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Was feeling hungry on a Saturday night so opted for some AYCE kbbq! Parking lot is a bit small but it was an early-ish dinner (6pm) so there were some spots available. Wait was about 10 or or so minutes. They have set dinners and a la carte but AYCE was reasonably priced so that’s what we went for. Standard bonchon, and the meats are split up into ones that you cook for yourself (brisket, ribeye, pork belly), and meats that they bring pre-cooked for you (bbq beef, chicken, pork, galbi). I was here a long time ago and remembered them cooking the meat for our group, but I guess that’s not really a thing anymore. No matter! It’s pretty simple to flip meats and keep everything from being burnt. Brisket was good, rib eye was a pass. The bbq chicken/beef/pork combination platter felt like a filler but the galbi was great. Should have eaten more of that but got filled up on other things. Corn cheese was a bit sweet for my liking. Servers were very attentive, we were hardly ever without some meat cooking (sometimes had to tell them to wait a bit so we could actually finish eating what we cooked before they gave us more meat). It was bustling inside but our waiters made sure we always had enough meat & water. I usually take like 2-3 month hiatuses after kbbqs so I’m glad this place made it a worthwhile experience!

U Grill Korean BBQ – Menu with Prices – 12728 Foothill Blvd, Rancho Cucamonga

Came here last night at around 9 pm. This was our second time coming to this place. The service was slow at first it took around 20 minutes for us to be seated. There was a bit of confusion as to who our server was so we ended up having 2 servers and gave us double the water. Which was good so we didn’t have to keep asking for refills. On top of that there was soap residue left behind, but no worries as it would evaporate from the fire. Our first round we ordered beef belly, brisket, and curry chicken. Beef belly and brisket were so juicy and tender! In some kbbq places their brisket would be so dry and not enjoyable. Their curry chicken was also fantastic. Second round we ordered more beef belly and brisket. We also ordered garlic pork belly. Just a tip make sure you watch your garlic pork belly. Ours looked burnt but it was still very tasty. Their marinade really seeped into the pork and had this garlicky aroma when it was cooking. Usually we go to gen so we were a bit hesitant to go back to this place as it doesn’t offer our favorites likes their appetizers. What this place does have is corn cheese & steamed egg which is even better! One thing they can work on is their soondubu soup. It’s a bit too salty for my liking. Also not sure if it’s supposed to be spicy like the one in gen? Our second time at this place has been amazing. Their service was slow at first but picked up the pace. Once we were almost done and asked for the check our server looked at the meats we had left and said that they do charge for leftovers. If we couldn’t finish he would wait off on giving our bill. No way would I spend an additional fee due to not finishing the meats! A few minutes later he said if we couldn’t finish it that it’s fine. He wouldn’t charge us just this once but he would have to next time. Nonetheless we still finished the meats that we did have left. This place has good prices for the quality of meat. I cannot rave about their quality of meats enough. It was very juicy and had a very good texture. Will come again.

