Escoffier Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 I am looking forward to it. It's funny, my DH completed HS in Seoul, but he's not overly fond of Korean food, now me, from the backwoods of NC, I could eat it all the time, I appreciate the punch.... For some reason, about 15 years ago I got heavily involved with Korean food. I discovered that it wasn't only the food that packed lots of punch...(and that punch is sitting just to my right ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilaine Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Question since you have a Korean speaker handy, would those noodles be made of rice or wheat? I am gluten intolerant. I work very close to the restaurant and would like to go if there's room and there's stuff I can eat safely. Date doesn't matter, I am free both days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escoffier Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Question since you have a Korean speaker handy, would those noodles be made of rice or wheat? I am gluten intolerant. I work very close to the restaurant and would like to go if there's room and there's stuff I can eat safely. Date doesn't matter, I am free both days. Unfortunately, they're made from flour which means wheat. There are other things however, noodles are a very small part of the food offered. (I'm the one who eats the chicken noodle soup.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escoffier Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Tuesday is getting close. Please make sure you are at To Sok Jip at 5:30pm. If you are late, chances are that we WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET TABLES for everyone. Please be there. Alex, we'll see you at Braddock Road Metro at 4:45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexC Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Alex, if you'd like a ride back by car afterward and live in/around DC, happy to take you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexC Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Thanks! The closer I can get to Logan Circle, the better. Really appreciate the offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Thanks! The closer I can get to Logan Circle, the better. Really appreciate the offer. Easy. You can count on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 This was a true whirlwind of wonderful foods. Some familiar, some not. All ranging in a narrow band from very tasty to absolutely delicious. Hard to pick out just one or two favorites but I'll try briefly recalling a few: - a large number of interesting banchan with delicious small anchovies and chili hot radish highlights for me, along with all the familiar kimchees, sprouts, cabbage, etc. - a wonderfully thick and toasty seafood pancake (paejon) with a high seafood to egg/flour ratio and particularly prominent use of octupus and squid (was this oh jing uh jeon?) - a large bowl of light fish soup (made with cod and clams; what was that called?) - bo ssam served with lots of boiled pork belly slices, napa cabbage, chili radish, sliced fresh garlic and sliced jalapenos (!) along with the familiar soy dipping sauce Kalbi and, especially, a daeji gogi (a spicy pork dish similar in appearance to bulgogi but made with chili powder rather than soy) were also pretty fab. And, at $20pp inclusive of tax and tip, this was off-the-chart value. Great place for authentic, delicious and high-value Korean food (like escoffier said upthread somewhere ) Most of all though, thanks so much to escoffier and grover who were wonderfully hospitable, patient with all questions and fantastic teachers (grover even helpfully demonstrated the finer points of disassembling a whole fried croaker at the table ). Know I had more than my fill of delicious dishes and learning. The best kind of event. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kibbee Nayee Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I'll echo Darkstar. Wonderful meal, good company, good value and a nice event. Thanks to Grover and Escoffier for putting this together and tolerating my lack of knowledge on Korean food. I wish I could get Grover and Escoffier to co-write Korean Food 101.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMatt Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 - a large bowl of light fish soup (made with cod and clams; what was that called?) This would be daegu jiri. In my (admittedly limited, so far) tour of Annandale Korean restaurants, it seems to be rather less represented compared to the spicy version, daegu maeuntang. I much prefer the mild version, and To Sok Jip's version doubly so. Much like Kibbee Nayee and darkstar965, I'd like to add my thanks to grover and Escoffier for the event. So much great food for the price, and getting to try To Sok Jip's version of dishes I've had elsewhere. And, I have to say, I think their versions were usually superior. I might have to redouble my efforts to try and find lulls in the restaurant's usual busy schedule (it's always full...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 It was a delicious dinner, worth fighting crosstown traffic for-I appreciated the large variety of panchan, especially the burdock & the green stems (what was that?). I also really liked the soup,& the croaker & the belt fish, they were fried perfectly. I had tastes of everything, except for the bo ssam & the jae yuk bok um (just wasn't in a pork mood last night, trying to save room for everything else) & when I got home, my son wanted to know why I didn't snag any of the leftovers for him. Thanks again, Grover & Escoffier, for setting this up, it was lovely, & great to see everyone...you folks who are going next week are in for a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grover Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Thank you everyone for being on time!!! I am so glad you have enjoyed the food. You should thank to Escoffier. He is the one who had the idea doing this. I was very nervous if we all couldn't have seated but luckily not crowded as I expected. Thistle, the green stem is bokchoy cooked in Korean miso sauce. They blanched the green and marinated it with miso and sesame oil. Kibbee Nayee, I will write Korean food 101 (not too soon I am being chased by deadline now). One thing I can say is that the quality of the seafood pancake is going down. The texture is still good but the ingredients are not balanced any more. Too much squid, too less shrimps, clams and mussels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 This would be daegu jiri. In my (admittedly limited, so far) tour of Annandale Korean restaurants, it seems to be rather less represented compared to the spicy version, daegu maeuntang. I much prefer the mild version, and To Sok Jip's version doubly