A group of friends crammed around a Korean bbq table makes George a happy birthday boy. For this reason on Sunday we went to join him on Olympic where it meets the former border of our fine Pueblo.
Shik Do Rak is special for a few reasons. The semi-open wall surfaces encourage smoking, an activity in which many patrons choose to partake. (This place and The Prince are the two restaurants where I've seen this banned pastime happening more than any other indoor establishment.) The restaurant attracts a crowd that makes people-watching endlessly engaging. Then there's the white noise of the rushing waterfall built into the back wall to help drown out the traffic and accompany the sweet sounds of the tabletop barbecue functions.
A big draw seems to the thin rice paper wrappers, or duk bo sam. This feature is even advertised on the napkins. I don't find them a very comfortable or effective vehicle in which to wrap hot meats and stuff, but they do taste good, and I love the texture.
It all keeps me guessing. The quality of the meat is lesser than other places around K-town and it's not really seasoned much. How will it taste when combined with the spicy red and mild sesame sauces? I'm interested to see how the thinly rolled pieces that resemble prosciutto cook on the round grill, and I'm confused by the unseasoned and still-frozen Pinwheel of Beef. Compared to Wonjo the panchan are limited. (I eat a lot of very yummy sesame marinated bean sprouts.) Regardless, the price is right, I keep digging into the already-cooked fantastic pork ribs and soft onions to distract me from the Hite and soju I can't drink, and it's very good times.
Shik Do Rak
2501 W. Olympic Blvd. (at Hoover)
Los Angeles 90006
213.384.4148
Most places do serve lettuce to accompany BBQ. As much as I like duk bo sam and love most rice noodley products, it's actually a lot easier to eat meat wrapped up in lettuce leaves despite their fragility. Shik do Rak hands out bowls of lettuce, but they're not dressed so clearly not salad, and the pieces are a little too big to fit into the rice wraps.
Posted by: Jess | May 03, 2006 at 03:09 PM
Nice pics of the meat grilling action Jess! Glad to have you present for the experience, but sorry you were apparently at the smoky end of things. We'll have to hit Castle BBQ for another dduk bo sam experience. I think the food there is a little better but it's harder to do with a big group of people. Rock on!
Posted by: George | May 03, 2006 at 11:44 PM
EMAIL: marissa.gluck@gmail.com
IP: 69.230.95.175
URL: http://terranonfirma.blogspot.com
DATE: 05/03/2006 11:40:33 AM
I'm intrigued by the duk bo sam - never had that with korean bbq. I always wrap my meat in lettuce leaves at korean places, but I'm a relative novice.
Posted by: marissa | February 07, 2008 at 03:05 PM
http://erinskitchen.blogspot.com
DATE: 05/03/2006 11:22:39 PM
I still have not explored much in the way of Korean restaurants in LA--gotta get my lazy self down there. Love all the little bowls at the place you went in Artesia--though I'm not sure I could prevent myself from having Indian food instead...
Posted by: erin | February 07, 2008 at 03:05 PM