Gen Korean BBQ House – Menu with Prices – 9292 Warren Pkwy #150, Frisco

I’ve now been twice to this recently opened restaurant, once with my daughter and two grandkids, once for lunch on my own. GEN features AYCE (all you can eat) Korean BBQ, $26 for dinner ( 1/2 price for 10-yr olds or under, no senior discounts) and $17 for lunch. But weekends are all at dinner pricing. There is a good variety of offerings. A brisket was one I hadn’t encountered (and I lived in Korea for a while) but it turned out to be quite good – lots of slices, quick to cook, delicious with the dipping sauce. The bone-in galbi was very good; the bone-out galbi was not as well received. The latter was in chunks of varying size and thus cooked at different rates. Several were found to be “stringy” and that doesn’t fly with youngsters. Subsequent cycles only included the bone-in. The bulgogi was quite good. Not the best but then our doing our own cooking versus having more expert cooks at other places could be a factor. And that is something to consider when going to GEN. You will be doing the cooking. While that is fun, it does add to the dining time and also means you’ll have ample time NOT eating. The staff have always been very good at swapping out the metal cooking surface which avoid carbon build-up. Good marks for being on top of that element! Besides the bone-out galbi, the spicy pork belly we tried was also not a great success. First off, it was hard to unroll. It also was more difficult to cut with the meat scissors; that perhaps was our own inexperience, but nevertheless, it didn’t go smoothly. It cooked very slowly. The crispy result was acceptable to my daughter and me but the kids didn’t relish it at all. With only two of us sharing, we wound up scorching the last couples of pieces from neglect. While I note a couple of unsuccessful choices, I emphasize that we had a great time and I also greatly enjoyed my solo lunch (and kudos to Joseph for exceptional service!) The kids have been anxious to visit again and they are quite choosy about favored places. I also intend to make this one of my regular lunch places. One further note. The first time, Korean Hite beer was only available in the large bottle and given all the food we had, that proved a challenge for me to finish (my daughter helped out at the end). Now Hite is on tap. As I developed a liking for Hite while in Korea, that is a nice extra.

Bawi Korean BBQ – Menu with Prices – 4121 S National Ave, Springfield

For $24.98, a nice and decent AYCE KBBQ joint. We drove down from St. Roberts just to give it a try. My sister and her family came by once and they loved the place, so now it was time for me to join them and see for myself. Remember, in Korean BBQ, cooking order is very important – start with non-marinated meats, then work towards marinated. This is important as if you mix the two, it’ll burn the grill and require it to be changed often. If you go from non-marinated to marinated, then there’s a good chance the grill doesn’t need to be changed. We made a reservation for 5:45, got there 5:20 and checked in, but did not get seated until 5:40pm. Why did it take so long? The hostess unfortunately, she was so flustered with so many folks checking in, the tablet not working and you can tell she was stressed out… after 20 minutes, they finally got their stuff in order. Once you check in, they will set up your table, then seat you. What does it mean by setting up your table? Basically they place your dishes, banchans, etc on the table. Once seated, the waitress will come by and ask: – what to drink – ask if we want rice – ask if we want spicy soup (only broth is served, it’s more of spicy napa soup) – then ask you what kind of meat you want. In terms of meat, this is what we had: – beef brisket x 4 – Pork Jowl x 1 – Pork Belly x 1 – Beef Bulgogi x 1 – Short Ribs (LA Kalbi) x 1 – Sirloin steak x 1 – spicy pork bulgogi x 1 – herb chicken x1 (small portion) Each order, you can ask for 2 meats – same or different – and depending on number in your party, they will bring the quantity. If you want less, just ask for less. The time (2 hour) starts the moment they drop off your first order of the meat, that’s when you can order your next meat selection. Banchans – their picked veggies was the best! I always take the soy sauce and make that into my dipping sauce. I pour the remaining sauce in a bowl, then dip the cooked brisket and then eat it with salad. Others banchans were okay, nothing special. Meat Review – reviewing from our favorite to least favorite. Beef Brisket – this was our favorite, not only because it cooks fast, but it has the right amount of meat to fat ratio. Spicy Pork Bulgogi – definitely must try! It was perfectly marinated and had just right amount of spice. This you have to eat with rice. Beef Bulgogi – good, our 3rd favorite meat. It was marinated very well! Sirloin Steak – we got 4 pcs for one order, I would recommend that you get 2 first and then order more if you like it. Its bit tough, cook it to medium and enjoy. So these were our least favorite: – Short Ribs/LA Kalbi – very chewy and tough to eat. Could have used more kiwi or asian pear to help break down the fiber to make the meat more tender. It also had too much fat on the meat. Herb Chicken – I did not try it, but nephew said no. I never order chicken items at AYCE Kbbq. Pork Belly/Pork Jowl – We ordered the pork belly and jowl once, but both times they served what they called jowl. Their jowl is not actual jowl… rather, they take the fattest cut of the pork belly, slice it into bite sizes. This is how they serve it and call it pork jowl, very misleading. I’ll forgive them for their Pork Jowl and the hostess breaking down… the server did an excellent job of meeting my demands, we kept her very busy – from ordering more meats, salad and side items to water. The waitress made up for other two mistakes!! If you are in the area and love or want to try Korean BBQ, give this place a try!

