Hoping Baekjeong Can Break Our Korean BBQ Curse

 Baekjeong Korean Barbecue

14160 Culver Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92604

I long for simpler times when my nieces were younger. I used to take them to Toys R Us for their birthdays and let them spend $50 as they wished. They were pumped and felt they could have almost anything they wanted in the store. It also gave us time to bond. As they grew older, they put together a wishlist on Amazon, and Katie buys them what they want and sends it to them. This year, we let them pick any restaurant they would like, and we treated them. Gracie chose Baekjeong Korean Barbecue in Irvine when it was her birthday. 

I have only had Korean barbecue a handful of times and have never been excited about it. I'm not that fond of restaurants where you have to cook your own food or they cook in front of you. The portion sizes at these kinds of restaurants, whether it's a fondue, teppanyaki, hot pot, or Korean BBQ, are very skimpy, and you are mainly paying for the experience, and the food often takes a back seat. 

The last time we had KBBQ was for Gracie's previous birthday. We tried Gen in Chino Hills, which is the most popular of all the Korean barbecue spots, mainly because they have the most locations, and almost everyone has been there. My experience at Gen was anything but glowing. I found the meat to be subpar, the service was severely lacking, and even though the price for the AYCE was very reasonable at just less than $30 per person, I left feeling let down by yet another KBBQ restaurant. 

So when Gracie suggested Baekjeong as her birthday dinner selection, I was less than thrilled. Still, my love for my niece prevailed, and we showed up at the restaurant on Sunday afternoon just before 4 p.m., hoping to avoid the dinner rush. Our plan worked, as we only had about a twenty-minute wait, which is far shorter than the wait times I've heard of during weekends when waiting times of an hour and more are not uncommon. 

Baekjeong is part of a chain of KBBQ restaurants. It opened in Los Angeles in 2012, and 12 years later, it has eight locations on the West Coast and more in other parts of the US. OC is also home to one other location in Buena Park. This Irvine location has been operating since 2017 and has amassed an impressive four-and-a-half star rating on Yelp, with well over 4,000 reviews. According to Yelp, this is one of OC's highest-rated restaurants.  

When we walked into Baekjeong, I noticed some significant differences from other Korean barbecue restaurants. They don't have an AYCE option, as everything here is a la carte. This restaurant is also much more open, with natural light pouring through the windows and plenty of lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling. This contrasts with the other Korean spots I have been to that are trying to achieve a more nightclub kind of feel. The most significant difference here is that you have someone who cooks what you order for you at the table. This helps eliminate the guesswork of wondering if something is done or needs to stay on the grill longer. Let's see if Baekjeong will help lead me to liking Korean barbecue. 

One similar thing at Baekjeong is that they presented you with banchan before you even ordered your meal. Most people probably think of these little bowls of food as appetizers, but they are more like snacks eaten before and during your meal, mainly to break up the meat-heavy meal you will enjoy. I could be better versed in what a lot of these were here. I know the basics, like Kimchee, but I need help with the rest. I won't try to fake you out, thinking I know what I'm talking about.  Most were pickled or had a little spice to them. Be bold about asking for more of one you particularly like because they offer free refills.  

Now, the main reason most people visit Baekjeong is the meat. We let the birthday girl, Gracie, order what she wanted. We had two rounds of the Marinated Short Rib ($49), Thinly Sliced Brisket ($37), and Boneless Short Rib ($56). Our final bill would have been cheaper if we had gotten a combo meal instead of getting all of these separately. Live and learn, but at least Gracie was happy. 

Instantly, I could tell this was way higher-quality beef than we had at the other Korean barbecue restaurants we had visited. Maybe it was because our server cooked it for us, and she asked how we liked our beef and cued us to take it from the grill when it was to our desired doneness. The meat was flavorful, especially the marinated short rib, which we could not get enough of. Make sure to take a break from all that meat to sample the cheese-corn and egg that cooks alongside the outer ring of the grill. I ended up making a delicious omelet with it. 

Katie needed a break from all the meat because she ordered these Fried Dumplings ($14). I had one of these, but with all the meat I had, I only remember a little about what was inside. It was fried well and lacked any greasiness. It was an excellent plan to deviate from all the meat, but this may have been better at the start of our meal. 

This is not the most in-depth review I've ever done, but I was not even sure I would review Baekjeong because Korean BBQ places let me down so many times. This place restored my faith in Korean barbecue. The meat was higher quality than the AYCE places, and having someone cook for you was a game changer. Of course, the tradeoff is that eating here is more expensive, but our niece Gracie is worth it. I'm just hoping next year, she wants pizza or maybe my famous meatloaf. Fingers crossed.  

Out of five bone saws (because the name of this restaurant translates to butcher in English, and butchers use bone saws to prepare meat), five being best to zero being worst, Baekjeong Korean Barbecue gets 3.5 bone saws. 

For more information about Baekjeong Korean Barbecue, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.baekjeongkbbq.com/

Hoping Our Dinner Will Be Good for Our Seoul - CLOSED

Urban Seoul 2.0

714 Spectrum Center Drive

Irvine, CA 92618

It's been a while since Ed has made an appearance in OC. Ed is the friend I have known the longest. We entered kindergarten together when we were five years old and went through the same schools for the next 12 years, and even though we took different paths after that, we remained very close. He became a successful economist and moved away, while I've stayed at my current job for the last 31 years and lived in OC all my life. Yes, even though we ended up being very different people, he's definitely one of the humans I'm proud to call my friend. He'd probably be shocked to see that I've written this.

Anyway, when Ed swings by OC, I try to pick not only a place that we haven't been to yet but also a restaurant that has that little something extra. I want to show Ed that his old stomping grounds have evolved quite a bit from when he moved away two decades ago. Back then, Orange County was dominated by chain restaurants, and the thought of a fusion spot, like Urban Seoul 2.0, opening up was plenty of years away.

