porky and porky's

[ellencho]

I'll post the phone number and actual addy when I get it, but for now I can tell you it's on the corner of 11th and Washington in South Philly, a block down from the shopping center that has pho75 in it. They're next to the 7-11 on the corner.

So don't be fooled by the name, it's a Korean bbq buffet joint. I think they have an a la carte menu, but most folks are there for bbq buffet. It's one of those "cook your food at your table" places, and they have a buffet cart full of different meats. They had bulgogi, 2 types of tripe, intestines, spicy pork bulgogi, pork belly, chicken, chicken gizzards, and squid - spicy and not spicy, both seasoned very well. Over at the non-meat buffet, they had different fruits (oranges, melons, pineapple) as well as salad, inari, salad and their own veggie sushi rolls. Along with the buffet they bring you a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup (tonight was a clam soup with strands of egg floating in it).

What did I think? I guess I'd give it a B but only because the meat tasted good and because it was a bargain. From my personal experience, as a Korean-American, I've definitely had better Korean bbq buffet, and I wonder if maybe this BBQ place is more for non-Koreans rather than Koreans. This place IMO did not have as many choices as the other ones that I have visited, and it's not necessarily the meat that I was disappointed in, but I was disappointed in the lack of the side dishes that one encounters at Korean bbqs. They give you a couple little plates of banchan - kimchee, sweetened dried anchovies, seaweed, some fish cake but they don't have any at the buffet, which is sort of odd. The wait staff is REALLY nice though, they are all young and good about explaining what is what at your table if you don't know.

THe lunch buffet is $10 and the dinner is $15.

[mrbigjas]

thanks for the report, ellen. i've been wondering about it since the sign went up. maybe with some encouragement they'd put out more banchan?

maybe not.

friends of mine swear by an all you can eat korean bbq in the northeast.

[KatieLoeb]

They're opened finally? Cool!

Who wants to go check this out with me? I've been eagerly anticipating the door opening, since I've been looking at the signage passing by on Washington Ave. for months now, waiting for an actual opening.

[mrbigjas]

ellen, is it BYOB or do they have OB?

Edited March 22, 2005 by mrbigjas (log)

[herbacidal]

friends of mine swear by an all you can eat korean bbq in the northeast.

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Friends of mine swear by one on Adams at Tabor, right off the Boulevard.

(not Sam Won)

I've only been there once, but I liked it enough that time.

Others have told me they don't like it.

[MarketStEl]

I'm game to give Porky and Porkie a shot--I've passed by the place enough Saturdays, wondering if a restaurant was ever going to open in that space, the sign had been up so long.

Saturdays would be ideal for me to go on a group outing as well. After I've done my grocery shopping.

[shacke]

I would like to try it as well. I am a staple of the Adams Ave place, Kuk-il but would like to give this a whirl and meet some fellow threaders if it's dinner.

Evan

[ellencho]

ellen, is it BYOB or do they have OB?

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Good question. We didn't booze last night but I do recall seeing a bar there so I'm assuming they have OB :)

[KatieLoeb]

Discussion of the 3/26/05 lunch has been moved to the ISO thread pinned to the top of the forum.

[mrbigjas]

ellen, is it BYOB or do they have OB?

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Good question. We didn't booze last night but I do recall seeing a bar there so I'm assuming they have OB :)

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another friend of mine has gone, and informed me that they are in the process of getting a liquor license, but in the meantime they'll spot you some beer.

and he said three kinds of tripe, not just two.

Edited March 24, 2005 by mrbigjas (log)

[ellencho]

^^ My bad

The types of tripe I saw was the kind with the honeycomb pattern and the really thin kind with the tiny nubbies on it. I did see intestine cut into tubes, does that count as tripe? Or maybe they had a different variety of meats the night your friend visited?

Edited March 25, 2005 by ellencho (log)

[mrbigjas]

haha, i don't know for sure. he could have been misidentifying his variety meats... you guys are gonna find out tomorrow, i'm sure. i'm gonna head over when i get back. schweet. so close to home.

[shacke]

So... how was it?

