NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2001 21:52:08 EDT
Date: Mon, 08 Oct 2001 01:55:53 GMT
Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu nyc.food:8916
I've just come back from Chicago on business and hope that this
information will benefit others visiting there. Chicago is definitely not a great food town, but it has its peaks and valleys, like most places.
As in the case of Charlie Trotter's, some of the "peaks" are
peerless. In that regard, Chicago boasts one of the best Korean restaurants I've ever visited. Perhaps the best. It's called Chicago Kalbi (3752 W. Lawrence Ave., 773-604-8183).
It's up on the north side, a part of Chicago I'd never visited
before, and a revelation in itself. It reminds one a bit of parts of Queens, with Middle-Eastern, Mexican, Korean and Soul Food restaurants residing happily side-by-side. As you go further west, the Korean influence becomes especially strong. In fact, the section of West Lawrence avenue, where Chicago Kalbi is located is designated with street signs below the official Lawrence Ave. signs that say "Seoul Drive". On my next trip to Chicago I hope to do more research in this area, 25 minutes or so north of downtown.
What makes Chicago Kalbi unique -- and I know this is chauvinistic
of me -- is that the owners are a Japanese man and his ethnic Korean Japanese wife. The couple set out to make a Korean restaurant that met the notoriously finicky demands of Japanese diners, and they've succeeded extraordinarily well. We first heard about the place when it was publicized that the two superstar Japanese baseball players in the US, Shinjo and Ichiro, made pilgrimages there whenever their teams played in Chicago.
There's no atmosphere, and occasionally the front and rear doors
have to be jammed open to push out the brazier smoke, which accumulates in such volume you can barely see five feet in front of you.
But if you love Korean food, especially barbecue and its attendant
delicacies and side dishes, I've simply found nothing in NY that comes close. This was especially surprising because all of my Korean friends champion a few restaurants here as being as good as anything you'll find in Korea.
Well, I can tell you that New York's been bested in this arena! I'm
disappointed, but can't wait to get back to Chicago's north side again nonetheless.
DGI
********************************
David G. Imber
Maniform Creative Services
http://www.maniform.com
********************************Chicago, IL