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.

Back to the Root: Korean Food at Koreana

There is one cuisine that I never get sick of, no matter how much I eat it: Korean. I grew up eating Korean food and it's the food I eat at home. Now that I am a college student living thousands of miles away from home and home-cooked meals, I am beginning to appreciate Korean food even more. I was really craving dolsot bibimbop so I decided to go to the Koreana Restaurant in Kendall Square.

One key thing about Korea cuisine is its generosity. Whatever you order, you get many different varieties of banchans, or little side dishes, including kimchi, flattened fish cake, pickled seaweed, spinach, and bean sprout. These banchans also make a great appetizer.

My entree, kimchi dolsot bibimbop, came in a sizzling hot pot. Smells so good! When I was in Korea this winter, I would ask my mom to make me dolsot bibimbop every single day, every meal. No exaggeration. This dolsot bibimbop had a generous portion of summer squash, bean sprout, mushroom, carrots, spinach and kimchi. Because of the sauce from the kimchi, I didn't even have to add that much chili paste.

All mixed up and ready to be gobbled :) I much prefer the bibimbop in a dolsot because it keeps the food warm (or, rather, hot!) the entire way through. My favorite part is the crackled rice at the bottom. It is like discovering tootsie roll in the center of the tootsie roll lolli pop.

My friend got a serving of galbi. It was sprinkled with scallions, and carrots & broccoli on the side.

With the brown rice in the back...I don't think char-grilled galbi does justice to Korean BBQ because the legit version has to be grilled right in front of you! Although one negative part about that is that your clothes stain afterward.

 

Don's Bogam: Enjoying Korean Food in NYC

While visiting NYC, Audrey and I went to Don's Bogam, a Korean BBQ restaurant in K-town. Since it was only lunch, we didn't go full out with Korean bbq but had a relatively "light" lunch. I had the Seafood tofu soup and galbi combo, while Audrey ordered Nanmyun, a cold buckwheat noodle. Korean food is such a feast!

The first thing that came out were an array of "banchans," or small dishes to be eaten with your main meal. Noshing on banchans is a great way to satisfy your immediate pang of hunger as you wait for your meal. I love the variety in banchans so you get to pick and choose whatever you desire!

The appetizer we ordered was pajeon, Korean scallion pancake. I had to dab it with napkin to wipe off the grease, but the pajeon was thick enough that you could taste the flavors. Crunchy surface and soft inside!

This was a HUGE meal for a person: a full pot of soft tofu soup (without the spicy red chili sauce, thus the clear color of the broth) and a full serving of marinated beef ribs. The galbi was a bit fatty but I made sure to eat the meat around it. The tofu soup needed more tofu flavor. A bit of galbi and a spoonful of tofu soup = happy Jane!