The price was right too, as it was $30 each all in (including tax and tip). Service was great and they have a big menu, so I’ll have to return to sample even more goodies.
The food is partially Korean, partially Chinese — or at least from the border realms between the two areas. Since I love both, that’s all good!
After all, we didn’t even order the bull penis (it’s on the menu).
Restaurant: Gwang Yang Korean BBQ
Location: 3435 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 123. Los Angeles, CA 90010. (213) 385-5600
Date: February 2, 2015
Cuisine: Korean BBQ
Rating: Very good high end KBBQ, if a little pricy
The K-town Korean BBQ places have been growing increasingly high end of late. I recently tried out Madang 621 and now my Hedonist gang has descended on the new Gwang Yang.
Located in one of these high-rise plazas across the street from the every popular Boiling Crab. The sign claims someone thinks it’s the best restaurant in Seoul.
The interior is sleek, with a whole lot of glass caged private rooms. We took two! Sort of. The Hedonists had one an loosely associated non-wine foodie group had another.
The menu.
NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut. IWC 90. Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith.
No Korean place could look at itself in the mirror without banchan, the little (often) pickled sides placed on the table and infinity refilled. Gwang Yang has only four, all classic.
Kimchi. The most classic of the classics.
Potato salad. Sweet. Actually pretty good.
2000 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling Kabinett. 89 points. A nice mix of acidity and sweetness.
Korean glass noodles. Vaguely sweet, I like these.
Seasoned Korean Spinach.
From my cellar: 2003 Weingut Graben-Gritsch Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Schön. 89 points. Nose of lychee pineapple lemon, creamy lemon and peach on the palate. Bright acidity medium finish with a bit of an herby quality.
agavin: Korean food can be a hard wine match and I wanted some white to start. This mildly aged Gruner hit the spot. It’s complex and almost herby/spicy fruit allows it to handle the pervasive Korean red chili.
Korean salad.
2011 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. 92 points. The wine has a beautiful garnet color, light in the glass with almost no legs. The nose was light with hints of fruit and minerals. A light fruity taste that is tart and not sweet and a smooth texture. The finish is long and the wine really improved with air and I probably opened this years to soon. A very nice Pinot.
agavin: there was a tiny touch of “funny” to our bottle, may have blown off later.
A spicy bean and seaweed salad. Quite nice.
2012 Seven of Hearts Pinot Noir Curmudgeon Cuvée Armstrong Vineyard. IWC 92. Dark red. Delicate, focused aromas of red berries, potpourri and Asian spices, with a bright mineral nuance adding lift. Fresh and lively on the palate, offering tangy raspberry and strawberry flavors that show very good energy, lift and cut. A fresh, elegant, weightless pinot that finishes with very good energy and drive and silky tannins. This racy, balanced wine puts on weight with air but maintains a sense of elegance and restraint.
Gwang Yang Bulgogi. Gangnam Style. Do your best horse trot dance. This is the famous marinated beef without bones.
It’s just grilled up straight in a big pile.
Some accompaniments. Garlic, pepper, and a fermented miso bean paste that I really loved — not too different than natto.
2008 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. IWC 91. Vivid red. Strawberry, raspberry and spicecake on the nose, with a sexy sandalwood quality. In a distinctly vibrant style, with the sexy spice and red berry qualities following through in the mouth. Sappy and fine-grained wine, finishing on a suave note of candied flowers. This will be the last vintage for this wine.
American Kobe Yukhwoe. Korean style beef tartar. Green stuff. With both heat and a bit of sweetness and an intense texture invoking the slimy with a bit of crunch. Really wonderful.
2012 Morin Pere et fils Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc. 85 points. Light fruity pinot young and bright. Don’t expect a Burgundy. Perfect with light meals and cheese.
Yook Jeon. Beef pancake. With green onion salad.
1980 Château Trotanoy. 92 points. Starts off a bit strange and quite unpleasant with a big cheesy whiff and some strong volatility on the nose. A big shake in the decanter and it improves immeasurably. There are notes of black olive, leather and there’s a pleasant floral perfume. In the mouth it is lightly creamy and there is cassis fruit sweetness. Tannins are chewy on the finish and it is fresh and vibrant.
agavin: ours was a little stirred up and cloudy, but was surprisingly decent for such a shitty old vintage.
Gwang Yang Bulgogi. LA Style. More marinated and sweeter than the Gangnam style. We all liked this better. You eat it cooked on the grill.
