Tadak, 412-29 Mapo Gu, Seoul, Korea

For spring break, I'm in Korea, which is where my mom was born! I couldn't wait to try some local Korean food! We met up with her cousin Yong and his wife Jamaica. The interior was furnished with simple wooden tables and benches, which made the place seem old fashioned, but Tadak just recently opened in 2010. The meat is placed on a charcoal grill on a freestanding metal barbeque in the middle of your table. We ordered some galbi and short rib, and Yong grilled it so it was crispy but tender. We ate the meat in a piece of lettuce, put in some rice, kochujan (Korean red spicy pepper paste), onion-scallion mix and then folded it into a wrap. Spectacular! The lettuce and veggies gave a crunch, the meat was juicy, kochujan was spicy, and the rice toned the heat down. Perfect mouth stuffing bites. We also ordered small bowls of steamed omelettes in a hot stone bowl. The eggs were fluffy and slightly salty. The adults had a kimchi soup, which they said was very spicy. Also, they brought out bowls of kimchi and sweet radishes. In Korean barbecues, an array of pickeled and foraged vegetables are served in the beginning, which are all called banchon. I ordered a coke and the symbol was written in Korean. It looks so cool! After this meal, I knew there would be some good food awaiting me here in Korea. Overall, I give Tadak 4 pineapples. See you really soon. -tdg