Chicago korean, so far.. (almost long)

W00T. first post (well, second.. but.. this one required thinking)

Want to say that I still distinctly remember the Rib Tip trip w/ GW/ReneG/RST, etc. this past spring during my temp stay in Chicago-land. You all have forever impressed me. I actually moved to Chicago in August, sans employment, and extensive chowing has become a wee bit difficult. Thanks to Erik M's menu, I've had a few excellent cheap meals @ TAC quick. Thanks to CH in general I've become ALMOST a regular @ Ginza on Ohio. But moving on to Korean.

So far, I've visited Jang Mo Nim, Kang Nam, Hai Woon Dae, the Soon Dea (korean blood sausage) place on Lawrence east of Kedzie at which i'm SURE no one on chowhound has ever dined, 24hr "Korean Restaurant" on Lawrence, and finally Lincoln Noodle House today...

I dunno man.. LNH... so much hype... so lil quality, so much quantity. Pathetic panchan - did i taste MINT in the dicon kimchee??? The yuk gae jang was just so wrong, altho there were amusing mandoo the size of alien spaceships in the mandoo gook. It saddens me only 24hr Korean has satisfied my panchan requirements for a proper Korean meal. I just haven't had that 'pretty darn good' well priced Korean dinner that I've come to expect in LA (and heck, even Flushing, NYC, because, afterall, you CAN get out of Kum Gang Sang for under $18). If only 24hr Korean had ai jigae..

Next on my list is San Chae Dolsot because my gf is such a burnt rice afficionado, the new(er) restaurant (Solga?) on Lincoln south of LNH? and finally, my Korean mecca, FDLT which we're saving for a special occasion.

If anyone has any more rec's, I'd highly appreciate it.

Hi,

I am offering advice without knowing the name, which I will edit in once someone reminds me what it is. Just north of Lawrence on Kedzie on the east side is an L-shaped strip mall. In the bottom segment of the L are two Korean places worth visiting: one is a Korean grocery store which people like Erik M advise has the best take-out panchan in the city. Immediately next door is a Korean BBQ restaurant with weird apple green walls and model planes suspended from the ceiling. If you have two people, you can cook at the table. If you are solo, then they want to cook it in the kitchen. I believe Zim has favored this place, which also features a generous panchan. (I will edit later and add links once the name is recalled!)

Garden Buffet is on Lincoln Avenue north of Foster in an L-shaped strip mall. There you pay approximately $20 (maybe slightly more) for all you can eat Korean BBQ. The raw meats & seafood, panchan, dumplings, soups, even some sushi are available from a buffet. If you do go, then don't forget the cold cinnamon soup near the large containers of rice for dessert.

I was recently at the 24-Hour Korean restaurant on Lawrence for an odd hour meal with my favorite partner in this pursuit: Psychchef. We met him and Extramsg for a meal commencing at 10 PM on a Tuesday evening and breaking up around 12:30. They certainly do provide quite a numerous selection of panchan though in smaller quantities than usual. Of course, when I wanted repeats they were available for the asking. They also didn't shy away from one of my favorite panchans: 'Little Dead Fish' which are like dried guppies served dry or in a light dressing. Anyway, I also like getting the seafood pancake, which with rice, is a meal all by itself though it is always on the menu as an appetizer.

At the bottom of the memorable post are a number of Korean restaurants to explore.

Here are the list of addresses, please note some I have not commented on but there are links to other's comments:

Chicago Food Corp. (Korean market)
3333 N. Kimball Ave.
Chicago, IL
(773) 478-5566

Garden Buffet
5347 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL
773-728-1249

Korean Express
330 South Wells Street
(312) 986-8009

Shin Jung Restaurant
1747 Gold Rd. (corner of Golf and Busse Roads)
Mt. Prospect
847-439-1166

Tony,

The place Cathy is thinking of, and one that I was going to recommend to you, along with San Chae Dolsot, as having the best dolsot in Chicago, is Kang Nam Galbi, though Kang Nam only has one type of dolsot, BiBim Bop.

Both Kang Nam and San Chae have quite good panchan as well.

Here is something I posted a while back about Kang Nam.