The Fire Pot – Menu with Prices – 4646 Convoy St, San Diego

If you’re a parent who has kids that don’t like to eat much, this place is amazing. I can’t tell you how many times my husband & I wanted to eat at an AYCE Korean bbq with the kids in tow, but don’t want to pay the $25+ for kids who can’t even eat much. They let the adults in our party do the all you can eat, while the kids ordered however amount of individual orders they needed. Of course I was told it depended on how many people. We were a party of 7. A huge plus & thank you to them for letting us parents enjoy Korean Bbq as a family. I have to add, service was top notch. The servers were so nice & very accommodating. What sets this place different from other Korean AYCE joints I’ve tried is their charcoal grill. I love the extra flavor from the charcoals it imparts onto the meat. The down side is you can’t really do much with temperature control. But it didn’t give us any problems since all the meats we grilled cooked evenly & perfectly. We were even able to cook the marinated wings crispy & evenly without burning them. The food, our favs: Spicy beef soup: surprisingly delicious. I don’t like to waste my time on soup when it comes to AYCE, but this soup was worth it. Flavorful, and the meat/steak inside was so tender & flavorful. Loved all the different veggies in the soup & the little bites of a beaten egg in every bite. Marinated Short rib (kalbi): I haven’t been to any other AYCE Korean bbq that serves this. No limits, you can keep ordering as much as you’d like. My fav. Slightly sweet from the marinade, & tender. Marinated sliced beef (Bulgogi): nice light marinade, & super tender, thin slices of beef. The kid’s fav! Black pepper rib meat: I was surprised how much I loved this. A little fatty & so tender. Brisket: always my one of my fav in Korean bbq. Theirs were thinly sliced just how I like it & tender. Theirs had great marbling making every bite tender. Love dipping it in the sesame oil & salt sauce. But their garlic brown dipping sauce is really great worth it too. Marinated pork belly: thinly sliced with a hint of the marinade. yum! So good! Cucumber salad: light & refreshing Sauces: My go to is always the sesame oil & salt. But I really liked their garlic sauce. A Korean joint is no good if they can’t even make a good dipping sauce. Theirs is really good. Loved everything. We had a wonderful experience and thought everything was top notch. Only negatives is they don’t serve much banchans. They only had the cucumbers and kimchi upon request. And they didn’t have our favorite steamed egg. But the quality of their meats, their service, & coal grills will keep us coming back. A+ all around! Just please add the steamed egg & more banchans to the menu.

