#18 Park’s BBQ
Posted on April 26, 2007
Filed Under Barbecue, Best of the Best, Korean | 7 Comments
The good thing about living on the West side of LA is that I’m pretty close to Korea Town, and of course, all the crazy restaurants that comes with it. Tonight, per Ms. Jina and LA Time’s recommendations, I went to Park’s Barbeque with my Korean Food Buddy, Ms. Caitlin. If you remember, Caitlin has previously been to Soot Bull Jeep and Nakzi Village and has now been officially declared Irish-Korean-American and also holds the record for most 50meals attended.
Unlike Soot Bull Jeep, Park’s is very modern and clean, brightly lit. The menu is nicely printed, as you can see…
The parade of Panchan starts, and immediately sets itself apart. Here is the delicious spinach kimchee.
Seaweed.
Oh, this was REALLY good. You can barely tell from the picture, but this is raw crabs. At least, that’s what I was told. You can just pop it in and chew the piece until the tender and flavorful meat melts in your mouth. And no, it doesn’t taste like it’s fishy and raw.
When in K-Town, order the Kalbee. This was very good, but Soot Bull Jeep has slightly better portions and also gives you a couple pieces on the bone, which is delectable.
Our happy cow on the grill. There is charcoal in the grill to give you the smoky flavor, but the vents work, so it’s not smoky at all inside the restaurant.
Always a good sign of our waitress’s love for you. Sliced garlic and sesame oil in a tin foil cup. The garlic gets cooked in the oil and it’s just excellent.
Of course, we had to try to “Tokyo X” bacon. It’s leaner than normal bacon, of course, to give it more flavor. Ridiculously huge slices of bacon.
Ms. Caitlin hankerin’ for the bacon.
There’s considerably more table service here, the waiters and waitresses comes by quite often to put the meats on the grill, flip and cut… we almost didn’t do any work. I was more than happy to leave it all up to the pros.
The bacon is cut and sits in a sea of sizzling browning fat…
It can’t be good for you. Don’t try this at home.
Okay, as usual we got a little carried away, here’s the brisket. This was REALLY greasy and I kind of regretted getting this, I should’ve ordered a ribeye or something, because it just got too much. Still tasted good, but the guilt and the amount of fat just got a little too much here. Order the brisket if you have a bigger party. pretty picture, though.
This is certainly one of the best places I’ve been to, the restaurant is very clean and comfortable, the walls are lined with photos of celebrities. The wait staff was pretty attentive and always answered the bell that is customary at Korean restaurants, they did a lot of the cooking for us as well, I definitely liked that. The price is pretty standard (expensive) for Korean barbecue, and they also have Kobe style beef, which can get REALLY pricy, I’m told it’s excellent, though. For me and Caitlin, it was around $80 for 3 orders of glorious meat. Yes, we can both put it away like no other. Bring a few hungry friends, get a big table, and lots of money. You’re bound to have a good time. If you don’t mind the smoky smell, try Soot Bull Jeep, their Kalbee is just unbeatable. Otherwise this is a great alternative as well.
Park’s Barbeque
955 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-1717