Enjoy,
Gary
--

Kang Nam for Dolsot BiBim Bop

I have been meaning to post about the incredible Dolsot BiBim Bop at Kang Nam on Kedzie. Kang Nam has the best, yes best, even better than San Cho Dolsot on Lawrence, Dorsot BiBim Bop I have ever had the pleasure of burning my tongue on. It was a full 25-minutes before I could eat the damn thing, but the rice on the bottom of the stone pot was incredibly crisp and delicious, almost sweet with caramelization and the meat and vegetables were tender and moist. They also served an egg on top that, somehow, did not turn to rubber, it was still a bit runny after my lengthy wait to eat the dolt.

Kang Nam is actually known for their Korean BBQ, it is Zim's current favorite, but I have not had BBQ there since they switched from a buffet format to individual ordering. Kang Nam also serves Zim's Mother's favorite panchan, potato, which seemingly can be difficult to fine.

On one of my visits I vaguely remembered Zim inquiring in a past Chowhound thread as to the exact Korean name of the potato panchan so as I was paying the bill I asked the waitress to please write down the name.

After she consulted with the owner, he came up to me and, slowly, said ooooootaaaaato. I asked him to repeat this, so, even slower, he intoned, ppppppppooooooootttttttaaaato. I could not really understand him so I asked him to write it down. In clear precise block lettering he wrote, POTATO. I really thought this was funny, but did not want to laugh for fear of offending him and the very nice waitress. I then asked him to write the Korean name in English, which he did, Kam Ja.

I actually have another funny Kang Nam story that stems from when they had the meat buffet. (You selected from a wide assortment of meat to grill at your table) I inquired as to what thin roundish slices of meat were, the owner, at least I think it was the owner, immediately said, "no good, you will not like that, not for you," which, to me, is the same as waving a red cape in a bull's face, a challenge.

I took a few slices on my plate, and then asked again what exactly it was, he pointed to his genitals and snorted like a pig, giving me a pretty clear idea of what I was about to eat. Funniest thing was as soon as this thin circular slice of meat hit the heat of the grill, it sprang up into a round ball like shape, we all started laughing, the owner included. Taste wise, the pig testicle was bland and very chewy, nothing I am ever going to search out again.

As I said, I have not had kalbi there since they dropped the buffet, though I have every confidence it is excellent. Well, actually, that is not 100% true. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Mike G a month or so ago at Kang Nam and we split a Dorsot BiBim Bop and a Kalbi. For just one order of kalbi they prepare it in the kitchen on a griddle and it was just ok, though the side dishes were excellent as was the Dorsot BiBim Bop. I am most certain the made in the kitchen version pales in comparison to the live coals version at the table kalbi.

One other thing I should point out, while Kang Nam has excellent Dolsot, they only have one type. San Chae Dolsot has a wide variety of Dolsots available, including a few types of very delicious fish dolsots. San Chae Dolsot is a very good Dolsot restaurant, but I can be fickle and tend to like the one I had last, best.

Enjoy,
Gary

Kang Nam Galbi
4849 N. Kedzie
Chicago, Il
(773) 539-2524

San Chae Dolsot
3737 W Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-588-5223

I went to Kang Nam on kedzie about 3 months ago?

while the panchan was indeed plentiful, i didn't find them 'flavorful'. To be more exact, it wasn't really to my taste nor liking. Neither I nor my SO had the dolsot bibimbap there as she's already pronounced Jang Mo Nim's to be 'best' tho 'weird' since neither of us has ever had lettuce in dolsot bibimbap. I chose Kang Nam because I knew the BBQ was live charcoal.

I visit Chicago Food Corp almost weekly. I can make one of Cathy2's fave panchan muochee - lil fish - at home. So I believe the search plentiful yet flavorful panchan continues...

BTW, after 2 meals, i do not find food @ LTH to be exciting. Maybe I need to eat w/ you guys next time.

Cathy2 wrote:I am offering advice without knowing the name, which I will edit in once someone reminds me what it is. Just north of Lawrence on Kedzie on the east side is an L-shaped strip mall. In the bottom segment of the L are two Korean places worth visiting: one is a Korean grocery store which people like Erik M advise has the best take-out panchan in the city. Immediately next door is a Korean BBQ restaurant with weird apple green walls and model planes suspended from the ceiling. If you have two people, you can cook at the table. If you are solo, then they want to cook it in the kitchen. I believe Zim has favored this place, which also features a generous panchan. (I will edit later and add links once the name is recalled!)

