Korean Food...where have you been all my life?

Around lunch time I was talking to my amazing husband and I asked him if he had any bright ideas for dinner. Well, he knew that I am really busy this week and suggested that we go out...somewhere that we have never been. We ended up at a nondescript Vietnamese/Thai/Chinese place that wasn't bad...but unremarkable. We had some springrolls and some Pho with beef. In the midst of this, Scott mentioned that he had seen something on the Food Network about Korean food and he was really interested in trying Korean food. So...I plugged it into my phone and one of the results in our area was Chosun Korean BBQ. So, after ourVietnamese soup and spring rolls, we were on our way.

Once we got there and started looking at the menu, we told the waiter what we liked and asked for his suggestions. He recommended a combo of spicy pork and beef short ribs that was accompanied by six side dishes. Did I mention that the tables have grills built into them? Yes, the rib meat (cut off of the bone, perfectly seasoned and marbled) and the thinly sliced pork butt was cooked at our table along with some mushrooms, onions, and garlic cloves. Served with the meat was a bowl of rice for each, kimchi (cabbage and cucumber, spelling?), fried tofu, fish cakes, bean sprouts, and steamed egg. As different that these side dishes seem, they all were really remarkably and worked together.

This was such a memorable dining experience. The beef was tender and favorable...the pork was spicy and so delicious. All was served with bean paste and lettuce leaves to make wraps.

We have never had the privilege to enjoy this type of cuisine before and can't really attest to the authenticity. But we can say, that this experience is one that we will recommend and one that we want to experience again...soon.

Did I mention that I got to do this with my best friend?

Chosun Korean BBQ chosun@yahoo.com

Scott's comments:
Carmen really captured the essence of our evening, which was just a fantastic dining experience. It's not that we were unhappy with Babo Terriyaki , but it was somewhat unsatisfying, so we ventured out to find this Korean BBQ place. What a fantastic place!

The waiter was very informative and helped us with what to order to eat, as well as what to order for our beverages. They had beer and a Korean whiskey which was made from grains like normal whiskey, but also fermented spirits from Sweet potato which gave it a slightly sweet flavor, yet very clean and crisp. It was perfect with the flavors of the spicy pork and the flavors of the beef.

The overall experience was enjoyable because the waiter cooked the meat, onion, garlic and mushroom right there at the table for us, while not being too intrusive. The beef was perfectly cooked along with the onion, and garlic; and the pork was spiced and cooked beautifully with jalapeno, onion, and other spices. We eat at alot of fine places, and this was one of the best dining experiences we have ever had! One of the things that was "icing on the cake" was the fact that we started looking around and above the door was a plaque that had the Joshua 24:16b passage that says, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." AWESOME!

We highly recommend Chosun and will be visiting this fine establishment many more times in the future!

Why don' we do this more often?

London…

Okay, so I need to catch up.  On Thursday we went to Westminster Abbey and on the way saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  I don’t mean to undermine these amazing icons of history…but I really expected Big Ben to be bigger.  

Onto Westminster Abbey…so, this is an amazing work of architecture.   Who can sit down one day and think, “I am going to build this amazing building with all of these intricate details.”?  And then we move on to the inside.  You had a self tour with these phone/walkie talkies.  When you got to a specific area, there was a sign that told you what number to put into the phone thingy.  Then there was a narrative on the specific area in which you were.  Basically, we were walking all over the many, many kinds and queens who are buried there.  There were some intricate, golden, memorials erected in honor of some of the royalty buried there.  Really amazing “death masks” depicting these incredibly pious dead people with their eyes closed and their hands folded in prayer.  There was a lot of Mary and baby Jesus.   It was such a monument to Man.  Each monument was designed to surpass the royalty that followed; such a memorial to the people…so very little God.  Such time and effort dedicated to building and crafting the things that moth and rust destroy…

Should I even get into the “worship service”  that happens everyday?  It’s in the middle of the nave and during which, tourists are free to wander around.  We were very surprised to see that it was led by a woman.

Some thoughts on London:

• It is very, very clean.  Even though you can’t find a trash can if your life depended on it; it is really clean.  Even the subway.
• It was very cold.
• You think you will be able to understand the people; but sometimes you won’t.
• The bathtub in our room was like a coffin; long but very narrow.
• The cars are very small and British looking.
• There are many “grocery” stores on all the streets.
• You can’t sit at the bar at the pubs…you have to grab a table.
• Not so much fashion going on.
• The food was better than we anticipated…we ate Thai and street food…but of course we had to have fish and chips in a pub.

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We are actually in London!

My watch says it's 12:05 pm (KS time) but London says it's 5:05 pm. Time changes really mess with my head!

It's cold here! I am so glad that I brought my coat! Wish I had brought my tennis shoes and my boots. Really, anything goes here...I am seeing lots of leggings, short short skirts, and flats. I am pretty happy with my wardrobe so far.

We went to Buckingham Palace today after a shower and little rest. We didn't see any guards in big, red, furry hats and the official changing of the guard was at 11:30. But there were guards and there was a palace. We rode the tube like pros.

European Vacation

Scott and I will set out on a 15th anniversary adventure on May 11th.  We will be going to England, France, and Italy.  Scott has been working on this trip for a year.  Our itinerary is quite ambitious.

