GENERAL INFORMATION

Korean BBQ

Korea Town

17 East 32nd Street

New York, NY 10079 (map this)

T: 212.683.2200

Website:

www.donsbogam.com

Hours:

Daily: 12pm - 12am

We ended up having dinner at Don’s Bogam BBQ & Wine Bar, after making a date to meet up with Korean friends of ours. They suggested the restaurant as a great place to eat traditional cuisine in a non-traditional setting.

The restaurant has a very contemporary design with wine bottles lining the walls for decoration. Each table comes with a center BBQ pit for cooking your own meats, seafood and vegetables. Luckily, the table also has a good exhaust system, so the area never gets smoky or too warm.

We had a feast. We started with Kimchi Pajeon, which are traditional Korean pancakes. They were light, with a hint of spice and really flavorful. We also ordered an appetizer of Jap Chae, glass noodles sauteed with vegetables. Big chunks of fresh mushrooms, slivers of carrot, scallions and a slightly sweet sauce.

Like most Korean restaurants, they serve Banchan (반찬), which are like Korean amuse bouche or small dishes of food. The Banchun included:

1. •Baechu Kimchi: traditional fermented napa cabbage seasoned with chili peppers and salt
   

2. •Ojingeochae bokkeum (오징어채볶음): addictive stir-fried dried squid in a chili pepper sauce
   

3. •Miyeok muchim (미역무침): delicious seaweed with sweet vinegar and salt
   

4. •Kongnamul (콩나물): cold bean sprouts in sesame oil
   

5. •Korean-style potato salad (감자 샐러드): potatoes and apples in an almost yogurt dressing. A surprising dish that proved its value later on in the meal, when we ate the more spicy dishes. It was a refreshing and a cooling savior.
   

Next came the BBQ: Chadol Baki (차돌박이), thinly sliced beef brisket and Galbi (갈비), marinated de-boned beef short ribs (generally marinated in a sauce that contains soy sauce, water, garlic, sugar, and sliced onions). Both are served with lettuce leaves to wrap the beef, as well as a Pajori, a spicy scallion salad and Ssamjang, a spicy paste. After some recommendation and experimentation, we determined the thinly sliced beef brisket is best not wrapped in the lettuce leaves, but just quickly dipped in the sauces straight off the grill. It is sliced so thinly, it only takes seconds to cook on the hot BBQ. The Galbi is a thicker preparation of beef, holds the marinade well, and comes out juicy and tender. Dipped in the sauces, wrapped in a lettuce leaf with scallions, it’s like a little Korean taco two-bite portion.

Our friends suggested we also try the Dolsot-bibimbap. It’s a rice dish with a variety of toppings to choose from and we chose the grilled sliced eel. The bibimbap is served in a hot stone bowl and continues to cook the rice while you’re eating it, creating a nice crust similar to the socarrat of paella. The eel had a sweet, marinated flavor and comes with a   spicy sauce to pour over the fish. It was delicious.

The Doenjang-jjigae (된장 찌개) is another traditional stew-like dish made with doenjang, Korean soybean paste. It’s filled with seafood, with the clam still in the shell,  tofu, and mushrooms. It is a spicy, warming, comforting dish. It is regarded as a dish of the commoners in Korea. On a cold winter evening, this dish would take the chill off.

While Don’s Bogam calls itself a wine bar, our guides preferred and recommended the more traditional Korean cucumber-infused Soju. It’s the Korean equivalent of the Japanese shochu, so it is like a Korean vodka, made from distilled rice. It is served in a bottle packed with thinly sliced cucumbers and the cucumbers have a cooling effect. It’s an excellent pairing with the BBQ beef, especially the wrapped Galbi.

Don Bogam’s is right in the center of New York’s Korea town, and has a mostly Korean clientele. The large size of the tables, along with theatrics of cooking your food, make it a fun outing with friends or family. The prices are reasonable and with their fairly long menu, there are enough choices to lure you back again and again. We’ll be heading back soon, if only get more of the ojingeochae bokkeum.

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