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Amy Cavanaugh: Welcome to Dish from Chicago Magazine. I’m Amy Cavanaugh, Chicago magazine’s dining editor.

John Kessler: And I’m John Kessler, Chicago magazine’s dining critic.

Amy: And today, we’re going to do a deep dive into the metro area’s Korean food scene. In our latest issue, John reviewed Mister Tiger, the new spot in West Town from a family trio who are running their first restaurant. We figured this would also be a good time to break down all of the places that we’ve eaten locally and where our favorite places to go are for Korean food, plus we’ll also talk about the best things we ate lately, including a coconut tres leches cake. 

Amy: In the current issue, you reviewed Mister Tiger. I went a little bit before you, I went during the soft opening, which is when they had a smaller menu and a smaller drink menu as well. I know that the menus both expanded between the time they opened and then when they officially launched in late May, right? And so I really enjoyed my experience. I knew it was the soft open. So I also kind of had that in the back of my mind that, like, you know, there’s gonna be more food. I felt like, you know, things would probably become a little more polished on the service front as time went on. And so I haven’t gone back, but I know that you’ve been a few times lately. So the restaurant is from the married couple, Min and Brian Lee and Min’s brother, Charlie Park. I know that Min handles the menu and the cooking duties, whereas Charlie is on the cocktail side. So can you tell me a bit about your experiences there.

John: Yeah, for sure. So I went three times: once just to try a lot of the barbecue and the appetizers and everything, just to see how it kind of stacked up flavor-wise to some of the other Korean restaurants that I know and love. Once, I just sat at the bar, like I like to do, and had a cocktail and a couple small plates, and then I went back and explored all the rest of the menu and some things I hadn’t tried before, tried again a couple things that I knew were good. And it’s a really sweet, sweet restaurant. This is really their first time running a restaurant, and everything is kind of based in the cooking that Min and Charlie grew up with, prepared by their mom and grandmother. Two things: Look for the homeier dishes on the menu, because those will feel the most soulful. But then also look where her sense of creativity and playfulness comes in, because there are a couple things that, you know, I would imagine their mom didn’t serve, like a sizzling stone bowl of uni rice, for instance. But it’s delicious. And it’s one of those dishes where, like, spoons clink, everybody’s, you know, everyone’s going at it at once, and the spoons clink. So that’s a lovely thing. Overall, I liked it. I have a, you know, my couple of notes are that I do you think the service can be spotty. The kitchen gets kind of backed up. And, you know, sometimes you got to flag people down and be like, hi. I’m, you know, my blood sugar is, has gotten awfully low. What’s going on? But it’s a new restaurant. And I would also say that perhaps the barbecue, if you’re looking for something like that, you would find in a what is called a Korean barbecue restaurant, like a Korean meat house, where you actually grill at the table. You’re not going to get those flavors. Everything’s cooked in the kitchen, but, oh my god, they do this great beef short rib that is not like Korean galbi, that’s sliced thin on the bone, and it’s not like a one of those really unctuous, soft, cold short ribs like you might get in a Western restaurant, but it’s sort of halfway between the two. And that is just, that’s a beauty.

Amy: Yeah, that was one of the dishes that really caught my eye in your review. The uni rice was another one that I’m definitely gonna have to get when I go there next time. 

John: Yeah, definitely do that. Also, there is a dish there called galbijjim, which is, you know, the beef short ribs in a kind of a stew that it’s, you know, blended with shishito peppers and potatoes and carrots and jujubes. You know, it’s a very open, traditional dish and a sweet and salty sauce and it’s really, it’s lovely. aAnd then they make a pretty bangin’ bibimbap. The move when you wanna go someplace and eat alone is sit at the bar, get a bibimbap and try a couple cocktails.

Amy: Yeah, I feel like Mister Tiger really does a good job of being one of those places that you can have a variety of different experiences. You know, I’m always looking for a place to grab a cocktail before another dinner. I feel like, if I’m gonna leave the house, I need to go— at least do two things. I definitely want to swing by and have some more of the cocktails. I really love the Negroni variation I tried with like, a black raspberry wine. It was really delicious.

John: Mezcal, right?