I will try my best to blog each day while we are.  Hopefully I will figure out the whole video thing.

I will be in Venice for my birthday…don’t hate me!

The anniversary dinner save…

After our somewhat disappointing experience at Room 39, we headed over to  Ruth’s Chris, which is where we should have started our evening.  I have been to several Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses in many different cities and the consistency of this restaurant is remarkable.  We went to the Plaza location, http://www.ruthschris.com/Steak-House/3827/Kansas-City, and once again we were not disappointed.

We were seated promptly (without being asked if we had reservations) at an intimate table by the window where if we hadn’t been so consumed with each other, we could have enjoyed some very entertain people watching.  Our waiter’s name was Craig and after hearing our plight he bent over backwards to provide a delightful dining experience from start to finish.  This is a restaurant that can afford to be pretentious.  The combination of  the best quality of meat and seafood, the standard of service, and the atmosphere comes with a hefty tab.  But never once have I ever felt the least bit intimidated (not that I would anyway but some people feel uncomfortable).  Often, when Scott begins the process of selecting a wine, food servers feel the need to flex their wine “muscles.”  Craig, after discussing a few different wines with Scott  and then recognizing his (Scott’s) experience, suggested a lesser known vineyard that proved to be wonderful.  It was not a wine that we would have normally ordered so the new experience was a bonus.  Scott will have to pontificate on that particular selection at another time.

Being creatures of habit we began our meal with lobster bisque and a Ruth’s Chopped Salad.

 

This is my all time favorite salad (anywhere) and some of the finest bisque that we have found.  And trust me, Scott tries soup wherever we go.

We then ordered a live, freshly steamed lobster  and the veal chop.

 

We also had the most amazing onion rings.

They really did look like this!

 

We finished our meal with a complimentary crème brule and cappuccino. 

The service was amazing, the atmosphere was elegant yet intimate, and the food, well, a picture speaks a thousand words.  What began as a mediocre night, ended in a wonderful gastronomic experience.

Our anniversary…

April 14, 2009 was our fourteenth wedding anniversary.  It was also the day that we met seventeen years ago.  Incredible.  We had a quiet evening planned since we had seen The Phantom of the Opera, which is standard anniversary fare for us, the previous week.  We had hopes of a quiet, intimate dinner for just the two of us.  The evening, however, did begin with some unexpected bling….Scott can still surprise me!

 

 

This truly falls into the category of finer things!

Since Scott had heard wonderful things about Room 39, we decided to give it a try.  Room 39 has two locations, one in Leawood and one in Kansas City near KU Hospital.  We chose that location.  It is a small, intimate restaurant with approximately twelve tables set up in various configurations, predominately seating two.  There is a bar on one side that seats around eight.  It was a surprisingly formal atmosphere replete with white table cloths and the predictable wait staff dressed in black. 

Upon our arrival, the waitress asked if we had reservations.  Given the fact that it was a Tuesday evening and this is Kansas City; we did not.  There were three other parties of two in various stages of dining.  Apparently, they were also expecting a birthday party of six, as well.  We were seated in the middle of the room at a less than desirable table. 

I mention this only because just one other party came in during our time there in addition to the reservation.  We could have been easily seated at a better table without creating any inconveniences to reservations had they had some.  I get so frustrated with the elitist attitudes that some establishments adopt.  We were there to enjoy dinner; not to be punished for not making a reservation.

Once seated, the waitress offered beverages but no dinner menu.  As we contemplated our libations options, we kept waiting for the menu.  I found this odd although from what I understand this is not unusual.  After receiving our cocktail (about twenty minutes after we had been seated) we finally got menus.  We ordered an appetizer… escargot with crispy chickpea cake, hazelnut butter and preserved lemon gremolata.  About twenty minutes after ordering this appetizer; it still had not arrived.  We asked the waitress to check on it…I had visions of it sitting on the line congealing in garlic butter and mind you, we had already been there at least 45 minutes.  She promptly checked on it and informed us that it was almost ready.  Understand that escargot is a cooked product…it only needs to be heated in whatever sauce the chef is using.  It was at this time she offered us bread and butter.  Ten minutes later the escargot came out.  Very impressive and refreshing presentation, not the standard escargot floating in garlic butter.  Not that there is anything wrong with that!  Much to our dismay, the escargot was overcooked, tough, and extremely unpleasant to eat.  The chickpea cake was interesting but did not add to the dish.  The lemon gremolata was a very nice addition…now if I can just figure out where to get some!  When asked, we informed the waitress that it wasn’t what we had expected and by this time we had decided to go elsewhere so we asked for our check.  She apologized and consulted the manager who proceeded to remove the charge from our check.  Very nice effort until he presented the check saying, “I am sorry if you didn’t think that the escargot was prepared correctly.”

Needless to say, the hour plus that we spent there was not a fine dining experience.  I know that our expectations are high.  It grieves me that so many restaurants focus on wine lists, food trends, and atmosphere instead of service.  Quite honestly, service is at the top of my list and great food is just the icing on the cake.    There are so many things that can go wrong in an evening that in all fairness, we shouldn’t judge Room 39 too harshly.  Another day, a different location may make a world of difference.

Did I mention that she never brought the bread?