| rev:text
| - Imagine two college roommates, one an all-american kid raised on classic fast food fare, the other a Korean foreign exchange student with an overprotective mom preparing meals weekly from home, and then picture some pothead next door raiding their refrigerator one night and throwing their leftovers together in one massive pile for a meal of his own. That may have been my first impression upon glancing at the menu, but after finishing my first meal here I am convinced this is the work of some evil mad culinary genius.
Went and checked out this place over lunch with a friend and decided to sample their two most popular items: the #1 (Beef Buldogi hotdog) and the Angry Kimchi Fries
The beef bulgogi dog is a 100% premium beef dog covered with an avalanche of Asian cole slaw, grilled onions, generous strips of beef bulgogi (marinated beef with Korean seasonings, finished off with a dusting of sesame seeds and a light drizzle of house mayo. The first bite of any hot dog usually begins with a naked end devoid of bread or toppings, and one can tell that the Buldogi dog has been grilled to that perfect smokey char with a nice firm "snap" of the casing that explodes with mouthwatering flavor. The contrast in textures and flavors from the tender bulgogi, crispy slaw, smokey onions, creamy mayo, and toasted sesame seeds surprisingly round out one another in harmonious balance.
The angry kimchi fries was a whole other beast. Wheras the oxtail chili cheese fries at Bachi Burger look better than they taste, the Angry fries here taste better than they look. Start with a bed of sweet potato fries, add a layer of pork bulgogi, throw in some cooked kimchi and melted cheese with diced green onion and jalapeno, and then finishing the whole concoction with a sunny side egg, I found myself unable to stop with each progressive bite since something so wrong apparently seemed so right! There's a stroke of brilliance with the choice of sweet potato for the starch since the natural sugar cuts through all the spicy and savory components and the richness from the cheese and runny egg yolk cleverly binds all the distinct bold flavors together (pro-tip: break the yolk immediately upon being served otherwise the heat from the other ingredients will continue to cook the egg)
If I had one minor critique, it would be the lack of beer and the ambience inside is a bit drab since I think the food has heavy flavors that go well with beer in the company of friends with a sporting event in the background since I would totally attend any stadium or ballpark which served these items. It looks like they may have attempted to expand previously but the other location appears closed on yelp, but hopefully their following will grow to be successful on a repeat attempt in the future.
|