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Korean Restaurants Chicago


Margo

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My sister-in-law and her partner are headed to Chicago next weekend to celebrate her birthday. She's especially interested to try Korean food--and while I've lived in Chicago and remember there was a street with a plethora of Korean restaurants, it was so long ago as to be useless. Like I don't even remember the street name. :hmmm:

Feel free to point me to the thread if this has been discussed. And thanks!

(And this is off-topic, so you can PM me: is Andersonville still girls' town? And is there a decent hotel in the area?)

Margo Thompson

Allentown, PA

You're my little potato, you're my little potato,

You're my little potato, they dug you up!

You come from underground!

-Malcolm Dalglish

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IMO, the 2 best Korean places in town are Hae Woon Dae and San Soo Gab San, both of which use live charcoal, not gas, for their tabletop bbq. Panchan, soups and non-bbq dishes are also outstanding at both places.

FWIW, I believe the street you're thinking of is Lincoln Ave, which is home to many Korean joints.

=R=

Hai Woon Dae

6240 N California Ave

Chicago, IL 60659

773 764-8018

San Soo Gab San

5247 N Western Ave

Chicago, IL 60625

773 334-1589

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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First, the restaurants:

Drive along Lawrence. Many Korean spots along there, and everyone you ask will have a different opinion regarding which one is best.

Secondly, a hotel:

Heart O'Chicago is very basic, but affordable. I have not been there personally, but drive by it often, and have seen many people on many different board recommend it, plus it is just north of Andersonville:

http://www.heartochicago.com/

Thirdly, Andersonville is still in some ways "Girls' Town," but it is rapidly becoming "Boys' Town North." Great vibe, great people, great "scene."

Have fun!

Bret

Bret S. Beall, MS, PhD (Cand), CEO

Global Organic Designs Lifestyle Services

www.god-dess.com

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First, the restaurants:

Drive along Lawrence.  Many Korean spots along there, and everyone you ask will have a different opinion regarding which one is best.

Secondly, a hotel:

Heart O'Chicago is very basic, but affordable.  I have not been there personally, but drive by it often, and have seen many people on many different board recommend it, plus it is just north of Andersonville:

http://www.heartochicago.com/

Thirdly, Andersonville is still in some ways "Girls' Town," but it is rapidly becoming "Boys' Town North."  Great vibe, great people, great "scene."

Have fun!

Bret

Lawrence is a great culinary street, not just for Korean but also for middle-eastern, Chinese, Cuban, Mexican, pizza, etc. I highly recommend it.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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Lawrence, right. Where's the wistful sigh emoticon?

I'll point them to these recs, and any others forthcoming. I'll try to get a report back.

Thanks so much!

Margo Thompson

Allentown, PA

You're my little potato, you're my little potato,

You're my little potato, they dug you up!

You come from underground!

-Malcolm Dalglish

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  • 3 weeks later...

I would like to throw Solga in the hat as a recommendation. My korean friends brought me there and i was the only caucasian in the place. it is a bit nicer than most and i find that there cuts of meat generally come to the table looking better than san soo or others than i have been to. Not to say that i do not enjoy the others (san soo is great at 3 in the morning) also Solga is byo and there is nothing better than austrian gruner veltliner or austrian riesling with korean.

"mmmmm purple" Homer Simpson

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As Ron mentioned, I'm a huge fan of Hae Woon Dae. It's a bit smaller than San Soo Gab San, and maybe a bit less discovered - so on weeknights, it's not uncommon to be able to get a private room. Meats are great, panchan is vast, and service is friendly. (And I'm not in the least bit biased because they have my picture - along with many others - on the bulletin board as you walk in.)

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I would like to throw Solga in the hat as a recommendation. My korean friends brought me there and i was the only caucasian in the place. it is a bit nicer than most and i find that there cuts of meat generally come to the table looking better than san soo or others than i have been to. Not to say that i do not enjoy the others (san soo is great at 3 in the morning) also Solga is byo and there is nothing better than austrian gruner veltliner or austrian riesling with korean.

Yes, Solga is another excellent choice, IMO.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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