2000 Monbousquet. Parker 93. Although still youthful, I do not think the 2000 Monbousquet will develop much more complexity. It is a seductive, rich, generously endowed effort revealing plenty of spice box, herb, black currant, kirsch, espresso, and toasty oak characteristics in a decidedly modern, but opulent, fleshy style. Enjoy this endearing, long, velvety-textured St.-Emilion over the next decade.
agavin: great wine, although more like a big Cal Cab than a Bord, and very young. Tons of round fruit though.
Prime YangNyeom-Galbi. Marinated Prime Beef Short Ribs.
Grilled up as usual. When cooked, these were tender, fatty, free of bone, and absolutely scrumptious. Clearly my favorite. Others were split between liking these and the LA Style Bulgogi best.
1989 Couly-Dutheil Chinon La Baronnie Madeleine. 91 points. Fresh, but dry and dusty in that Cab Franc way.
Dolsot Bibimbap. Hot stone Bibimbap. Vegetables and egg over rice in a hot stone pot.
You dump in some hot sauce and mix it all up. Great stuff.
From my cellar: 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage la Chapelle. Parker 92. The 1996 Hermitage La Chapelle is immensely impressive. The acidity is high. The color is black/purple, and the wine is extremely concentrated, but unevolved and impossible to penetrate. It could turn out like the 1983 and never develop as well as its early promise suggests. Nevertheless, it is a massive effort with extraordinary concentration, but the high acidity requires a minimum of 10 years of cellaring.
agavin: Most of us thought this the WOTN. Just a really nice solid mature (but not old) Syrah. Tons of ripe fruit.
Pa Jeon. Assorted seafood and veggie pancake. Like Korean okonomiyaki.
2009 Chapoutier Hermitage la Sizeranne. Parker 90-94. For starters, there are 1,627 cases of the 2009 Ermitage Monier de la Sizeranne. Lots of peppery, meaty notes are found in this dense purple-colored 2009 along with sweet tannin, a full-bodied, layered mouthfeel and outstanding purity. Three to five years of cellaring will be beneficial, and the wine should keep for two decades.
agavin: a baby. Clearly a great Syrah, but a total baby.
An extra order of LA style (so you can seek it cooked).
Red rice. Red beans and rice.
2012 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon. 89 points. Nose: Medium expressiveness, kirsch, black berry, and cassis. Palate: Full bodied, sweet dark fruit attack, decent balance, starts strong up front and dissipates quickly from the mid-palate thru the back-end. Clean and smooth from front to back just lacks mid-palate density. Finish: Medium length dominated by subtle, but tasty, dark fruit and spice. For a Napa Cabernet you pretty much get what you pay for here.
Buljip Saeng Samgyepsal. Samgyepsal-sliced Kuro Pork Belly.
It’s grilled up with onions and kimchi.
Reducing.
And reducing.
Finally the fatty bits can be eaten inside these big lettuce pieces.
2006 Carlisle Zinfandel Pietro’s Ranch. IWC 92. Deep ruby. Explosive blackberry and candied raspberry aromas are complicated by rose, violet and lavender. Juicy and fresh, with vibrant dark berry flavors, silky texture and a big jolt of baking spices on the back end. Impressively fresh, pure and sappy zinfandel with outstanding finishing lift and thrust.
Eundaeku Jeongsik. Grilled black cod with spices and potatoes. Really good stuff. The cod was super flavorful and tender.
A kind of sweet roasted cold tea. Kinda yummy actually.
Here is about a third of our private room.
Overall, Gwang Yang did serve up some of the best K-BBQ I’ve had — and we had a LOT of food. It wasn’t cheap though, as the Korean places down the food chain are often very reasonable. Although it should be noted that while our table was $110 a head all in, the non-wine group in the next room over hit only $50-60. Of course they didn’t waddle out like we did.
And, lacking dessert, we waddled across the street to this interesting dessert stand.
The options basically involve a small set of ingredients, mostly the “True Milk Ice Cream.” As far as I can tell, it’s not cream at all, but ice milk, ice cream’s less creamy cousin.
And a lot of fresh honeycomb.
Honeymee. True milk ice cream and fresh honeycomb.
Dear. True milk ice cream, Ghiradelli chocolate sauce, and sprinkles of French sea salt.