The original Urban Seoul opened its doors six years ago last month at the always-packed Diamond Jamboree in Irvine. They grew a very large following with their borderless kitchen, which draws inspiration for their food from Asia and Mexico. With an always-packed dining room, local restauranteur Bronnie Lee and Chef Kacy Jun decided to open another location at the equally busy Spectrum shopping center just down the road.

Urban Seoul 2.0 is near Barnes and Noble and H and M and right between Pieology and Wahoo's Fish Tacos. I have never been to the original Urban Seoul, but comparing the two menus, some differences exist. What struck me the most was the difference in price between the two sister restaurants. The menu items offered at both locations are all $3 more at this Spectrum spot, which is odd to me, especially when you consider that the two restaurants are separated by only 8 miles and both are in high-traffic shopping centers. Maybe the serving sizes are bigger here at the Spectrum.

We arrived here on a chilly Saturday evening, and the restaurant was pretty busy, but we were seated right away. The setting here is what I'd describe as relaxed and comfortable. The dining room is highlighted on the left-hand side by a small eight-seat bar facing two TVs perched just above the bartender's head. The rest of the dining room is reserved for 15 or so sturdy wooden tables, and in the warmer weather, there's also a nice patio out front, which I'm sure gets utilized quite a bit.

The menu is pretty good-sized at Urban Seoul 2.0. There's a section devoted to starters/share plates with 11 different options for you. Sandwiches, a couple of salads, tacos, and specialty items, their bowls, and skillets round out your options. Prices are less than ten dollars for the starters, and the entrees will set you back on average $13 or so, with only the shrimp skillet going over the $15 threshold.

Since Ed was running late, as usual, Katie and I started with this Gogi Quesadilla ($7.50). This quesadilla included plenty of their delicious beef gogi and cheese. The corn tortilla was grilled nicely with a little bit of crispy cheese on the outside of the tortilla for an added flavor boost. Not too greasy, with a very good crunch to each bite, made this quesadilla a winner. It also came with a kimchi sour cream, which was a little thin to be called sour cream. It was fine, though, with a nice subtle kimchi tinge.

Even though Ed arrived late, I appreciated that he took very little time picking out what he wanted. The Signature Tacos ($10.95) come three to an order, with your choice of meat and no mixing of the proteins, so Ed went with the gogi beef we had on the quesadilla above.  The tacos come dressed with plenty; kimchi, some purple cabbage, lettuce, hot sauce, red onions, queso fresco, and drizzled with gochujang aioli, which I learned is made up of a red hot pepper paste. Ed normally doesn't say much about his food, but when I asked him if he liked this, he answered in the affirmative. Thanks for the descriptive prose, Ed.

I'm always down for a Cheesesteak ($11.50), but Katie picked this before I could get it. I'd say this was just like a regular cheesesteak, so there is not a lot of fusion going on with this sandwich. They use gogi on this, a very close cousin to the meat they put on a Philly cheesesteak, then add bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, which also commonly go on everyone's favorite sandwich from the city of brotherly love. Katie felt they nailed the cheesesteak vibe they were going for, maybe a little too well. She wanted this cheesesteak to be more of a fusion item, but except for a slight sweetness to the meat, it just tasted like a regular cheesesteak. A good one, though.

I could not decide between a few things, so I opted to get two items and eat half of each while saving the other half for lunch the next day. First up was the Spicy Pork Torta ($11.50). The description of this blew me away when I read it; bacon refried beans, spicy pork, of course, lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, queso fresco, jalapenos, and finished off with avocado aioli. This did have quite a bit of heat to it, but it did not detract from the many flavors of the sandwich. The pork was finely chopped and melded with the beans well. I would have liked more avocado aioli on this, as I'm always partial to a heavy hand in condiments on sandwiches. The half I had the next day was better than the one I had at the restaurant. I guess the flavors had more time to meld together. I'm eyeing the chicken katsu sandwich on my next trip here.

I could not come to Urban Seoul 2.0 and not try one of their famous fusion skillets. The Chorizo Kimchi Fried Rice Skillet ($14.95) would be my selection for this evening. Checking out the pictures on Yelp, I'd say this is one of their more popular items for good reasons. It uses the holy trinity of pork products, chorizo, bacon, and pork belly. Then they throw in some kimchi, garlic, pickled red onions, fried onion, rice, and green onions, and finish it with a sunny-side-up egg. A very comforting dish. I did not get much from the bacon and chorizo here, but the pork belly was delicious. I also liked the sharpness of the pickled onion, which cut the richness of the pork belly. My one complaint was that the sunny-side-up egg was overcooked, so the yolk was not runny at all, which I think would have made this even better. A very good bowl for a pretty chilly evening.

Mission accomplished having Ed meet us at Urban Seoul 2.0 this evening. When Ed and I were growing up in the early '80s, we had no inkling that we'd be eating at a restaurant like this 30-plus years later. Restaurants like Urban Seoul 2.0 show how far OC's food scene has advanced. No longer are chain spots the places to head when you want to go out to eat. Urban Seoul 2.0 hit the mark this evening. I would have liked to have seen an even greater cross-over between the Mexican and Asian ingredients, but what we had this evening was all pretty delicious, and I look forward to coming back and trying more of their menu soon. Sometimes fusion foods do not hit the mark, but they did for us and our good friend Ed this evening.

Out of five kites (because kite flying is a very popular hobby in Korea), five being best to zero being worst, Urban Seoul 2.0 gets 3 kites.

For more information about Urban Seoul 2,0, check out their website here: https://www.urbanseoul2.com/