Amy: Yeah. I think it was. Just all, like, super well balanced. Definitely a spot to, like, keep on your radar for, like, a good cocktail program, yeah. 

John: And he also does something, which I think is— so I don’t know Korean cocktail culture very well. I do know Japanese cocktail culture a bit, and there’s a real emphasis placed on using seasonal ingredients. And it may not still be on the menu, but when I was there, they made a cocktail with the Korean melon that was just in perfect season at that time, you know, those little yellow melons that are very crisp and very floral. And he had taken the puree of that, and adjusted the acidity and everything, and just made this super clean lingering cocktail with soju and a few other ingredients. And I just was like, Okay, this is somebody who is really letting his palate steer the ship.

Amy: Totally. Yeah. You know, I think it’s such an interesting, it’s always interesting to go to someone’s first restaurant, you know, to have a trio behind this who, this is their this is their first effort. And so, you know, like, how personal all of this is. Later, we’re going to kind of get into a bit more about, you know, the different Korean experiences in Chicago. But how do you see Mister Tiger kind of fitting into the Korean food landscape here?

John: I feel like it is making a very conscious effort to stay true to its roots, but then explain and open up Korean food to people who may be less familiar with it. So for that reason, I find it to be a very welcome addition to the Korean landscape. That said, I feel that if you really want to do a deeper dive into all the different kinds of Korean restaurants, then you gotta maybe get in the car and drive around a little bit and see what’s here.

Amy: We also want to talk about some of the other places that we love for Korean food in town. Cho Sun Ok, in Lincoln Square is one of my go-tos for just a classic Korean barbecue experience. Perilla, the OG Perilla, is another staple of mine as well. And so those are kind of, you know, the two places that I’ve probably been to the most. I know that there are, you know, so many other places out there. And you know, I’ve been out in Glenview a little bit, but I think that you have more experience with Korean food than I do. When did you kind of start getting into eating it?

John: So, it’s interesting because, you know, I lived in Japan when I was younger, and would often fly through Korea on Korean airlines and stop off for a day or something in Seoul and eat. And I liked it. It was very confusing and foreign to me. And I, you know, the food was very intense to my palate at that time, and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. But then I ended up living for about 20 years of my life in Atlanta. Atlanta has an incredible Korean restaurant scene. I really would say, probably, you know, there’s certain places around the country, definitely. And so when I was a restaurant critic for the Atlanta Journal and constitution, I loved reviewing Korean restaurants to the point where my editors would be like, yeah, you’ve done a lot of Korean restaurants. We’re gonna have to look at some other stuff. But it was so fun. I learned so much.

Amy: I know that you’ve mentioned how Atlanta’s Korean scene really touches on a wide variety of different types of establishments. How do you find the Chicago area compares to what you experienced in Atlanta?

John: I feel that if you go up to Glenview, where a lot of places have been opening lately, building on an already pretty good foundation of Korean dining, you’re going to see it feels like a mini version of, you know, Atlanta, Buford Highway. You’ll find several kinds of places that serve a dish that Koreans call chicken, which is chicken. Which is that double-fried, Korean fried chicken that comes with, you can get it like just by itself. You can get it with a kind of like sweet gochujang glaze on it. You can get it with onions and in the mayonnaise sauce. There are all these different variations. There’s CM Chicken, which is Choongman, they’ve opened up in town, Noori Chicken, and a bunch of others. You also see what are called bunsik, which are these Korean snack places that the kids really like, where you eat the rice cakes, those really, really chewy, you know, tteokbokki rice cakes smothered in different kinds of sauces. And you eat gimbap, the Korean, you know, nori rolls that you know can be filled with any variety of fillings. I always love the ones made with tuna salad, or fried shrimp. Those are good. And then you see pochas, which are Korean. They originated as, like, street, sidewalk, open cafes. And they’re kind of like, similar to a Japanese izakaya, where you can go and drink and order lots of small plates. And I know you’ve been to the best pocha out there, which is New Village Gastropub.

Amy: I absolutely love New Village. That was such a fun dinner. Really great place to go with, like, a big group so you can try as many things as possible.