Perhaps I could help. I know of a Korean grocery store (in the NE corner of a strip mall north of Lawrence on Kedzie) that's also next to some BBQ restaurant. It's called Clark Market, and it's located at 4853 N. Kedzie Ave. (773-479-2262) Here's a Monica Eng reference on Metromix from 2002:

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/dini ... .htmlstory

Just remember to make sure the bottled kimchee's the way you like it.

--The Snob

Hi Snob,

Since I don't quite remember the name but recognize your description, I am fairly confident you have identified the market place.

I have to admit to being influenced by our posts this evening. I just returned from a fine meal at Garden Buffet. After an appetizer of sushi and fried mandu, we concentrated on grilling. We especially like the marinated Galbi (Kalbi?) which is a 3-4 inch long bone with a long, long strip of meat, which is portioned with a scissor and grilled. We would take a green lettuce leaf, spread it with soybean paste, some green onions, and beef. Fold it all together and eat. This is not an eat and run dinner, you eat, linger and eat some more.

On the buffet was fresh mackeral, which CrazyC mentioned sometime ago as tasting less strong when cooked to near char. I guess 'less strong' is in the eye of the beholder, I ate one bite and retired from the adventure.

P.S. To Snob: I had a neighbor who drove a Saab, her license plate was SNAAAB and she looked the part!

to clear up a little confusion - the grocery store both Cathy2 and ffsnob mentioned is Clark Market (whose banchan I like a lot better than chicago food) and the adjacent bbq is kang nam. I've had the dolsot bibimbap at both kang nam and jang mo nim, and while I like jang mo nim's, I prefer kang nam's by a fair margin.

I'll confess to not eating a lot of korean food recently (mainly bc my wife is veggie and she prefers not to dine on side dishes - maybe someone can help me out with more veggie korean options for her)

but here are some other choices for tony c:

I like Da Rae Jung on lincoln for naeng myon (i'm told they make it n. korean style, though I'm not an expert), kokeeri (elephant) on lawrence for mandoo, so gong dong on bryn mawr for tofu soup. From grocery stores I like the clear cabbage kimchee sold in the back counter at arirang, and I like the PaJun omelet thingies from the back of akai hana grocery on milwaukee and golf when they come out fresh. the sol rae tang at han bat (next to the penguin) didn't do a lot for me but a number of korean friends like it quite a bit.

RST and gary have also mentioned the chicken/ginseng soup at ssyal ginseng on lawrence.

are they as good as comparable in LA or flushing - can't say - I havent' had korean food in those locales, but they have worked for me in the past. YMMV.

btw, Gary - the potato panchan is gamcha jorim.

BTW, after 2 meals, i do not find food @ LTH to be exciting. Maybe I need to eat w/ you guys next time.

Meanwhile, you can consult this link, featuring typical Gary menu selection with photos.

zim wrote:to clear up a little confusion - the grocery store both Cathy2 and ffsnob mentioned is Clark Market (whose banchan I like a lot better than chicago food) and the adjacent bbq is kang nam. I've had the dolsot bibimbap at both kang nam and jang mo nim, and while I like jang mo nim's, I prefer kang nam's by a fair margin.

Ah, so that's Kang Nam... I've only been to the Market myself; I had no idea what I was missing out on. Actually, I do have a confession to make: I'm an Americanized Korean "kid" who tends to prefer thin crust pizza to bibim bap. (Heresy, I know.) So a lot of Korean restaurant talk is familiar to me, even if I can't quite explain or translate everything on the menu. But one of the food blogs I really enjoy reading is FatMan Seoul, especially when the kind man who's responsible updates and the numerous mouth-watering links to photos aren't broken. The outsider/Westerner's perspective if often illuminating. Check it out for tons of Korean food explanations and English transliterations:

http://www.fatman-seoul.blogspot.com/

zim wrote:I like Da Rae Jung on lincoln for naeng myon (i'm told they make it n. korean style, though I'm not an expert), kokeeri (elephant) on lawrence for mandoo, so gong dong on bryn mawr for tofu soup.

