#10 Soot Bull Jeep
Posted on March 9, 2007
Filed Under Barbecue, Best of the Best, Extra Hard Core, Korean |
Oh, man, this place totally ruled. I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m a runaway train on a roll with Korean food now and I’m LOVING it.
Soot Bull Jeep is famous, I tell ya. Look at the 52 reviews on Yelp averaging 4.5 stars. I came with high expectations and it did not disappoint.
As usual, there’s a grill in the middle of the table, they did not skimp on the coal so it does get smoky, but they have working vents, (ahem, Soot Bul Gui Rim 2, you might want to take notes,) so it keeps the smoke to a minimum. The wait staff was a little intimidating, because all I heard from them was Korean all the way until I started ordering, then they spoke fairly good English. My sigh of relief was echoed at the table by my Irish eating buddy for the night, Ms. Rafferty.
It might be helpful to go over my personal rules for Korean Barbecue:
1. Chopsticks are for EATING, tongs are for COOKING. Pick up the cooked meat with the chopsticks, handle the raw and semi-cooked stuff with the tongs.
2. 20 seconds on the grill makes anything germ free and okay to eat. This includes chopsticks tha may have accidentally touched raw meat.
3. You can eat a piece of meat that’s been touched by someone else’s chopsticks, but only after rule #2 has taken place.
4. Don’t get too drunk, keep good track of what’s cooked and what’s not.
5. Experienced cooks must watch out for newbies and advise on what’s ready and what’s not.
I think these rules will help you avoid any unpleasant side effects of Korean Barbecue.
On to the pictures!
It starts off all innocent and harmless with a nice green onion and lettuce salad. The dressing is tangy and pretty appetizing.
The parade of Panchan (side dishes) soon starts. They gave us a good dollop of Korean soy bean paste and a very generous helping of garlic. This comes into play later.
We ordered the Kalbi and it was piled on fast and furious by our waitress.
90% of it was boneless and beautifully marbled. You can see the two bone-in pieces on the right.
I like to eat this with some of the soy bean paste and a large chunk of garlic. They have some big chunks of garlic and it kicks the Kalbi into geosynchronous orbit, it burns my cheek and clears my sinuses. I have to say, this is the BEST Kalbi I’ve ever had. I really liked the bone-in pieces as well, it’s a bit more work to tear the meat off, but it’s more fun that way. I’m barbaric like that.
Then we had the spicy marinaded pork.
Again, very well marinaded, this was spicy and slowed us down a bit, we had to take it easy and drink our water.
You also have to be careful with spicy pork, it looks about the same when it’s raw and when it’s cooked, since it’s all red. Don’t wanna eat undercooked pork, you know.
We just had to take one for the team and get my readers one more meat to read about. We went for the marinaded Spencer steak.
It’s a very thin steak, again, very well marinaded. By this point I decided that Soot Bull Jeep knows their marinade.
>Here’s our cow sitting happily on the grill. Again, kind of thin, and I wasn’t quite sure if I should burn it a bit or leave it just a tad undercooked like kalbi. I burned it for good measure.
It was all so good, the Kalbi totally dominated, the pork was great, the spencer steak was the weakest choice but still quite decent. This came out to be just about $60, averaging $18 a plate. It’s not like a HUGE amount of meat per order, I could make do with one order per person but it would’ve felt a little weak. Going for 3 orders for the two of us was a little expensive but we were too full and happy to complain.
I’m going to order more kalbi next time, and definitely try their marinaded squid. I didn’t see a pork belly on the menu, which I would’ve definitely ordered, and I wanted to try some of their soups next time, I saw a pot sitting on the grill on the table next to us and I got awfully curious.
This place was definitely hard core deviant food. Some of the best quality meat and solid marinades I’ve had at a Korean barbecue, it definitely deserved the 4.5 average star rating on Yelp. For a better deal I’d hit Soot Bul Gui Rim 2, but if I’m feeling gung ho and generous towards myself, I’d hit this place and double down on the Kalbi.
Soot Bull Jeep
3136 W 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90005
213.387.3865
Open 11am-11pm daily
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Wow, Really really good stuff! Please keep eating and keep writing!
$20 for an order of meat is about the going rate from most of the Korean BBQ places I’ve been to.
BTW, I notice no VNese food on your list so far. I know what’s right up your dietary alley. You want an introduction to bo 7 mon? Beef in 7 different ways? There’s Pagolac in Westminster and Vietnam House in San Gabriel. 7 courses of beef runs around $12.99, with two small portions of each item. There’s also fish in 8 courses at Nhu Y in Fountain Valley. That’s about $16.99. I’ve been meaning to review all three of those places at some point.
This blog is dope! I love drooling over all the food porn.
I did notice the Korean runaway train syndrome. I’ve had korean bbq before too, but all these kbbq places, are they all the same? Or very similar?
Maybe you need to try some traditional Korean food? Or that VNese beef Wandering Chopsticks is talking about
Oh! And I just remembered, for Korean bbq with slightly exotic meats cooked on coals, try Inchon Won Restaurant., 13321 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, 92643. 714-539-8989. Just north of the 22 freeway. I haven’t been in years but they used to have boar, eel, on top of the usual beef cuts. And they have belly too.
For K bbq with angus beef and really yummy cold buckwheat noodles, I’d suggest Chungkiwa, 3545 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A., (323) 737-0809.
And Seol Ak San that I mentioned before also has duck for the bbq.
For really exotic meats though, like fox, snake, alligator, kangaroo, and a giant baked catfish, I’d suggest Phong Dinh in Rosemead. It’s VNese. http://www.phongdinhrestaurant.com/
And for really good, cheap garlic crab, goose intestines, duck tongue, and chicken knees, there’s Macau Street in Monterey Park. http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2006/11/macau-street-despite-its-name-there.html
OK, that should keep you occupied for the next few months.
Scoot Bull Jeep : Los Angeles…
Review of one of the best Korean BBQ restaurant in Los Angeles…
The holy grail of Korean BBQ. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Came out for a painting workshop and a couple of friends took
me here. Great fun, and a great meal!
What does Soot Bull Jeep mean? I can sort of get the idea for the
first two words but is Jeep Korean? Does it mean “grill”?
L.
I checked with a Korean coworker and she says Jeep means “house.” So what’s Soot and Bull?
Like your “lifting fog,” by the way.
I have to agree - this is the best Korean BBQ in K-Town. Although the portions are quite small (compared to other Korean BBQ joints), you are going for quality, not quantity here. Just to let you know, I saw Rosanna Arquette get her grub on here the last time I ate there. Look at that - celebrities diggin’ the kimchee!
Oh wait. Yes, I have. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have it in me right now to type it all out again. Besides, it was just ramblings anyway. You didn’t want to hear me go on and on about this, right?
FYI - “SOOT” means charcoal and “Bull” means fire. So literal translation is “House of Charcoal Fire”.
Also, at KBBQ, try grilling the kimchee. Gives a great flavor and mellows out the spicyness for those who prefer it not so spicy.