Q Pot Korean BBQ & Hotpot – Menu with Prices – 1610 E Capitol Expy, San Jose

Although I live half a mile from Gen Korean BBQ… I prefer venturing down to Q-Pot for my AYCE Korean BBQ fix, mainly because I like the idea of having AYCE hot pot with it as well. I’m surprised more places don’t do this… it might sound like a gimmick, but it works really well with KBBQ. LOGISTICS Here are my reasons as to why I prefer Q-Pot over Gen: – Yelp Wait list is brilliant; it’s great because you can put your name on the list while you’re on your way, and plan better based off of what the wait list looks like. – AYCE hot pot … more on that later, but you can adjust the temperature of your hot pot easily (unlike Boiling Point where you might have to choose burning your mouth haha) – Condiment bar is a great way to customize sauces and seasonings for your grilled meat and hot pot. I love getting creative. – Tablet ordering… more places need to do this. Makes it easier for us keep the meat coming (you have a 2 hr limit), but also helps us track what the heck we ordered As for the location itself, it’s pretty nice – the lighting and seating remind me of Gen Korean BBQ locations. Obviously the tables are different since they are designed to allow hot pot as well. Parking was OK – it’s in a plaza, so parking is shared with other businesses. We hard to park a little further out, but a walk after AYCE is a good idea. FOOD The menu is pretty diverse since you get both KBBQ and hot pot; the iPad categorizes each item so it’s easy to figure out what it’s for. Thin meats are obviously for hot pot, but you’re allowed to cook them on the grill. Just know they may be difficult to pick up once cooked. The banchan is also pretty good with kimchi, seaweed salad, potato salad, and some other pickled veggies. Going back to the condiment bar – it’s quite expansive. You have your green onions, minced garlic, butter, hot sauces, oils, etc. They even have green tea salt! I’m always flagging the server at Gen for more green tea salt. So nice to just have it available. By now most people know Korean BBQ is delicious, and this place is no exception – I think the quality is pretty good. For KBBQ meats, my top choices are the following: Brisket – I need no explanation here. Beef Belly – I think this is only available for dinner, but definitely get this if you like pork belly. The thinness makes it crispier and in all honesty I think it’s better than pork belly, especially dipped in sesame oil. Pork Cheeks – I don’t really like thick pork belly for KBBQ… I like it thin and crispy. The pork cheeks are more what I look for and they are great when you char them on on the grill. Steak – I’m always skeptical about steak at KBBQ… but it’s really good here, especially when you top the steak with butter (they give it to you or it’s at the condiment bar) and green tea salt while you cook it. Delicious. Skip on the rice here and get japchae or rice paper – I love wrapping the meat in a rice paper, then wrapping it in lettuce and dipping it in sauce. As a Filipino I love rice, but it takes up too much space in my stomach, haha. For the AYCE hot pot, I’ve always gotten the tom yum soup – it’s got a nice kick to it and the lemon grass feels good on my throat. Which is really nice when you’re gorging yourself with meat. I usually use the hot pot to get veggies (mushrooms, bok choy, etc.) with my meal, but if I’m waiting for meat to cook on the grill then meat dipped in hot pot is my filler (it cooks faster). They’ll also refill the soup if you run low. SERVICE With the iPad ordering, it’s quite efficient! You send your order to the kitchen and a few minutes later the servers will drop it off at your table. I also like that they’re good about offering to refill your hot pot broth or banchan if they’re low. VALUE I definitely get my money’s worth coming here for a Bay Area Korean BBQ. Yeah prices are steep, but we don’t ha

Gen Korean BBQ House – Menu with Prices – 43476 Boscell Road M6, B, Fremont

Everything I would expect from Gen. Service: I felt like they should have assigned our party of 25 (split into several tables) at least one more wait staff, but the one they did assign did a great job. They even brought plates for the 85c cake we had. An extra staff would have been great for clearing tables of empty plates and replacing grills. Not sure if they were understaffed and underprepared that day (they ran out of sauce at like 5pm). Note: We had to pre-order 4 dishes for all of our tables, then we could order whatever we wanted after that. Don’t order more than you can eat or you have to pay extra! Dinner options: – Pork belly in red wine was the best. A little chewy, but okay to bite through (the thin cut beef tongue was VERY chewy and tough, would not get beef tongue again). Sweet and savory, thick and juicy. – Galbi is my favorite and they have nice thick cuts here. The scissors they give you aren’t great, but if you cut at the right angle then you’ll be alright. – Popcorn chicken comes fried and ready to eat, though it was huge bummer when they ran out of their sweet chili sauce. Crunchy and flavorful, not too salty, not burnt, just the right amount to pop into your mouth. – Plain shrimp was good, though I’m not a fan of things that have low payoff for how much effort goes into eating them (no, I don’t eat the shell!!). – Brisket was good, thin cut like the beef tongue, but much more tender and easy to eat. Nice kind of smokey flavor. – Honey chicken also another crowd favorite. Solid chicken, mildly sweet. I feel like we cooked it for a long time, but it was still very juicy and tender! My partner tried the geisha girl drink and it was like a VERY sugary lemonade with a LOT of ice. I liked it, but I wouldn’t get it again. Sugar and ice for $7? Soft pass lol Parking was also very easy. Their paper straws could be better quality, but I don’t even really use straws so whatever. Overall another good experience.