[Greg Ling]

I was supposed to go with the group on sat. but me and my pops couldnt waiw so we went fri.

the place is owened by chinese vietnamese not koreans but the food was very good,this place will be busy, twelve bucks for all the food you can grill and until they get a licqour license free booze!

[Capaneus]

So... how was it?

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I thought it was excellent, although since it was my first Korean bbq I have no point of comparisson. I *can* say that I believe I saw only one type of tripe, though they did have some kind of chicken organ meat they called "large intestine" - my guess is gizzards.

But I think I can speak for the party and state that an excellent time was had by all, in spite of the relative paucity of offal

Holly snapped shots, so I'm guessing further and more useful reporting will be forthcoming.

[KatieLoeb]

I inquired about dinner with the manager on my way out. It's $14.95 and he said there are four other meats on the dinner buffet that weren't in evidence today.

Great food, great conversation and the joy of watching Herbacidal practically put them out of business singlehandedly. What's not to love?

I will say I wish they had the larger rounder grills I've seen at International Smokeless BBQ. The grill surface is a bit small for more than 3 or 4 folks.

I really liked the pork belly and the spicier marinated meats. The thinly sliced garlic and big layers of onion were really good too. Hit of the day was the incredibly sweet pineapple they had cut up for dessert that got even sweeter when you grilled it. Yum!!

I think I'm going back next week with two of my girlfriends.

[MarketStEl]

And I finally got to meet Holly Moore!

Certainly better "barbecue" than I had at The Smoked Joint. The "chicken large intestine" was pretty good; the squid (seasoned with the beef seasonings or the chicken seasonings) was even better; the pork belly was yummy [and the stimulus for some comments about pork belly futures being another way to "bring home the bacon"]; the marinated beef was excellent (so someone tell us again what's the difference between marinated prime rib and marinated rib eye). Didn't have the "tripe of an ox's tongue." Did have the fruits, and Katie is right about the effect of grilling on the pineapple. Herb pointed out that since grilling caramelizes the sugar, the melon chunks should be similarly improved, but I didn't think the transformation was as compelling as with the pineapple. Grilling the broccoli spears did a pleasant number on those, too.

I imagine I'll be back here again.

Comment on the name: "Porky & Porkie" seems a little misleading, as pork makes up only a very small part of the buffet menu. Unless, that is, the name is supposed to conjure up "barbede."

[mrbigjas]

friends of mine swear by an all you can eat korean bbq in the northeast.

←

Friends of mine swear by one on Adams at Tabor, right off the Boulevard.

(not Sam Won)

I've only been there once, but I liked it enough that time.

Others have told me they don't like it.

←

after a long time, i'm following up this post to say that i found out the name of the place you're talking about. it's called gook-il-kwan. i gotta head up there sometime.

we went to porky and porkie last night, and so far the reviews are right on the money. the banchan are really what differentiate it from a better restaurant (cf woo rae kwan, which goes completely overboard with banchan). the kimchi was good, the rice cake was good, the hot sauce was ok but not that hot, the seaweed salad was good. but that's all there was. no block of tofu with scallions and soy, no egg in a stone bowl, no little fried fishies, no cucumber salad, etc. the a la carte menu was there, but they only had the first five entrees on the list, and the appetizers.

they started us with a nice soup of greens and brisket, and put a plate of fish cakes, two mussels and some raw shrimp on the table, which we grilled up. we ordered haemul pajun and kimchi pajun, which were both good--they had a little of that rice flour gumminess. they served them as several small pancakes rather than one large one, which was different. and there was no dipping sauce, which is weird.

the thing that struck me about it is that it's obviously not run by koreans. from the lack of variety in the banchan, to the lack of sauce with the pajun, to... there's just something korean that's missing about it.

BUT the meat was good (grilled honeycomb tripe just till it's got a little char on it--awesome), it was very clean, the service was great, it was only $15 a person, and until they get their liquor license beer is free. and it's very close to home. so i'll definitely be back.

[cinghiale]

Went last night. Everything said upthread about buffet selection, quality of ingredients, and service still applies. Still BYO. Thought I might add a few pix:

The place is very roomy, clean, and spiffy. I wondered how much 20+ exhaust hoods cost them, and how much their monthly electric bill must run. Slight digression/plug: my dining companions included Wayne and Christine, fresh off their victory in the 48-Hour Film Project. See it tomorrow at Blue in Green; details here.

