Comments (0) BEST GOOD OL' SOUTHERN(KOREAN) BBQ - 2009
Soot Bull Jeep
The sheer number of restaurants in Koreatown is mind-boggling to sort through. A lot of folks keep it simple; when they want primally addictive Korean BBQ, they head to the simple, modest place with the three-word name that happens to sound, in English, like a hard-charging, smoke-spewing all-terrain vehicle: Soot Bull Jeep. Perhaps the name is strangely appropriate? There are the earthy red-brick walls; the efficient, officious, skirt-clad waitresses; the constant crowds — Korean and non-Korean alike, with their often joyous, celebratory vibe — and then there's the smoke. The holy smoke, that wafts and streams from the center-table BBQ pits, filling the place with pure marinated-meat spicy sweetness. Menu decisions are easy: Pick a meat (Spencer steak, short ribs, spicy pork, chicken, calamari, etc.) and it comes with a scrumptious array of sides — some leafy, some pickled — and rice. It's so damn satisfying you wear the smoky smell on your clothes like a sacred culinary anointing. 3136 W. Eighth St., Koreatown. (213) 387-3865.
—Adam Gropman