John: Absolutely, a group is essential. It’s a fun place. They make it look like an open-air pocha with the tables are like barrels, and there’s a lot of greenery on the walls to suggest you’re outside. And they have all the fun dishes. My favorite there is they do that whole fried chicken, spatchcocked, fried, and they bring it to the table wearing very thick plastic gloves and rip it into pieces in front of you. I mean, if that does not create a Pavlovian response, then you just are lacking salivary glands, as far as I’m concerned.

Amy: It’s worth going there just to have this chicken dish. It’s so good.

John: It is so good. And then there are also, you know, noraebang, which are the Korean karaoke places where can get Korean food, you can keep it going all night long there. There’s some wonderful barbecue out there where they do use actual hardwood charcoal, as opposed to gas. But if you don’t want to go out to the suburbs, you know, stay and, you know, get to know something close. Daebak, which is a Korean barbecue in Chinatown, is fine. I like it a lot. It’s gas. It’s a little bit mechanical, how it all comes out, but it’s delicious. There’s so many good banchan there, all those little side dishes you get in the beginning. There’s just a wonderful convivial spirit. I guess that’s kind of the part of it I like the most.

Amy: What are some other places in the city that you like to go? 

John: Um, I do, for barbecue, I am a little more— I like Cho Sun Ok for the barbecue, but I tend to go there more for like, I like their version of sundubu, the tofu. I believe tofu soup, they do well. And I’ve tried some of their other soups there. You can also get that really interesting marinated, raw crab, which is an acquired, yeah, it’s, you maybe get a little, get a drink or two in. I’ve heard, I’ve heard for a pocha Dancen is very good. I’ve not been but they do that, that dak dori, that chicken and a spicy red sauce, and they can get it covered with mozzarella cheese. I do like Perilla a lot. If I need a tofu fix, I’ll go to the H Mart downtown, in the Loop. If I’m really jonesing for sundubu, the tofu soup, SGD in the H Mart really scratches the itch.

Amy: We also have, you know, higher-end Korean food like Jeong, which is a tasting menu from Dave Park. And I’ve only been once, and I’ve been wanting to go back, but I know you’ve been more recently than I.

John: Yeah, it’s a lovely little restaurant. He’s a an incredibly talented, thoughtful cook with a very well honed palette. Jeong is the restaurant when I where, I send people who write to me saying they’re coming to Chicago, they want to have a nice tasting menu experience, but they don’t want to, you know, be camped out on Tock trying to get a reservation or eat at 10:30 or whatever. And I say, go there. You’ll love it. I’ve had so many people write back to me afterwards and say, Oh my God, thank you for that recommendation. That restaurant was fantastic. And then there’s also Beverly Kim’s Parachute HiFi, you know, which replaces the old Parachute, and it’s, it’s a listening bar, and they’ve got some cocktails, and they have some, you know, fun little bites and things.

Amy: John, what’s the best thing you ate lately?

John: So I know I’m late to the party. I finally made it to Nhu Lan Bakery on Lawrence Avenue. Oh my God, what a fun place that is. You can get anything in a banh mi there. I got the lemongrass chicken, which was fresh and tasty and good, but I kind of want to try one of the more divergent ones, like they had sardine banh mi and they had some, like, a bunch of vegetarian ones, like tofu ones. Have you tried those? 

Amy: The tofu ones are great. They have a lemongrass tofu and a ginger tofu. Both are excellent. My usual go-to is the No. 1, the pork roll and pate. But I don’t think I’ve ever had one there that I haven’t loved. So definitely go if you haven’t gone before.

John: Yeah, very cool restaurant. How about you? What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?

Amy: Well, I had a really excellent dinner at El Che recently, everything from start to finish was great, but I think it’s the coconut tres leches cake that’s gonna like, stick with me for a while, because I just love, I love steakhouse desserts. I love, like, very classic steakhouse desserts, including coconut cake and this tres leches version was absolutely delicious, like light at the end of what was not a light meal of, you know, a big steak. And so it came top with whipped cream, lime zest, and a cashew brittle and— just super great, really fun twist on, like the classic steak house dish. 

John: Wow, that sounds great.