I believe there is a Pyongyang Restaurant that also serves the noodles North-Korean style (obviously), but I'd have to look it up in the Korean directory (offered at certain Korean grocers and such at certain times of the year) for other info. (Okay, I looked it up and found such a place on 5828 N. Lincoln - 773.506-1065 - but I didn't want to vouch for the quality. I'm usually not comfortable going to Korean restaurants by myself.)

I have to defer to my parents when my knowledge falls short, but I do like my meat. Ka(r)lbi has that kind of R-sound at the end of the first syllable, mainly due to the fact that Korean, like most other Asian languages, doesn't really have a dedicated L-consonant. It is a phonetic alphabet, however, which makes learning to read and pronounce words pretty easy in comparison to decrypting menus composed of Chinese characters (if you're not Chinese). I am pretty lazy when it comes to live-coal grilling, however; I usually cop out with kitchen-cooked meat to avoid the meat-flipping work. (More heresy!) Having other people around to cook ribs and whatnot definitely helps.

I should also thank Cathy2 (and, by extension, David Hammond) for recommending Maxwell Street Depot off 290 in Bridgeport. I was in the neighborhood visiting friends this past weekend, and I had the good fortune to try their Polish and pork chop sandwich. Nothing mind-blowing (maybe I should've grabbed a few of their sizeable hot/sport peppers), but I did appreciate the value (free fries with each order; about $2.60 each, including tax). I definitely see a double cheeseburger in my future. [Correction: I may have gone to the wrong "Maxwell Street" establishment! My apologies to Cathy2 (and, by extension, David Hammond).] The Backyard Grill also provided a tasty gyros sandwich over on Pulaski and Devon. Try it if you're driving through.

--The Snob

zim wrote:I like Da Rae Jung on lincoln for naeng myon (i'm told they make it n. korean style, though I'm not an expert), kokeeri (elephant) on lawrence for mandoo, so gong dong on bryn mawr for tofu soup. From grocery stores I like the clear cabbage kimchee sold in the back counter at arirang, and I like the PaJun omelet thingies from the back of akai hana grocery on milwaukee and golf when they come out fresh. the sol rae tang at han bat (next to the penguin) didn't do a lot for me but a number of korean friends like it quite a bit.

Zim,

I went to Cho Son Oak last evening with RevAndy, Lana, Rev's mother and Ellen and, among other dishes we had quite good Bibim neang myeon. The Galbi was good, very flavorful, though cooked in the kitchen, but the real standout was Jju Kku Mi Gui, baby octopus cooked at the table (portable burner) on a stone pan.

First you cook, and eat, the octopus mixture, including whole cloves of garlic, then a veg mix is added to the pan, cooked a bit, the rice mixed in. Jju Kku Mi Gui is quite good and the main reason I would return to Cho Sun Oak. Oh, did I mention the rice at the bottom of the stone pan gets very crisp? The crisp bits are slightly difficult to get out of the pan, but very delicious.

Cho Sun Oak's panchan was good, though I had to specifically ask for the small dried fish, and their PaJun was flavorful, though not quite up to my current favorite of Solga. We also stopped at the Penguin, the Sabayon, Dulce de leche, dulce de leche with nuts and Ferrero rocher were very fresh and really quite wonderful.

I should point out that I inquired as to what was made that day or in the last day or so, frankly there were a few flavors that were so badly crystallized it was visible through the case. If one asks what's fresh, and this is not for Zim, but others who may have never been to the Penguin, you will be rewarded with delicious gelato.

zim wrote:RST and gary have also mentioned the chicken/ginseng soup at ssyal ginseng on lawrence.
btw, Gary - the potato panchan is gamcha jorim.

Mike G wrote an excellent post, w/pictures, on Ssyal, which can be found Here.

Gamcha Jorim, huuuum, not POTATO.

Enjoy,
Gary

fastfoodsnob wrote:I believe there is a Pyongyang Restaurant that also serves the noodles North-Korean style (obviously), but I'd have to look it up in the Korean directory (offered at certain Korean grocers and such at certain times of the year) for other info. (Okay, I looked it up and found such a place on 5828 N. Lincoln - 773.506-1065 - but I didn't want to vouch for the quality. I'm usually not comfortable going to Korean restaurants by myself.)

Snob,

Pyongyang is no more, it's now Solga restaurant. Solga has only been open a few months, I've been twice, and aside from the slightly odd practice of using both live coals and gas for the BBQ, and when the coals run out the flame is only gas, I like the place.

