Hoping Mr. BBQ Will Be Mr. Right

 Mr. BBQ

305 North State College Blvd.

Fullerton, CA 92831

It has become a tradition. When we take my nieces out for birthdays, they always want to try a Korean barbecue spot. I'm not really a fan of Korean barbecue, or any other place where you have to cook your own food (fondue, hot pot, or shabu shabu restaurants). When I go out to eat, I want the cooking done by a professional. I'm not an accomplished barbecue master, but I'm slowly learning.  

I haven't been to many AYCE Korean barbecue joints, but the ones I've been to have had some subpar meats. I've had more luck at the places that are not AYCE, with my favorite being Baekjeong in Irvine. Their meats were top quality, and they cooked the proteins for us, but they were extremely pricey, setting us back $80 a person (yes, we ate a lot, but that was a little too much for my wallet). I decided I can eat Korean barbecue at least once a year for my nieces, as this year, they wanted to try one of their favorite KBBQ spots, Mr. BBQ in Fullerton. 

Opened in 2014, Mr. BBQ has amassed a ton of praise. They have a 4.5-star rating on Yelp with over 5,500 reviews, which is very impressive. A quick internet search shows they consistently rank among OC's best Korean BBQ restaurants. This family-run business has been so successful that it expanded by adding an off-strip Las Vegas location two years ago. They also have a 4.5 rating on Yelp. 

Back to the Fullerton location, which is notorious for long wait times, especially on weekends. We visited Mr. BBQ just after 6 p.m. on a Friday and were met with an hour-and-a-half wait for a table. This allowed me to get even hungrier and plan what we would order. The menu here is two-tiered: the regular dinner/weekend menu is $39.99, while the premium meats menu will set you back $51.99. They also feature a pared-down lunch menu for $29.99. The rule of the house, though, is that everyone at the table must eat from the same-priced menu. 

We finally got seated around 7:45. There is a two-hour limit when people are waiting for a table, which helps turn over tables. The restaurant is very lively, brightly colored, and loud, and TVs were everywhere showing sports while we were there. The tables are spaced nicely, so you're not right on top of other people, and there is little to no smokiness in the air. Our cheerful server greeted us, took our drink and meat order, and was on her way. 

Like chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant or a bread basket before an Italian meal, you can expect plenty of banchan, the small side dishes accompanying the meal. Mr. BBQ really put out a spread. My favorites were the kimchi, potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw. My nieces were fond of the edamame, which our server refilled more times than I could count. She was on top of all the banchan, refilling them as necessary. 

Now for the main event, the meat. During dinner, Mr. BBQ offers 29 items on their dinner menu, including beef, pork, seafood, and chicken options. It's a little overwhelming to pick what you'd like. I was not eating with adventurous eaters, so we stuck to the basics like the marinated ribeye (bulgogi), marinated pork chop, beef brisket, and teryaki chicken. The most outlandish my dining partners were willing to go for was the pork belly and the spicy garlic pork butt. 

Everything we had this evening was fresh, and thanks to our designated barbecue queen, my niece Gracie, it was also delicious. She's definitely the most experienced of all of us when it comes to Korean barbecue, and she expertly cooked everything nicely. The marinades they use here set them apart from other KBBQ places I've visited. The meat was tender, and the marinades brought it to another level with a delicious flavor. I'll try more exotic offerings the next time I visit, as the spicy squid, Hawaiian sausage, and the wagyu beef belly piqued my interest. 

To wrap up, Mr. BBQ is the best AYCE Korean barbecue restaurant I've been to so far. I loved the atmosphere. The dining room was brightly lit, and the servers we encountered wanted to ensure we were having a good time. The service was top-notch, as our every need was met, and they were not shy about refilling the banchan and taking our orders for more meat. The meat we had was high quality, and it was a good deal for $39.99, and I ate enough to get my money's worth. I'm still not fond of cooking my own food when going out to eat, but I can do it once a year for my nieces on their birthdays. 

Out of five ski lifts (because South Korea is seventy percent mountainous and has ski resorts there), five being best to zero being worst, Mr. BBQ gets 3.5 ski lifts. 

