GRUB 411:

• Won Jo Restaurant 23 W 32nd St; NYC 10001; 212.695.5815
• Price: $$$  (there are cheaper Korean restaurants on the street)
• Type: Korean, specializing in wood-chip BBQ
• Music: no music
• SeoulDiva Tip: If you get BBQ, be prepared to walk outta there having your hair, clothes and skin smell like BBQ flames.
• SeoulDiva Rating: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

FULL REVIEW:
It’s an Asian Invasion!  When I first started out in beauty PR, I was pleasantly surprised to meet so many smart, beautiful and powerful Asian women in the industry.  A few years ago, I started a “Korean Ladies” dinner with a few fellow Korean friends and last night, it grew into a force to be reckoned with – so formidable, it deserved a new name:
Beauty, Brains & Bulgogi!   (thanks @missinfo!)
In attendance last night:  Jane (Teen Vogue), the famous nail stylist Jin Soon, Christina (Vogue), Miss Info…and a handful of honorary Koreans: Catherine (Vogue), Joanne (Tractenberg) and Katie (People).
Won Jo has been around for years as a K-town staple.  That alone, is an accomplishment, since there’s always a ton of turnover on the street.  The K-town of today is barely recognizable to the one I remember from my college days.
Lord knows there are a million Korean BBQ places on West 32nd, but the reason I prefer Won Jo for grilled meats is because they use real woodchips, as opposed to the normal gas grills.

The flavors from the chips saturate the meat and give it a deliciously rich, smokey flavor.  (But be warned, the smokey flavor also saturates your skin, clothes and hair – expect to walk out of there smelling like your meal!)

• KALBI; traditional Korean marinated beef: In my book, you can’t go TOO wrong with short ribs.  But, the meat at Won Jo is always consistently solid: not too much marble, not too sweet, and not overly tenderized (which is something a lot of Korean restaurants tend to do).  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• GOCHU PAJUN (scallion pancake w/ hot pepper):  I suppose the most “translatable” way to describe this is a Korean version of a scallion pancake, except it’s more thick and can have either peppers, seafood or kimchi mixed in to customize it.  I like Won Jo’s version; it’s crispy and not too chewy.  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• MANDOO JUNGOL: Jungol is a Korean stew that is recommended for 2 or more people at a restaurant.  When I try to describe it to someone, it’s almost like you took all the leftovers in your fridge, dumped them into a pot of broth, and ate it.  The one we had last night had: kimchi, kimchi dumplings, fish cake, glass noodes, dduk (Korean rice cake), mushrooms, onions and slices of pork.  Random, but VERY tasty!  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥ ♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• JAP CHAE: This is very “first time Korean food”-friendly.  It’s stir-fry glass noodles with veggies (spinach, carrots, mushrooms, peppers) seasoned with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil (for flavor), salt & pepper and sugar.  Personally, jap chae is neither here, nor there.  MEH.  But Won Jo does a solid job.  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

AND, of course, with every Korean meal, comes the banchan.  American folks liken this to “appetizers”, but really they are just complimentary salty small plates that are designed to be eaten with rice.


↑  There’s is Jane demonstrating how to eat the Kalbi with the Red Leaf Lettuce:

• Take a piece of lettuce
• Add a lil rice & piece of kalbi
• Add the slices of raw onions
• Add ssam jiang (a chunkier version of Korean Miso, made with fermented mung beans)
• Roll into a ball
• Stuff into your mouth!

All in all, the premiere of Beauty, Brains & Bulgogi was a tremendous success.  Thanks to all the ladies for the great conversation over great food.  Hope the BBQ smell eventually washed off!
← Jane & Jin
← Christina & Catherine
← Katie & Joanne
← Minya & I
AND THE PHOTO THAT SUMS UP THE EVENING:
← Catherine ♥ Kimchi