KOREAN FOOD

 Nicole R. wrote:
 >     I have only been in Oakland for a few months now.., and I was wondering
 >if anyone out there knew of any good Korean Restuarants in the Pittsburgh
 >area.  The only one that I've seen thus far is Winner's Korean Food in
 >Oakland; and it would seem to simply be 40's store.  Can someone help me
 >out?

 There is Young-bin-kwan at the end of the bloomfield bridge, and
 Sushi Kim in the Strip district.  Neither are remarkable but
 they seem popular.  They tend to overdo the msg.  Actually Winner's
 compares quite favorably to those other two.

 Jimmy Tsang's Chinese restaurant has a Korean menu where you
 can get Chinese food similar to the kind in Korea.

 Han Kim

 For Korean food, I like Sushi Kim's the best.  They have an especially
 good pork barbeque (pork bulgogi) and reasonably good stews, soups, and
 kimchis.  The waitresses are all good and friendly (though some don't
 speak English).  They also serve Korean OB beer and cold sake.  Definitely
 the most authentic of the Pittsburgh offerings.  If you are unfamiliar
 with Korean food, you can consult the photo-album menu, which gives
 pictures of the specialties of the house.

 Young Bin Kwan is really inconsistent, and more expensive than Sushi
 Kim's.  I've had both very good and incredibly bad Korean food at YBK.
 One feature of YBK is that they have semi-private dining rooms (very much
 like the nicer restaurants in Korea), though with tables and chairs
 (instead of sitting on the floor).  Generally, however, I find no reason
 to go to YBK unless Sushi Kim's is closed.

 At Jimmy Tsang's, you can ask for a special Korean menu.  Unfortunately
 for most non-Koreans, the menu is written entirely in Korean.  But as a
 previous poster said, you can get some Korean-style chinese dishes from
 this menu.  Also, on most nights the chef is able to make special Korean
 dishes if you ask for them, but you have to know what to ask for.  He
 specialzes particularly in festive dishes involving sea cucumber (a kind
 of large worm that plants itself on the sea floor).  I don't think you can
 get good sea cucumber anywhere else in the city (and note that some
 Koreans believe sea cucumber to be an aphrodisiac :-).

 Winner's is just fine for simple dishes like bibimbap, but most of the
 other dishes I've had there are sloppily prepared.  Still, for $4-5, not a
 bad deal for lunch.

 Peter

 PS: By the way, I really miss good Korean food from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 Steve's Diner really has some of the best Korean in the US (in my
 opinion).  Another excellent place is Woo Lae Oak, in Washington, DC.  Be
 prepared to wait in line for a fairly long time at either place, however.