The meat buffet, with two tripes middle right and chicken intestine opposite:

Front view:

Veggie/fruit/sushi table:

Grill starters (comes automatically): Mussels, shrimp, fish balls, squid, with the kimchi (somewhat disappointing) et al. We also had the kimchi and oyster pajuns, and I second jas's comments:

Two beefs, two tripes, and pork belly, all excellent:

Working the (as Katie noted) smallish grill:

P&P makes for a fun, affordable evening. I'll be back.

[Furious Flav-or]

Flavette and I made the pilgrimage today.

She's become quite the fan of bulgoki (sp.?) after today's visit. I pretty much had the better part of the ban chan to myself, since she doesn't do seafood.

I'm still very new to Korean, this being my third time, so I'm not sure as to what should or shouldn't have been there, but it occurs to me that the table could have benefited from more variety in sauces? The dumplings that we had were served with soy sauce. I was pining for true gyoza sauce. And I find it impossible to enjoy squid (much the same cuttlefish) on the grill that isn't flavored with olive oil and lemon juice — blame Spain for that one. Didn't do the gizzards, just the varieties of beef, chicken, pork, and tripe, with some broccoli and garlic.

We'll definitely be back, especially since they're right around the corner from my Asian market of choice.

[Diann]

Wanted to add my two cents and say that the wait staff is extremely nice, and conscientious about refilling water, getting tongs and extra napkins, etc. I'll be going back, too--like others have noted, it may not be the best Korean food in the world (or even the most authentic), but it's all-you-can-eat BBQ in a relatively convenient location for a very reasonable $15. It definitely satisfied my craving for bulgogi. And I left smelling pleasantly smokey. And you can experiment with grilling pineapple! (Reminds me of Samba, where they serve grilled pineapple doused in cinnamon(?) liqueur for dessert...mmm!)

[KatieLoeb]

(Reminds me of Samba, where they serve grilled pineapple doused in cinnamon(?) liqueur for dessert...mmm!)

Sadly, I missed the pilgrimage to Samba by a bunch of intrepid PhilleGulleteers (I was working, of all things), but I think that's pineapple grilled with a splash of butterscotch schnapps aka Buttershots.

[Diann]

(Reminds me of Samba, where they serve grilled pineapple doused in cinnamon(?) liqueur for dessert...mmm!)

Sadly, I missed the pilgrimage to Samba by a bunch of intrepid PhilleGulleteers (I was working, of all things), but I think that's pineapple grilled with a splash of butterscotch schnapps aka Buttershots.

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Butterscotch! That's exactly what it is. Katie, if you haven't been to Samba yet, you definitely have to go. They mix a mean capirinha, as well.

[serpentine]

Fantastic pictures, cinghaile. Could someone please reassure my usually fearless self about the flavor/consistancy of some of these innards?

P.S. Um, I believe we're mildly acquainted. Wayne and Christine's film rocked. (And that was probably the most people Blue in Green has seen...ever.)

[mrbigjas]

Fantastic pictures, cinghaile. Could someone please reassure my usually fearless self about the flavor/consistancy of some of these innards?

honeycomb tripe needs to be cooked for a long time before it's tender enough to eat. it is precooked, i suspect in a seasoned broth of some sort, although i could be wrong about that. when you grill it just till it gets a little char on the edges, it intensifies the flavor--there's more, uh, tripeyness to it; kind of a barnyardy flavor, for lack of a better term. with a little kimchi and rice and rolled up in a lettuce leaf it's truly great.

bookleaf tripe doesn't need to be cooked beforehand. when you grill it, it tends to stick to the grill and pieces of it just char right up and fall off. it tastes like nearly nothing, and is kinda like eating rubber bands. i don't like it as much, although i do prefer it in pho.

the chicken intestines are intensely chicken-y. they're very lean and tough, very similar to a gizzard. in fact, i suspect that some of what was in that container was gizzards. they taste good, but they have a problem where there is a silverskin of sorts on pieces of them, and when you get a piece like that it's nearly impossible to chew. so watch for that.