Restaurant: Madang 621
Location: 621 Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005. (213) 384-2244
Date: January 9, 2015
Cuisine: Korean BBQ
Rating: Beefy fun
I haven’t actually been out to dedicated Korean BBQ in Korea town for quite a long time, at least not in the five years I’ve been photoing my food. So when it popped up as a dinner suggestion I consulted the recommendations of my ultra foodie (and Korean) friend Liz Lee.
Which brought us to Madang 621, located in the heart of K-Town. This elaborate mall (and the restaurant) has an elegant and extensive buildout.
Check out the spacious interior. This is no hole in the wall.
But stylish with a modern Asian aesthetic.
The menu is equally elegant and elaborate.
From my cellar: 2003 Weingut Graben-Gritsch Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Schön. 89 points. Nose of lychee pineapple lemon, creamy lemon and peach on the palate. Bright acidity medium finish with a bit of an herby quality.
agavin: Korean food can be a hard wine match and I wanted some white to start. This mildly aged Gruner hit the spot. It’s complex and almost herby/spicy fruit allows it to handle the pervasive Korean red chili.
PA JUN
파전[PA JUN] Pancake w/scallion choice of vegetarian, Seafood or kimchi. This one is vegetable. Like a thick “meatier” version of a traditional Chinese scallion pancake. Served with a soy based dipping sauce.
No Korean place could look at itself in the mirror without banchan, the little (often) pickled sides placed on the table and infinity refilled.
Kimchi. The classic.
Dried spicy crispy shrimp. One of my two favorites. This was quite chewy and crispy, with a little heat and a dried shrimp vibe that isn’t for lightweights.
Seasoned Korean Spinach.
Potato salad. Sweet with raisons and some other bits. Actually pretty good.
Spicy vegetable. A kind of kimchi I guess, probably daikon? I liked this better than the regular one because of its chewy/crunchy texture.
Broccoli.
Mung Bean Sprouts.
Spicy squid. This was one of my favorites. It was like chewy spicy squid spaghetti.
2007 Xavier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Anonyme. Parker 96. Except for Henri Bonneau’s 2007 Reserve des Celestins (which is still in barrel), the last 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape to be released will be Xavier Vignon’s Anonyme. This sensational wine spent three years in a combination of demi-muids and small oak. It boasts an inky/purple color along with a sweet nose of underbrush, garrigue, licorice, blackberries and black currants. Full, thick, unctuously textured and even flamboyant, this stunning 2007 should drink well for another 15-20 years.
agavin: very young and still in that grapey stage, there are no flaws I could detect in this wine. Very smooth with a lovely finish. A little too much oak still, but really a fabulous CNDP.
We ordered this big array of meats and seafood for three people. Actually we had four, but it worked out fine. All of this stuff is cooked up on the BBQ at your table.
There are two types of sauce. The same two are pictured here, but they are of a similar color and both fairly mild and oily. I would have preferred a bit of the sweet soy stuff they have at Yakaniku places.
KOBE KOT DESUNG SIM
고베 꽃등심[KOBE KOT DESUNG SIM] Sliced fresh kobe beef rib eye.
A very rich (aka fatty) cut of wagyu rib eye. Cooked down to fun little morsels of beef and fat.
MADANG GAL BI
마당갈비 [MADANG GAL BI] Marinated prime beef short rib with bone.
I probably like the Gal Bi slightly better, and that is often one of my favorit KBBQ cuts. It’s meatier I guess. Certainly well marbled.
The scallops were also awesome, particularly when lightly seared.
Korean salad. I always find the Korean dressing a little oily.
GYE RAN JJIM
계란찜[GYE RAN JJIM] Steamed soft egg tofu
With fish roe and scallions. I usually love steamed egg dishes and this was no exception with a nice light fluffy texture.
DUK MANDU GOOK
떡만두국[DUK MANDU GOOK] Beef dumplings and sliced rice cake in a hearty beef broth with egg & scallion.
One of those nice mild soups. The broth was very tasty and the stuff too, particularly the dumplings.
Overall, Madang served up a really nice meal and it was a fun experience. It’s a lovely setting. The food was of very high quality with first class meats and ingredients. The service was very friendly but a bit “sluggish,” particularly in the end where it must have been 45-60 minutes to get the check. I liked all the sides and extras also. My one comment is that I like the Yakaniku dipping sauce (ala Manpuku or Totoraku) better. It’s just less oily with more flavor.
Next door at Boba-time we grabbed some “dessert” with the Asian teenagers.
Cookies and Cream with boba. Tasted like melted cookies and cream ice cream!
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