Both Mike G and myself have posted on Solga, w/pictures, you can find the thread Here

Enjoy,
Gary

TonyC wrote:So far, I've visited Jang Mo Nim, Kang Nam, Hai Woon Dae, the Soon Dea (korean blood sausage) place on Lawrence east of Kedzie at which i'm SURE no one on chowhound has ever dined, 24hr "Korean Restaurant" on Lawrence, and finally Lincoln Noodle House today...

I dunno man.. LNH... so much hype... so lil quality, so much quantity. Pathetic panchan - did i taste MINT in the dicon kimchee??? The yuk gae jang was just so wrong, altho there were amusing mandoo the size of alien spaceships in the mandoo gook.

Tony,

In reference to Lincoln Noodle, I really like the place, inexpensive, fresh, lots of different flavors. My wife loves, and I mean actually craves, the Mul-Man-Doo, small steamed dumplings, and loves the hot chili paste mixed with dried fish. LNH also has, though you have to ask, Korean blood sausage. Only way I found this out was I saw it being served and politely said "gimme some a dat"

I wrote a review of LNH, which I will add to the end of this post. It may be a little out of date, I think they changed the menu numbers, but my enthusiasm for LNH has not diminished in the least.

Any time you'd like to go to 'Little' Three Happiness I'm but an email away.

Enjoy,
Gary
--

Lincoln Noodle House:

My wife Ellen and I started with a secret menu, I know I just got Vital Information's attention, order of kim chee pizza. Kim chee pizza is actually a Korean style pancake, I think they used mung bean flour batter, mixed with kimchee and pan fried, slightly oily, but very delicious.

Our next course was Mul-Man-Doo (#32), which are small broiled meat filled dumplings that are really quite addictive. Though the Mul-Man-Doo are served with a dipping sauce ask for the hot sauce, which is actually a small bowl of hot chili paste mixed with dried fish and various other mystery ingredients, slightly salty, but quite addictive.

Next we had O-Moo Rice (#25) with vegetables. This was a clean flavored blend of white rice, peas, diced carrots/yellow squash/zucchini/onion, covered with a thin omelet and striped with Dave Hammond's favorite condiment, ketchup. The flavor of the veggies really came though and even though the menu says fried rice, there is no evidence of excessive oil.

Next up was pork Ton Katsu (#27) which was greaseless fried breaded pork served with a small shredded salad, a lonely slice of tomato, rice and dipping sauce.

We were also served simple panchan of kim chee and kim chee radish and yellow pickled dakion and two bowls of hot clearish broth with scallion. Barley tea comes with the meal as well.

We have been going to LNH for a few years and have tried many of their offerings, a few other favorites are Zuk-Suk Tuk-Bok-Ki (#2), rice cake with hot sauce and loads of veggies cooked on a portable burner right at the table.

LNH also has a very acceptable version of Bi-Bim-Bap, which, if you can get the waitress to understand your wish, can be cooked in a stone pot so the rice on the bottom crisps up. Though that is only a 3 to 5 shot due to no mutual language.

OK, down to brass tacks, what was the damage for dinner, remember this was 4-courses with 2-soups, rice, salad and panchan, not to mention barley tea. $18.45, with tax, before tip. etc.

I should also point out that while conversation with the waitress is impossible, they are uniformly friendly, and the service is quite good. LNH is spotless as well and they even have a small parking lot.

Enjoy,
Gary

Lincoln Noodle House
5862 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL. 60659
773-275-8847

Here are a few more links I found to Korean food resources online. Ben's Matrix offers a useful intro to Basic Korean for English speakers. The first part to this guide actually goes over the alphabet and so forth, so actually reading the menu (in Korean) may be possible with a little practice. (The following links were found on the FatMan Seoul site.) Another translated page features transliterated pronunciations, descriptions, and the occasional word origins. Visiting this text-only page may have saved some potato-embarrassment with its entry on "gamja tang = [literally] potato stew..." (but wasted a perfectly good story opportunity). Finally, this somewhat illustrated menu may provide a decent overview of various Korean staples, relative spiciness, and average price.

