Korean Job Discussion Forums

[schwa]

I suggest pajeon. Lots of possible variations, easy & cheap to prepare, tasty, goes well with beer (or makkeoli), marketable as "Korean savory pancake" or even "Korean pizza," & fun to eat, just toss in some wooden chopsticks & a soysauce dip. I bet people would go for it.

[War Eagle]

Haejangguk hands down, but not the kind with the clear broth and seafood. I had that once. It was disgusting.

[toiletgod2000]

Spicy yangyeom chicken is my personal favorite, and if you could make it in degrees of spiciness, that would be perfect. Like another poster mentioned, I too have fantasized about a world where I could eat Korean chicken with North American beer and sides. The small plate and two fork strategy is invaluable for the spiciest chicken. I thought it was ridiculous the first time I had chicken here, until after I peed and took out my contacts without boiling my hands.

I would also put together a kko chi "things on sticks" appetizer plate. You could have things like ddeok with a spicy bbq-type sauce, some kind of skewered chicken with an array of sauce options, a bread wrapped hot dog, and some of those "Chinese" chili shrimp. Tudari puts a ridiculous array of things on sticks, but I can't remember anything else. Skewered stuff seems easier to share at the bar.

[toiletgod2000]

Man I got hungry. Dessert--ho ddeok with a choice of fillings. Why hasn't anyone made chocolate ho ddeok yet? Also available a la mode.

[Daniel_D]

Noodles with seafood mixed in... pretty much any type minus oysters... I don't like oysters.. unless they are smoked oysters.

[Suwon Sister]

Shabu shabu!

[curiousaboutkorea]

I hate to be a downer.
Just a heads up, as far as tabletop cooking (as awesome as it is) is concerned, it's not very plausible back home. The insurance premiums for dining room cooking are enormous! It's already extraordinarily expensive when it's a (trained) server doing it on a sidecart. Once you get it within guests' reach, the costs are gonna be beyond prohibitive.

It's too bad... I love the table top cooking.

Oh yea... make your own kimchi... people back home are going nuts for that stuff. Good luck!

[Scamps]

Strange, nobody mentioned odeng yet. That's like Korean comfort food to me.

[jvalmer]

소갈비 beef galbi

[LosSeoul]

if you're really serious you should take the trip out to Ktown in LA and check out the plethora of hip, trendy korean bar/eateries

oh and my favorite is cold noodle

[Steelrails]

Well it sounds like you're going for a pub vibe or bar & grill. One place out in my -eup featured these Korean ribs that were sorta pre-cooked but the last stage they were thrown on the grill in front of you. Awesome food.

A big thing to consider though with the table grills is space for all the side dishes and beer. Customers are going to want things spread out and not all cramped.

Are you going to do lunch? You might want to offer lighter fare there to tempt the business/shopping lunch crowd. Colder dishes in the summertime, maybe even sushi. Or you could do quick and easy versions that are easy to order to go. Some kind of meat and rice/noodle dish for $8-12 dollars. The blue collar drowd is hard to snag on ethnic food during lunchtime so I don't know about that.

[Jeweltone]

One recent late-night food trend in both northern (SF Bay Area) and southern California has been the "Korean taco."

The most popular idea right now for club/bar food is a taco truck that goes throughout downtown LA and serves Korean-style tacos to the late night party crowd (they also cater to night clubs and other venues on occasion).

Here is more information; you have to see it to believe it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIfdHUwbarY
http://kogibbq.com/our-menu/

Looks yummy!

[Steelrails]

[Profesora]

Chicken and beer is my vote...it's a great combo and the buttons at the table.

[Old Gil]

Korean BBQ is huge in Chicago, and this was in 2005, tabletop grill and all. I'm sure it's still popular. I will find out in 6 weeks!!