TheMatt

I had a packet of Lipton Hearty Chicken Cup-a-Soup for lunch. I'm like the cold shower of reality for this thread. But, I'm trying for Thai Square (or maybe Panjshir if TS is as crowded as I expect) tonight, so maybe I can report something interesting.

A bowl of Progresso lentil soup and some sourdough bread. Hey, some of us are postdocs.

Just a question. I've never been to Thai Square, but I'd like to try it sometime. My question, though, is where exactly do you park? I've driven by it and other than a few meters, it doesn't look like an easy place to find a space. Is there a trick I'm missing?

Let's see if Matt can recap the night of the Gamasot $20 Wednesday. With thirteen (?) of us, the night began with the parade of panchan. There was kimchi, both radish and cabbage, as well as the refreshing water kimchi, mung bean jelly in a soy sauce like marinade, some really good marinated chayote, and, later, some soondae (blood sausage). All was eaten with great elan. Then came the first of the many, many dishes from the kitchen. First up were small bowls of sulleungtang, the specialty of the house. Bone broth made after 48 hours of stewing with some rice noodles, add some salt and scallions...subtle but good. Along side that there was a pancake I believe called bin dae duk (griddled mung bean paste with scallions and shredded pork). This was really good and a revelation to me. I've always had mandoo gui as an appetizer, but I think I'd order the bin dae duk instead. Next up was meat. Lots of meat. Mo Deum Soo Yook (assortment of steamed meat platter). I believe there was beef in the form of tongue, liver, brisket, tripe...maybe some tendon. But, I have to say, I tried a piece of each, and all were quite good, especially when dipped in the chili-garlic sauce provided. At this point, the stomach begins to fill and the order of dishes becomes hazy to Matt. I believe next up was doo boo kim chi bokeum (tofu, kimchi, and shredded pork with vegetables in spicy sauce). This was the first of the truly spicy dishes of the night, but the tofu did help to cut it down a bit. A bit. But underneath that spiciness was some very good pork and veggies. Next up, or rather simultaneously, was jaeng ban naeng myun (cold buckwheat noodles served with specially seasoned beef). For me, this was actually the spiciest dish of the night. I don't know if it was truly spicy or if the fact it was served cold, but it got to me. It did have good flavor, but man, it hit me. At this point, the ultimate dish began to appear with some hotpots bubbling on an adjacent table, but first up was jae yuk gui (marinated pork). This was quite flavorful and a good contrast before the hotpots. Oh, the hotpots. Oh sam jun gol (hotpot of squid and sliced pork in spicy broth) appeared on some gas burners before us. At this point, I was quite full, but this was quite good...what little I could eat. Finally the meal concluded with some wee little bottles of a yogurt drink. I really need to get some of these. All in all, a very enjoyable evening and a big thanks to grover for exposing me to all sorts of new tastes.

Indeed, thank you from me as well. I'll try to have my synopsis up some time. Today is a harsh day for ol' Matt. Stupid real life.

I hope you don't mind the question, but I'm a first-time $20 Tuesday/Wednesday person (and a fair newbie to the board), and so I was wondering how exactly these dinners works. Do people just try to stay under $20? Do you just bring $20? Is it just a title? Sorry to ask what is probably a FAQ, but 26 pages is a bit of a slog to read through. Plus, I've been bitten before at group dinners since I'm a guy who drinks water or tea at meals, but have often had to subsidize people who enjoy cocktails and wine when it's time to split the check.

I don't mind Sakulthai, either, as a neighborhood Thai place. One thing I like is that they have Salted Fish Fried Rice which I can't seem to find many places. And it is good, although they don't add the chicken breast which seems to always be in the dish at Chinese restaurants. (Anyone know of any other places with it?) Their tom kah kai was pretty good when I had a cold, as well. I will say, though, that I like the vegetable fried rice at Thai Lemon Grass further down Van Dorn better. That's the one in the Van Dorn int'l strip mall.

I'd be up for a meal. My schedule is odd sometimes, but I can hope.

Ahh...muk. The one I have to use my spoon to eat. Every time I'm there I try to use the chopsticks, and then I drop it in my soup, my hand, on the table. I've given up on that. I think it's a pretty good place. They don't seem to mind my stumbling around. My first few times there, they sort of "taught" me how to do seullangtang (the salt, the scallions).

Well, all this talk has pretty much made my lunch selection for tomorrow easy. Now I'm in craving mode... ETA: By the way, could someone tell me the names of all the banchan they serve. Other than kimchi and soondae, they really only exist in my mind as "that crunchy, red not-too spicy one", "the watery, sweetish one in a cup" and the like. It'd be nice to know their real names.

I guess I'm a bit gauche, then. If any restaurant gives me the option to add my own level of onions/scallions, watch out. I sometimes empty half that bowl of scallions into the soup (the same way I ask for extra onions when I get pho and order my pizzas as extra cheese, onion, onion, and onion). As for salt, I barely add any...it always tastes pretty good to me as is.

I actually think that Costco has the better selection, foods, &c., but I'm only a member of BJ's. The reasons are slightly legion[1]. First, I'm just young enough to have never gotten used to carrying around a checkbook or tons of cash. Thus, the ability to use something other than an AmEx or Discover or whichever 2nd tier card Costco allows is nice. Second, BJ's accepts manufacturer's coupons, not just their own. Turns out I am just old enough to still carry around a coupon book-folio-thing when I do grocery shopping. Third, and probably most important to me, BJ's is 5 minutes from my apartment compared to Costco which is 20 minutes away. And, fourth, they have semi-sane hours. They only open at 9 am, but that's better than the 11-12 that Costco does. I just wish they'd open at 5 or something when grocery stores should be open. (I'm still kind of annoyed that the Giant near me opens at 6 am. Guess I got used to the 24-hr King Soopers back in Boulder.) [1] slightlylegion.com is available!

Apologies for the double post...but this is a new question. I'm feeling a bit under the weather, and I was wondering if anyone has ever tried the samgyetang at Gamasot. I'm pretty sure I saw it on their menu, but I didn't know if a place specializing in seollangtang was any good at the ultimate chicken soup.

I read on Chow (or somewhere) that the Charlie Chiang's on Pickett is no longer named as such. Does anyone know what has happened? And, if it's the same chef from before, if they still have the Sichuan menu? It was something I always wanted to try, but never seemed to get there.

Well, then, might have to go and get free soup. I kinda like living 5 minutes from Gamasot... ETA: Oh, and sorry for not looking farther afield in this topic. Guess I didn't think the thread was that old. Now I know to check dates, and knowing is half the battle.

A question for our veteran Gamasot visitors. I was there over the weekend and saw some signs in Korean that I think were talking about New Year's Day (there was a 1 and then another 1...that's some Batman-like deduction there). Does anyone know if they are doing something special? My first guess would be dduk gook and the like, but I always thought that was just for Lunar New Year. Of course, the sign could have just been saying they were closed, but it was a lot of text to say that. Also, the seol lang tang is still so good.