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Friday, September 19, 2003
Korean BBQ House Offers Complex Treat
By Kelly Koepke
For the Journal
The human palate recognizes an amazing variety of flavors, all of which can be distilled into five categories: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (from the Japanese word for "deliciousness"), described as analogous to the savor of chicken soup. Deliciousness definitely describes Korean BBQ House, a welcome addition to the city's growing Asian restaurant scene. The Nob Hill eatery purveys the full range of taste combinations in a diverse menu with something for everyone.
The restaurant remains faithful to the complexities of traditional Korean food with a menu offering short ribs, beef, pork and chicken bulgogi (marinated, grilled barbecue), seafood, soups and noodle dishes. The barbecue sauces bring salty sweetness; the pickles and kimchi fuse sharp, tangy and sour; the miso soup is a revelation of deep deliciousness.
Korean BBQ House
LOCATION: 3200 E. Central in Nob Hill, 338-2424
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Closed Sundays
NO SMOKING
The presentation, each item in its own discrete dish, allows for the diner to blend bites of this and nibbles of that, all resulting in an interesting gustatory experience that is both familiar and exotic.
Open a few months in front of the Hiway House Motel, the L-shaped dining area is decorated with screens and prints depicting traditional scenes: dancers and fans and plants. The booths are comfortable, the tables wide enough to accommodate all the plates and platters and bowls served with main courses.
We ordered the $13.95 beef bulgogi entrée, which came with soup, rice and five small sides.
This weekday lunchtime, the little dishes included salty fish cakes, whisker-thin sliced potatoes in a mild sauce, vinegary pickled zucchini, curried bean sprouts and kimchi, the national pickled cabbage dish of Korea.
The marinated beef, at the same time intricately flavored from the sauce and grilling, and deceptively simple in its preparation and presentation, sizzled from kitchen to table. The wafting scent prompted my own mouth to water and a glint of eagerness to well in my friend's eye.
Then the grilled salmon box arrived and I dug into a tender, flaky filet of fish surrounded by its own barbecue sauce. Several lunch specials, everything from squid to chicken to ribs to tofu, each appear in bento-style, divided boxes, featuring sticky steamed rice and the chef's choice of five sides.
This day's picks included a fresh green salad with spicy dressing, two neon red kimchi pancakes, cold curried potatoes over udon noodles, a chicken wing and slice of melon. Hovering between $6 and $7, these boxes look delightful, but the taste buds get the real treat.
The pancake was especially savory, with the fluffy batter mitigating the often strong flavor of the kimchi. The pancakes can be ordered as an entrée as well and in a seafood version.
The menu continues with chapchai, a stir-fried veggie and vermicelli noodle entrée, hot and cold soups, dumplings, stews, and plenty of vegetarian options. Beer and wine are available, too.
Service is snappy, and our lovely waitress seemed amazed that my friend could eat the quantity of food he did, plus some of mine. Dessert, which we did not try, offers fruit sherbet and green tea ice cream, more melding of tastes sure to please. But that's no surprise; the flavors at Korean BBQ House are keenly interesting and worth experiencing.