Just the links (in order):
http://www.bensmatrix.com/culture/basickorean2.html
http://www.bensmatrix.com/culture/basickorean.html
http://efl.htmlplanet.com/kor_food.htm
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/cgi-bin/menu.cfm

FastFoodSnob wrote:I should also thank Cathy2 (and, by extension, David Hammond) for recommending Maxwell Street Depot off 290 in Bridgeport.

HI,

I have never recommended Maxwell Street Depot (MSD), I am firmly in the Jim's Original Polish court. However, that you are confused is not surprising. Jim's and MSD are owned by rival cousins; who probably have seen each other at Weddings and Funerals if at all.

Jim's Original Polish has only two locations: Just east Dan Ryan expressway exit for 95th Street and on the frontage road to the Dan Ryan at Roosevelt Road (south and west of the bridge).

At the Roosevelt and frontage road location are the two rivalling cousins: Maxwell Street Express or Depot and Jim's Original. If you have someone with you sometime, then buy one Polish at Jim's and the other at MSD. There is a substantial difference in taste with Jim the clear winner in my opinion.

I am a cheerleader for Jim's because I fear for their survival. YOu will see substantially more foot traffic at MSD than Jim's just about anytime you go. I have come round to a new theory of why this is occuring. I will provide it sometime whenever I can think of way to describe it diplomatically.

Gary,

Did you go to Cho Sun Ok at Berteau and Lincoln Avenue? If indeed it is, then I have been going there since I was 10 years old. The vanity street sign at this intersection is in honor of my Grandfather.

For years, Cho Sun Ok always brought out the little dried fish. I've noticed it is now by request and often they claim none is available. For years, I either got soup noodles or Bulgogi which I allowed them to cook on their grill. As many times as I was there, I rarely got any help with the menu. Only a book on Korean food from the library allowed any menu exploration.

By local Korean restaurant standards, Cho Sun Ok is considered one of the oldest in Chicago.

CHO Sun OK Restaurant
4200 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
773-549-5555

Cathy2 wrote:I have never recommended Maxwell Street Depot (MSD), I am firmly in the Jim's Original Polish court. However, that you are confused is not surprising. Jim's and MSD are owned by rival cousins; who probably have seen each other at Weddings and Funerals if at all.

My apologies... I must have been confused. The Depot I visited was just off 290 and 31st street, so you're probably right in correcting me. I guess it was unsurprisingly, then, that the food somewhat disappointed. Thanks again for catching that; I'll have to make a trek to taste the real thing some time.

Cathy2 wrote:I have to admit to being influenced by our posts this evening. I just returned from a fine meal at Garden Buffet. After an appetizer of sushi and fried mandu, we concentrated on grilling. We especially like the marinated Galbi (Kalbi?) which is a 3-4 inch long bone with a long, long strip of meat, which is portioned with a scissor and grilled. We would take a green lettuce leaf, spread it with soybean paste, some green onions, and beef. Fold it all together and eat. This is not an eat and run dinner, you eat, linger and eat some more.

On the buffet was fresh mackeral, which CrazyC mentioned sometime ago as tasting less strong when cooked to near char. I guess 'less strong' is in the eye of the beholder, I ate one bite and retired from the adventure.

I like Garden Buffet a lot too. Here's a brief report I did before the launch of LTH: http://vitalinformation.blogspot.com/20 ... 2975649149

Like Indian food, I guess with the Korean buffets, I am especially swayed because you can just so much easier put together a complete meal. I especially like following my grilled meats with the cold buckwheat noodles. Garden Buffet makes it easy to do that.

Rob

Cathy2 wrote:
On the buffet was fresh mackeral, which CrazyC mentioned sometime ago as tasting less strong when cooked to near char. I guess 'less strong' is in the eye of the beholder, I ate one bite and retired from the adventure.

I ate at garden buffet with the fam and a few friends last week, maybe surprisingly the mackeral was the surprise winner of the night (unfortunately we had filled up on much beef that we were unable to eat more of it), though it tasted much better when cooked very thoroughly, I'd say past near char, and into full char territory.

Zim wrote:I'd say past near char, and into full char territory

When I did cook the mackerel, the fire was already at the low ebb. Maybe I will cook it earlier on when the fire is lively and charring is no effort to obtain.

Thanks for the encouraging word. I'll try it once more.