Korean BBQ Village – Menu with Prices – 41269 Margarita Rd # C101, Temecula

So, my best friend and her husband moving away and this is their favorite restaurant. As such, I made a reservation here for their farewell dinner. They’d raved about it before, but I honestly left feeling a little underwhelmed. First thing’s first, the price point was fine – pretty standard for the area. For the $23 (or $23.95) price, you get AYCE meats like bulgogi, brisket, pork belly, chicken, etc. However, there are limitations on shrimp and short rib. Also, if you’re used to places like Gen where you get salad, gyoza, etc., look again. This ain’t that place. I think what I liked least about this place was the service. When we got there, they were sooooo dead, but the server was slow and kept forgetting things. She was very nice – even playing with the babies, but so inattentive. Then, out of nowhere, they got busy, and she stole the extra table and chairs from our table (we were still waiting for a couple people) and they disappeared. A man came and started to take care of us, but it was crazy. The food was fine, but there were several times we had empty grills and drinks. We also weren’t given fish cakes! I hate to say it, but Seoul Galbi is better.

Meega Korean – Menu with Prices – 4070 Jermantown Rd, Fairfax

Visited this establishment with my family, and we were bit disappointed at the foods we were served. Upon entrance, we were greeted by a friendly staff member. We ordered 3 portions of Galbi and 1 dish or spicy octopus /galbi. The banchan(s) were decent. Nothing remarkable tho. After waiting for about few minutes, the meats were brought out and the staff member started to cook the meat for us. I was shocked at the amount of fat that the meat had. The meats were super fatty and we could only taste the fats. Felt super oily. The spicy octopus-galbi was very disappointing as well. Unlike the display, which looked absolutely amazing, the octopus was uncooked, and the texture of the galbi was really cheap. The quality of the food was really disappointing. I’m giving 2 stars because the staff members were super friendly, the service was pretty quick, and the restaurant was fairly clean. However, I dont think we will visit this place again anytime soon.

Beque Holic – Menu with Prices – 3812 W Newberry Rd, Gainesville

I have been here another 2 times since the first time I went (previous review.) I have to say the food is on point. I love all the different banchan (side dishes) options that are available to you, and that you can pick and choose which ones you want more of, meaning if you didn’t like one you don’t have to get it again. The kimchi is so fresh, I dream about that stuff, as well as the different pickled radishes. This is not even to mention the meat, I recommend the brisket, beef kalbi (LA short rib) and beef bulgogi, all my favs. Now many others say they like the gochujang chicken, I think if you are paying this high of a price you should stick to the more expensive meats (and my twin makes that at home for me all the time, so… yeah. LOL!) I personally think the prices could be a little lower for the all-you-can-eat. I have a friend who says when he and his wife go they don’t do the AYCE and just each get a different meat (banchan is included) and that way they are able to take the leftovers home. I always eat too much with the AYCE almost to being in pain afterwards. Ah! I’m awful. Anyways, this last time we had a really great server which is why I think it made my husband’s bday so memorable (not so much the last time we went for my bro-in-laws bday.) Also, the beer pitchers are not over priced and we tried one of their fancy Soju beverages and there were 2 shots per person (4 of us.) We had the passion fruit and it was wonderful, not too sweet. I will be getting that every time we go! Sorry for not having more pictures but the bday boy doesn’t love me taking a bunch of photos during our meals, so I had to give him that for his special day. This is definitely not a place you can afford to eat every week but for special occasions it is a must, and the person celebrating their bday gets their meal free (some restrictions apply so check the website for more details.)

