Chung Dam, that’s fine BBQ!

I had, after much study, selected a Korean restaurant from Yelp for my most recent My Thursday Lunch, but as luck (good or bad) would have it, they were closed.  So I decided to keep on traveling down that lonesome highway — well, Wilshire Boulevard, which is neither a highway nor lonesome — and I ended up going back to what is becoming my favorite Korean BBQ restaurant in LA, ChungDam Korean BBQ.

Never underestimate the power of sugar

My son Jeff is in town visiting, and we were trying to decide whether to go for Thai or Korean for our Thursday lunch. He decided that Korean would be much more of a new experience, so we went to one of my favorite Korean BBQ places, Si Gol Ssam Bob in K-town.

Most Korean BBQ places give you some lettuce in which to wrap the meat. One of the things I love about this place is the range of lettuces they give you. There is your basic romaine, parboiled cabbage, mizuna, even some seaweed!

I tend to always go for the spicy pork bulgogi at Si Gol Ssam Bob, so I wanted to try something different. I decided to go for the spicy squid bulgogi and Jeff got the beef bulgogi.

Yes, I’ll have lethal injection, please!

For my Thursday Lunch today, I decided to let fate (and my nose) direct me through Koreatown.  I was driving by Vermont and James M Wood Blvd, and a beautiful Korean BBQ smell pulled me in as if it was The Sirens and I was Odysseus.  Unfortunately for me, The Sirens don’t like eaters who fly solo.  They are an AYCE (All You Can Eat) place that has a minimum number of orders of 2.  So rather than pay for two meals, I decided to put that place on hold until I find some company for one of my lunches.  Instead, I walked a block over to Soowon Galbi.  I went to Soowon Galbi some months ago and was very pleased with it.  I find that often I can’t help myself but get the bulgogi, but that’s what I had last time, so I was bound and determined to resist.  The waitress saw my hesitation when looking at the menu and decided to tell me what to get.  She said I should either get the bulgogi or the bibimbop.  I told her that I was thinking about the Go Deung Oh Jorim (Mackeral and kimchi braised in a spicy sauce), also known as a jjigae.  Besides sounding interesting, it’s only $7.99 — well in the range of My Thursday Lunch requirements.  She said, “No, hot” and reiterated the two choices.  I asked again about the Mackeral and she said, “No, hot.  Spicy. ”  I said, “Yes, I understand.”  She looked at me doubtfully and said, “You like spicy?” and I said, “Oh yes”, and she said, “Ok” and quickly left, as if I had just said, “Yes, I’ll have lethal injection, please!”.  I have to admit, there was a small voice inside my head saying, “Bruce, Bruce.  What are you thinking?”, but it was done.  I had ordered.