Someone wrote: : The restaurant is called Pastoral, and it's located on 13th street, [and] : IMHO, it really is the best Korean restaurant for miles around. I agree. I've been there a few times and haven't been disappointed. My girlfriend eats there at least twice a month and says its better than any other korean rest. in the city.
Philadelphia, PA
Best Korean food in Center City
Someone wrote: : How far up in North Philly, and what cross streets is the Korean area? : Any recommendations? I once went to Genji (sushi) on Sansom and our : server (who was Korean) recommended North Philly. Stupid us, we : didn't ask where. I went again this weekend to Kim's Restaurant, which is on the 5900 block of North 5th Street (on the right if you are coming from the south). It has a parking lot and seems to be a former diner (from the inside). But don't all go there at the same time.. the next time I go, I won't get a table! :) : BTW - ate at Pastoral today - it was delicious! Much better then the : Korean House on 18th and Samson. I've heard that Pastoral caters toward Americans in their dishes. Which is not bad unless you want more authentic Korean food. (Compare with the Chinese food in Chinatown and that which you can get in a suburban strip mall.)
A quick follow-up to my own post regarding vegetarian dishes at Pastoral: I just checked the takeout menu, and while there are many dishes without beef/pork (i.e. fish) and some dishes that would be just as good if ordered without meat (e.g. "jahp-chae"), there are no strictly vegetarian entrees. Sorry for the misinformation. Also, one final bit on the "authenticity" of Pastoral (apologies in advance if I sound overly defensive :-) -- I think that the round peg of the old adage "when in Rome..." can be twisted to fit this square hole: I think it says something about the restaurant when a significant percentage of its business come from local owners of Korean shopowners... Aside from that lame attempt at an analogy, you have the one data point of a person (myself), who has actively sought out and tried numerous Korean restaurants in LA, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, NYC, Boston, and Philly attesting to the quality of food at Pastoral. I suppose I should get off my soapbox now ;-)