Chosun Galbee
Chosun is a pretty large restaurant prominently located on Olympic Blvd, in the heart of Korea Town. The restaurant is well-known for it's architectural design -- definitely the best-looking Korean restaurant I've ever been to. From the moment you walk you, you know you're in for a wait, as there are about 50+ people standing around in the waiting area (this was at 8pm on Saturday, so go figure). Thankfully they had a decently stocked bar where we could order cocktails or in our case, OB which is a Korean light beer.
Took about an hour, but we finally got seated. The great thing about this place is that the food comes out almost as soon as your order it. Granted you are cooking the meat yourself on the griddle in the middle of the table, I assume most of the raw meat dishes are pretty easy to put together. The side dishes/appetizers, which in my mind are really what make the entire meal special, came out equally as fast, to the tune of 8 different dishes.
What makes this place stand out from other Korean BBQ restaurants is not just the killer contemporary decor, but the quality of the meat. The galbee/kalbi here is amazing. Nice thick boneless cuts of meat that are exceptionally tender. We did make the mistake of ordering the Ross Gui, some sort of thinly sliced sirloin, which didn't really fare to well on the grill in terms of retaining its tenderness, let alone overall taste compared to the kalbi. We also had the cold noodles in broth, and the raw crab in spicy sauce. The raw crab was great because since it wasn't cooked, you could pretty much suck out all the meat in one bite. And that's always a winner in my book.
Chosun Galbee
Raw Crab w/ Spicy Sauce
One side note about Chosun -- at the beginning and throughout the meal, the waiters will occasionally come by and toss all the meat on the griddle for you. Some people like that, but I enjoy more of the Gyu-Kaku, cook-each-piece-individually style. Just kindly tell them "Yo, don't fuck with my meat," and they'll be on their way.
My conclusion: Between two people, our meal came out to $120, although we did order 4 main dishes. At that price, I would rather spend my money at Gyu-Kaku any day of the week. However, if you're a true fan of Korean food, you'll love this place. Make sure to sit outside where the real decor and design is at. And make reservations ahead of time if you can so you don't have to stand around getting drunk for an hour, unless of course, that's what you want to do.
Chosun Galbee
3330 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 734-3330
Cheers,
Opie
