Hip Korean "Street" Food at Take31

Although NYC's Koreatown is technically only a block long on 32nd St., there are some other lesser-known Korean restaurants scattered throughout the neighborhood. One such restaurant is Take 31, which stands for...

Take your time, enjoy the atmosphere that is take31, and have fun!

Appease your appetite for Korean food and brew.

Keep a lookout for art exhibitions and events that are often held in take31

Eat take31's unique monthly dish, developed with a fresh recipe.

31 The only tasty fun you'll find on 31st street!

Not gonna lie that it's a little cheesy...

To start off, my group ordered the Danhobak Galbi Jjim ($19.95), which is marinated beef short-rib with slices of sweet pumpkin and potatoes.

It came in a pot that resembles a bowl that you use to wash your face in traditional Korean villages.

The braised beef was quite jerky and fatty. I had difficult time looking for pieces that were actual meat rather than just chunks of fat. I really liked the squash pieces (what can I say...I love squash!), but they would have been so much tastier if the slices were larger. As of now, they seemed more like garnishes rather than a complement to the beef. I also don't see the need to sweetened them.

I was a big fan of the spicy and slightly sweet red sauce. It tasted especially good when mixed in with rice. Nonetheless, I probably wouldn't order this dish again because it was way overpriced for what you get.

We also got a complimentary bowl of ttopoki, which is spicy red cake dish. Unfortunately, the sauce was extremely bland and the rice cake was not chewy at all. Oh well, it was free anyways.

We ordered an Altang ($17.95) to share. This soup had cod eggs and cod bowels with radish, onion scallion, hot pepper, and hot pepper flake. It sounds disgusting, but the cod eggs and bowels are actually quite delicious! The bowels just taste like chewy pasta, while the eggs have a texture similar to foie gras. Once again, though, the dish was way overpriced for the amount you get.

This is Dosirak ($5.50), Korean old school style lunch bow with rice, sunny side up egg, sausage, and sauteed kimchi. When you get this dish, you have to put on the lid and shake it so that all the ingredients are mixed. I don't eat sausage so I don't know what this dish tasted like. I probably won't be back here again though.