so... Thanks Matt. I hadn't had this before. The idea of a spicy variant is interesting but I suspect I'd come down where you have. This one was remarkably light yet also very warming and satisfying. The only critique I can level (and it's really a very minor one) would be it'd have been cool if it had a few more clams. Think our wonderful pot had only 1 or 2 but then very generous amounts of the cod. A Great Dish to be sure. Thank you everyone for being on time!!! I am so glad you have enjoyed the food. You should thank to Escoffier. He is the one who had the idea doing this. I was very nervous if we all couldn't have seated but luckily not crowded as I expected. Thistle, the green stem is bokchoy cooked in Korean miso sauce. They blanched the green and marinated it with miso and sesame oil. Kibbee Nayee, I will write Korean food 101 (not too soon I am being chased by deadline now). One thing I can say is that the quality of the seafood pancake is going down. The texture is still good but the ingredients are not balanced any more. Too much squid, too less shrimps, clams and mussels. I'm glad to read what you say about Escoffier's motivation to do this. I was secretly harboring guilt that I'd pushed him into it when he was going back and forth with another member over a recent Tom Sietsema review (forgetting which Korean restaurant it was) and I finally posted that if he ever organized an event, I'd want in just to learn. Then he actually did it! Twice! Thanks again to BOTH of you! This was great fun. Interesting what you say about the pancake. It was much heavier on the squid and octopus than the shellfish. But that's why I was wondering if it was intended to be that way (oh jing uh jeon) versus just a cost-cutting move as you imply? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I enjoyed trying the mild cod soup because other than sul leung tang at Gamasot, I've mostly had the spicy Korean soups (which I love), but when you're trying a variety of dishes, it's good to have something to offset constant heat. That's why I almost always have to have rice on the side, to buffer the tastebuds & of course, if you need more spice, there's usually something you can add in. I loved the fact that our waitress kept my tea glass full, I tend to drink a lot, & I was never empty. The restaurant did fill up pretty quickly after we arrived, so she was busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grover Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 It was much heavier on the squid and octopus than the shellfish. But that's why I was wondering if it was intended to be that way (oh jing uhjeon) versus just a cost-cutting move as you imply? I implied that it's a cost-cutting move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 It was still yummy, especially w/ some spicy stuff spread on top (there were at least 2 different ones that were paste like-did one have shrimp?)- squid is usually a little chewy, but I would never turn down a haemul pajeon (I don't know why I haven't tried it at my local Korean restaurant, but I'm usually too busy scarfing down other dishes)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilaine Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I loved everything that I ate, and licked my lips longingly for the things I could not eat (wheat), which looked and smelled so good! Favorites: bo ssam, cod soup, miso stew, croaker, kalbi, banchan. Hmm, that's what I ate! Full to the brim with yummy chow for $20! Husband scarfed down the leftovers. Nice restaurant, sweet ladies working the tables, excellent company. Much appreciation for Escoffier and Grover as ambassadors to this event. Thank you. I will go back often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Ilaine, I didn't think I left any kalbi at our end of the table-I enjoyed it so much, I tried to cook some at home tonight, w/ non authentic sides- rice, sautéed peppers & onions, leftover green beans w/ ham, pickled cukes. I cooked it in the grill pan, a little chewy, but still pretty good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escoffier Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 For the people attending Tuesday at 5:30pm. Please be there on time (if not a bit early). Grover and I will be there to greet you. We look forward to seeing you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Kay's project she is working on is due Wednesday and she is really putting in the hours. We can't make the early start. Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soup Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Excellent meal guys. Thank you for putting it together. Surprise was the Duk Guk (rice cake soup) and bo sam. Both were some of the best example of the dish I've had. I would order both again. I am salivating as I type this, BTW. I could not believe the price of the meal to boot. it would be reasonable at 2x the price. Great outing!!! Soup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 For the minority of us at last night's dinner who don't have a grasp of menu Korean, can someone post what we had? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escoffier Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 I think I'll let Grover have the honors. I know some of it, but not all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 For the minority of us at last night's dinner who don't have a grasp of menu Korean, can someone post what we had? I think I'll let Grover have the honors. I know some of it, but not all. Very curious how similar it was to the menu we had last week. Sounds equally good and the same amazing value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escoffier Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 After a short talk with Grover. The only difference between the two dinners was that at the second, we had duk guk or rice cake soup (which was praised quite a bit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soup Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Went there yesterday. Came back into town..I was tired and hungry and all wanted was soup. Went to TSJ and got dduk guk. I got to taste it on $20 Tuesday set up by G&E. I went back wanting some more and it did not dissappoint. IMHO the TSJ is serving the best rendition of dduk guk in k-town. The broth was just amazing. Not overly salted (problem with most other dduk guks), the broth had just an amazing and authentic taste and mouth feel. I brought back memories of the dduk guk my grand mother use to make. I would high recommend this soup. BTW, was there close to 8pm. The place was packed an a couple people waiting. People sitting to me were having kal guk su w/ clams. I think I will try that next. Soup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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