The flavors of Korean food are an inspired blend of sweet, spicy and pungent. Its appeal explains why Seoul Taco has catapulted from itinerant food truck to a new, double-storefront spot on Delmar Boulevard. It also explains why restaurateur David Choi has added another dimension to the business: Seoul Q, short for ‘barbecue.’
The casual street-food part still serves up Korean tacos, burritos and bowls at fast-food prices. Only this food is as good for you as it is good in taste. Generally a combination of rice, protein of choice and shredded lettuce/kimchi, plus Korean plum-hot sauce, the items are very flavorful, cheap and filling if you order enough. You can walk away satisfied for under $10! The tacos ($2.50) have soft, chewy, fresh skins stuffed with lettuce, protein and a delectable sauce that dribbles down your hand. The tofu version is delicious, and I don’t even particularly like tofu.
Same for the burrito ($6), which is the fattest I’ve seen. Stuffed with rice of your choice (white, brown or fried) and protein of your choice (chicken, tofu, spiced pork or beef), it is a meal by itself. Sides of kimchi or slaw are $2 each. The kimchi, basically shredded cabbage, has that pungent fermented flavor that tastes slightly fishy once you get through the heat. The slaw is milder, as it’s tempered with sugar, and pleasantly sweet-spicy. The pot stickers (six for $5) are doughy with a filling of tasty minced pork. The Gogi Bowl ($7) is reminiscent of a rice and lettuce salad with a hit of meat—in my case, spicy pork—and Korean sweet and spicy paste stuck on the side of the bowl, so you can mix it in to your heat preference.
The other side of the space is a sit-down, Korean-style restaurant, and the big draw is the barbecue—your choice of six beef and four pork cuts, brought to the table raw and cooked by your server on a special builtin grill. It comes with rice bowls and a wide assortment of kimchi—cucumber, radish, napa—and other accoutrements: egg souffle, sweet black beans, beef croquettes, slivered fish cake and dipping sauces. The meal is an experience, both in dining style and flavor, since kimchi is unique in its fermented pungency.
Seoul Q is jam-packed, especially on weekends, and does not take reservations. (Warning: It’s also really noisy, with nonstop, pulsating music.) And the number of ‘Q’ tables is limited, so some diners order the other option here: hot pots. These are huge stew pots filled with your choice of seafood, beef, pork necks or spicy chicken—and the usual assortment of Korean noodles, greens and veggies. This entree, too, has a special built-in warming burner, a good idea since it might take you all night to eat the amount of food crammed in there.
Both barbecue entrees and hot pots are meant to feed two to three diners, so order conservatively. Our Seafood Jungle hot pot ($40) was spicy hot, bitterly fermented, and filled with shells and carcasses I’ve never seen before—and remarkably delicious. Our Ribeye BBQ ($32) was similarly yummy, although the meat had a fair amount of fat and when cooked and cut by the server (with scissors!), he didn’t exactly trim it.
The idea with Korean BBQ is to fill the provided lettuce leaves with meat, kimchi and anything else on the table you want. I enjoyed every minute, and each flavorful side (especially the fish cakes, cucumber kimchi and sweet beans). But best of all, the servers were uber-friendly and attentive.
[amuse bouche]
the scene | Casual Korean food in the Loop
the chef | David Choi
the prices | $2 to $7 at Seoul Taco, $18 to $40 at Seoul Q
the favorites | Pot stickers, Gogi Bowls, Tacos, Slaw, Rib-eye BBQ, Seafood Jungle hot pot
[chef chat] » david choi, owner
pedigree | I’ve always worked in restaurants. I started Seoul Taco as a food truck, which is still in operation.
favorite ingredient | Gochujang, a Korean red chili paste
favorite restaurant | Mai Lee or Pappy’s
favorite cookbook | Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan
most memorable dining experience | At Shiro in Seattle, where I had 22 bite-size courses
guilty pleasure food | Spicy instant Ramen
6665 delmar blvd. | 314.925.8452
Photos: Bill Barrett