I haven't seen a mention of San Soo Gab San in this thread. They offer charcoal cooking at table with a wide array of banchan. (The link is to my earlier post.)

San Soo Gab San
5247 N. Western Ave., Chicago
773/334-1589
10 a.m. to 6 a.m. daily

FFSnob,or anyone else,do you know if HardKore magazine is still around?I remember picking up a freebie at I believe the Barbes & Noble in Skokie a few years back.

Hey, hattyn. Sorry, but I can't say I'm familiar with the mag. Of course, as I understand it, Asian publications (especially the glossy ones for the younger crowd) tend to come and go pretty quickly. I'm having a hard time remembering clearly, but A Magazine may have faced a similar demise. Good luck finding relevant links for anything "hardkore" in a search engine, though...

It wasn't glossy.Maybe more like a zine.Very humorous observations on being Korean in Chicago.Lots of ads for local places.And it was aimed it seemed at a twentysomething group.

Cathy2 wrote:I was recently at the 24-Hour Korean restaurant on Lawrence for an odd hour meal with my favorite partner in this pursuit: Psychchef. We met him and Extramsg for a meal commencing at 10 PM on a Tuesday evening and breaking up around 12:30. They certainly do provide quite a numerous selection of panchan though in smaller quantities than usual. Of course, when I wanted repeats they were available for the asking. They also didn't shy away from one of my favorite panchans: 'Little Dead Fish' which are like dried guppies served dry or in a light dressing. Anyway, I also like getting the seafood pancake, which with rice, is a meal all by itself though it is always on the menu as an appetizer.

Click here for pics of this place.

extramsg wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I was recently at the 24-Hour Korean restaurant on Lawrence for an odd hour meal with my favorite partner in this pursuit: Psychchef. We met him and Extramsg for a meal commencing at 10 PM on a Tuesday evening and breaking up around 12:30.

Click here for pics of this place.

Wait, aren't you linking to San Soo Gab San on Western? And isn't Cathy2 talking about Hankook Kwan (literally "Korean restaurant") on Lawrence? Or did you meet at HKK and then go over to SSGS? Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Perhaps you left something out that I missed?

Respectfully yours,
The FastFoodSnob

Update: Ah, perhaps you're simply pointing to the fish panchan mentioned because you had a pic of it, even if it came from a different restaurant. Man, I'm dense sometimes. I think I need a nap...

hattyn wrote:It wasn't glossy.Maybe more like a zine.Very humorous observations on being Korean in Chicago.Lots of ads for local places.And it was aimed it seemed at a twentysomething group.

Sounds like a magazine I might have enjoyed. Unfortunately, there aren't too many Asian-centered periodicals I read on a regular basis, but I do hope you find the answer that you're looking for.

My problem is that I don't know what the "24 Hour Korean Restaurant" is. But I do know where I ate with Cathy and Psychchef and that was San Soo Gab San and that's where the pics were from. I'm sure Cathy can sort it out for you.

fastfoodsnob wrote:

extramsg wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I was recently at the 24-Hour Korean restaurant on Lawrence for an odd hour meal with my favorite partner in this pursuit: Psychchef. We met him and Extramsg for a meal commencing at 10 PM on a Tuesday evening and breaking up around 12:30.

Click here for pics of this place.

Wait, aren't you linking to San Soo Gab San on Western? And isn't Cathy2 talking about Hankook Kwan (literally "Korean restaurant") on Lawrence? Or did you meet at HKK and then go over to SSGS? Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Perhaps you left something out that I missed?

Respectfully yours,
The FastFoodSnob

Update: Ah, perhaps you're simply pointing to the fish panchan mentioned because you had a pic of it, even if it came from a different restaurant. Man, I'm dense sometimes. I think I need a nap...

I can sort it out, I think. Cathy2 and I first went to the 24hour Korean Restaurant on Lawrence for one of our first dead early breakfast's after being turned away from the other one because they were cleaning.

The we had another meal, at 10pm at San etc, with extramsg and Cathy2's friend, Helen. That is were the picture was from

psychchef wrote:I can sort it out, I think.

Cool. Thanks for the explanation.

zim wrote:kokeeri (elephant) on lawrence for mandoo

How are the other offerings at Ko Kee Ri? A friend is always talking it up but I don't know if I can trust him. Thinking of introducing a coworker to Korean cuisine there...