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit – Menu with Prices – 4212 Stadium Dr, Kalamazoo

Finally had a chance to head over to this chain. I hadn’t actually heard about it until I went to New York and found out kzoo had their own. So naturally I had to try it out myself. I dug the interior layout of the place. Very easy to find the order counter. You can order one type of meat or a couple in a platter. So I did two meats pulled pork and brisket. I really love juicy meat and not having to rely on using a sauce. Unfortunately that’s exactly what I had to do with my brisket. Pulled pork was already sauced up, no problem. However, the meat was cold which was super weird. The brisket although dry was at least hot. The meal didn’t come with any type of bread, so I’m not sure if I was to order that on the side like I did with fries. Thank goodness I had those when I got home. I was able to use the waffle fries as “bread” pieces. However, it just didn’t hid the fact that both meats were so dry. When you are playing a lot of money like that, it really sucks to have cold AND dry food. Two stars for the drink machine though I love those.

The cast iron pot 3 – Menu with Prices – 157-26 Northern Blvd, Flushing

I was wondering where the 2 previous Cast Iron Pots are, since we’re starting with #3 and they’re listed on the menu in New Jersey. I’m glad they decided to open one in Ktown, Queens. This 3rd incarnation took over this spot on Northern Blvd that used to be one of our favorite KBBQ’s, BBQ Village. It was a lounge called Blue Danube for a few months, but now has been transformed into a hot metal dome variation type of KBBQ. Comparisons to O2 BBQ in Bayside are unavoidable as they are similar AYCE places. After putting in a name on their electronic tablet and were told a 40 minute wait time, we were seated after about 55 minutes. The place was packed with diners and 12 TV screens (I counted) of KPOP blaring (I actually wonder if anybody can tell any of those groups apart). CIP (not to be confused with the Cross Island Pkwy) uses a lower height iron dome than O2 and their tables are mostly round. Check out the wall of iron domes as you walk to the restrooms. It looks like a Spartan warrior armory. You sit on these hard steel can, wood topped stools. They’re not meant for you to get comfortable as they have a policy of 2 hr limit with a 30% surcharge per 30 minute overtime (Yikes!) Our table is already set up with individual sauces and salad as we are seated with the central iron dome heating up. We immediately go for the beef, ordering #14 thru #18, along with a few choices of pork belly and jowl. What is abromasum? Apparently, it’s the 4th stomach of a cow. Decided to skip that and the small intestine. Our server immediately, brought out 2 portions of thin sliced beef brisket. As it was cooking, someone noticed that the dome sits on a slanted gas burner that drains fat more efficiently as the rivulets of grease flowed down the sides. Our server also laid on heaps of bean sprouts and kimchi on the sides of the dome and kept on refilling them with every portion of meat, along with sides of steamed egg and beef & turnip soup. Contrary to what’s been said in other reviews, romaine lettuce to wrap your meat is available if you request it. Plus unlimited bowls of rice. The stainless steel bowls are double-wall insulated so you don’t have to worry about burning your fingers. The brisket is not marinated, so dip it in the bean sauce or course salt. Other cuts like Top Blade Steak, Hanging Tender Steak Galbi Steak & Beef Bulgogi kept coming out to feed our carnivorous appetites. The Pork Belly was really meaty versus other places that are really fatty, but just fatty enough to keep it moist. The Pork Jowl was also really good. After another round of choice beef, I wanted to try the chorizo and that about did us in. We came in under the 2 hr limit at 1 hr 45 minutes and were stuffed. When are we coming back?

LITTLE CAFE – PARK CENTRAL – Menu with Prices – 1111 N Loop W #150, Houston

Excellent Banh Mi (pork) and Pho (beef) are my go-tos! Both dishes are so good, I rarely try anything else! I’ve had the lemongrass chicken before, too, and it was also excellent. Pho is only made on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Beef, chicken, and shrimp (and probably no meat) Pho is offered; I was recommended the beef and have stuck with it. Raw beef is given which cooks in the broth (fresh!); the other meats wouldn’t work well to cook quickly, so they are given cooked. Sometimes they offer lasagna which seems to be especially popular and they always offer more commonplace sandwiches (BLT, burgers, etc.). The cafe is on the first floor and offers seating, so it’s relatively welcoming to people who don’t work in the office building it’s housed in.