For more information about Mr. BBQ, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.mrbbqfullerton.com/

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/

Moo Dae Po Friends and Family Event - CLOSED

Moo Dae Po

1841 Orangethorpe Ave.

Fullerton, CA 92833

Okay, I admit it to all of you that read this blog, I have never had Korean BBQ before. I am not sure why this is. I love to eat BBQ. I like trying new and adventurous food, but I have yet to try Korean BBQ, until now. Both Katie and I were recently invited to the new Moo Dae Po restaurant in Fullerton for their 1st Annual Friends and Family BBQ.

Before the food came out, I wandered around Moo Dae Po a bit. I was struck by how large this restaurant actually is. The restaurant does not seem big from the outside, but once inside you can see how cavernous this 13,000 square foot restaurant is. To match the big restaurant, they also have a large display of all the wines that they offer. I was also struck by how clean the tabletop grills were.

After being seated we were treated to a slicing exhibition by the chef at Moo Dae Po, along with Moo Dae Po founder and owner, Brian Chong. They cut all of their meats here by hand, and this chef cut this meat with surgical precision.

The city of Fullerton, along with Fullerton City Council Member, Bruce Whitaker presented Brian Chong and Cindy Chong with a Certificate of Welcome from the city. With all of the presentations done, it was now time to focus on the food.

Before getting to the main course we got these appetizers, which are known as, Banchan. These included the Korean staple, kimchee, a green salad, macaroni salad, fish cake, a yam, and tomatoes. I really enjoyed the macaroni salad and the fish cake the best. The macaroni salad had some apple cut up in it, which I thought was different and worked out quite well. The fish cake was actually cut into strips and had a nice mellow fish flavor. It was a major accomplishment for me to eat all of this with my chopsticks. I was very proud of myself.

Now it is time to bring on the meat! At Moo Dae Po they are an "all you can eat restaurant", which features different menus and prices. Prices start at $16.99 for a menu that features 19 different kinds of meat, and the menu that features 31 varieties of meat, is an incredible value at $24.99. Everything we ate here was so good. I must thank our, "table chef", the fantastic Kat, from Kat's 9 Lives, without whom we would have been lost as to how to eat any of this stuff. She doled out the meat with great authority. She even taught us the correct way to eat the meats. You need to place the meats in the provided rice paper, then add any of the sauces you would like. It was a messy process for me, but one I look forward to refining in future visits. See Kat, I can actually be really nice sometimes! My favorite meats here were the Beef Brisket and the Pork Belly. Really good pieces of meat.

Round two of the meat was the assorted marinated selections. We got chicken and short ribs. These were marinated in a sauce that did not overpower the taste of the meat but enhanced it. Here again, Kat did a great job of cooking the meats to the right doneness. You know this is killing me being so nice to you Kat, just don't get used to it!

This Bulgogi is only served at lunch, but they gave us this steaming hot bowl of it to try. I think it is finally cooled down enough to eat. Man, it came out roaring hot! This was my favorite thing of the night. It was like a comfortable beef stew with scallions and noodles. Really tasty, with a great flavor. I was very happy with this and kept eating this in between bites of the meat from the grill.

After eating, and while our food settled, we were entertained by a young group of performers out of Los Angeles. They entertained us by rapping, singing, and playing music for us. A very pleasurable way to end a wonderful night.

I was very happy that Moo Dae Po introduced me to Korean BBQ. We really enjoyed our time here, and I look forward to eating here and other Korean BBQ places soon. Moo Dae Po is opening in a few weeks in Rowland Heights, it will be their fourth location. I am sure that the restaurant will be a hit as well. We would really like to thank Brian Chong and Mary Chong of Moo Dae Po for this special event. Also, special thanks to the staff, including the waiters, bussers, and hostess staff for the wonderful service they offered us this night. One last group of thanks goes out to Jennifer Chung, Michael Wong, and Mary Park at Kollaboration Creative and Marketing for the invitation to this great event. Thank you very much.

Moo Dae Po does not have a website, but you can find directions and info about them here: http://www.facebook.com/mdpfull