L.K.
At some point, you might have gone on a ride-along in a police cruiser to experience just how our blue boys keep us so safe. I’ve never gone, but I’ve always wanted to. I have, however, taken people on ride-alongs in my yellow cab. In fact, almost as much as I drive solo, I drive with a friend riding shotgun. As long as people aren’t too confused or afraid to get into a cab with two people in the front (some skittish New Yorkers seem to think we might be criminals or undercover cops), ride-alongs naturaly create a much more social atmosphere. The dynamic between three people rather than two, as well having the ice breaker of an unexpected third party, puts people at ease.
One night, I picked up my friend Jack after he played a late concert at the Bowery Ballroom with his band Sam Champion (I think they should be called Carey Schwindenhammer). He was amped because he’d just played an amazing show, and his enthusiasm was rubbing off on me as usual. We were cruising Alphabet City very late on a Tuesday not really expecting to find anyone on the desolate streets. But when I saw a hand shoot up from between two parked cars, I immediately swung the cab around in a tight u-turn on Avenue C.
We were happy to have company, but as we pulled up next to the girl with the outstretched arm, we both realized at the same moment that the girl looked terrifying. We could see that she was an Asian girl in her 20s, but she looked awful. She looked like she’d been murdered (choked to death, to be exact). Her hair was disheveled in a way that appeared as if she’d been shaken violently, her clothes looked like her Sunday best that she’d been buried in six months ago, she had two black eyes, her skin was full of burst blood vessels, and her face was deathly white. Black and purple bruises ringed her throat.
We shot each other bug-eyed looks as she opened the door, and I quickly said, “Don’t say a word” to Jack even though it is normally my rule that my ride-along copilot cheerfully great new fares with a smile and pleasant salutations. My heart was pounding as she told me, “32nd Street and Broadway” in a perfectly normal, un-undead voice.
Jack and I sat mationless as though she was The Predator and she might not see us if we didn’t move (although we were not coated in mud so if she was The Predator she would have been able to see our body heat). She immediately got on her cell phone and had a run of the mill “I’ll be there in ten minutes” kind of a conversation while we took turns eyeing her suspiciouly in the rear view. Her normal voice and bland conversation gave me some courage, so I asked her, “Excuse me miss . . . if you don’t mind my asking . . . I was wondering . . . what is up with you?” She was still making me nervous, and I felt like I’d just mustered the courage to ask a girl to the prom.
“Oooooooooh this?” she said, leaning forward through the window in the plastic divider. “Yes . . . that,” Jack replied. She paused for a moment, clearly reveling in the moment. “I’m a zombie. I’m an extra in that zombie movie they’ve been shooting all week. We just wrapped for the day,” she said, making perfect sense. “Ah, that makes perfect sense,” I said.
Now that everyone was at ease, and we’d all had a laugh about the whole night of the living dead scare, we resumed that three party rapport that makes conversation so much easier when I have a ride-along. The girl turned out to be all about “L.K.” or Little Korea. I had always called it Koreatown, but I guess I was wrong. She was on her way to a late night karaoke session that she was planning to do in her full zombie getup. Then she was going to eat Korean bbq at one of the 24-hour joints on that 32nd Street strip.
Now, I usually drive out to San Hai Jin Mi in Flushing for my Korean bbq, but this girl clearly knew her way around L.K. here in Manhattan. As we turned onto the strip, she pointed out certain black cars lining the street that she claimed automatically take you to Korean whore houses if you get in. I saw that there was much I could learn from her.
Before she jumped out, I asked her where she was going for Korean bbq after her 2am karaoke session (she’d already told me that the karaoke place was just for Koreans so I didn’t bother to remember which stair case she ascended for that). She told me that her friends always go to New York Kom Tang.
Jack and I had just eaten, so I returned this Memorial Day weekend with my best friend Jennifer from back home in Maryland and her dad. Jennifer is half Guatemalan, half Palestinian, and half Irish. She’s got a lot of ethnicity in her is what I’m trying to say, so I felt the need to entertain her with some authentic ethnic food when I got the call that’d she’d be coming in to Penn Station with less than an hour to kill in the city. New York Kom Tang is just a block away from the trains, so, banking on the zombie’s recommendation, I showed them the way to L.K.
(a feast already and our second bbq dish hadn’t even been cooked yet)
We got a nice table at a huge window overlooking 32nd Street, and we were made to feel welcome immediately with wide smiles and plentiful unordered appetizers. The owner helped us choose from the expansive menu (although he tried to convince us to get two orders of the same thing for some reason), and we ended up going with bulgogi (my favorite dish at my place out in Flushing) and jeyook gui.
The bugogi, messy slices of sirloin, came first and was grilled on a metal plate over the charcoals in our table. We had no idea what to put in it, and a Korean woman came by to flip the meat and add the whole pieces of garlic and sliced peppers. Had she not arrived, Jennifer would have taken over, and her plan was to put the spicy kimchi into the pan. Thankfully, Jennifer restrained herself and we all enjoyed bulgogi done right along with our myriad appetizers.
(Jeyook gui and glowing charcoal)
The jeyook gui, neater slices of broiled pork, came second and was grilled without the metal plate. I found it to be delicious, especially inside a leaf of letuce smeared with a red paste that looked super spicy but wasn’t.
(Our bulgogi lady and our jeyook gui man)
So the meal was a hit. Both meat dishes were stupendous (though the bulgogi in Flushing is still much better and clearly worth the trip), and all of the appetizers were great. Being native Marylanders, both Jennifer and I were fascinated by the raw crab covered in gobs of red paste. I chickened out, I must admit, but in my defense I was stuffed by the time we got around to it. Jennifer said it was “fine, but it’d be better with Old Bay.” Once I realized that the red paste wasn’t only not too spicy but absolutely delicious, I began to eat it right out of the spoon:
I wonder why I hadn’t ever taken a restaurant recommendation from a zombie before.
New York Kom Tang, 32nd St btwn Broadway and 5th Ave, Little Korea, Manhattan
Visit www.famousfatdave.com for a chuckle or to book an eating tour
It’s good to have you back. I’ve become addicted to your blog. This one was worth waiting for.
Comment by Roberta Bear — May 31, 2006 @ 2:28 am
if I’m not mistaken, that’s a real charcoal bbq on the table. Even in Hawaii, korean restaurants use only the gas grills.
Comment by RONW — May 31, 2006 @ 2:38 am
YES!!! Real charcoal. They do it right on 32nd Street.
~Dave
Comment by Administrator — May 31, 2006 @ 3:50 am
i actually do put the kimchi on the grill,
we do it at home all the time.
I’ve never heard it called little korea,
we all call it k-town.
Comment by michelle — May 31, 2006 @ 5:25 am
Michelle,
I wish you’d been there with me. We were all overwhelmed by the whole thing. I guess I should have let Jennifer put the kimchi in. That bulgogi could have used a little kick. Their kimchi was super tasty on its own.
You “all call it k-town”? You must not run in this zombie girl’s circle because she called it L.K. about 20 times in a 3 minute conversation. It got annoying quickly. But I still call it L.K., at least when Jack’s around.
~Dave
Comment by Administrator — May 31, 2006 @ 7:26 am
Hey Dave,
Really enjoy your writing (almost for the characters as much as the food) - I’m in the UK, but will definitely sign up for an eating tour if I get out to New York. Keep up the good work!
Ian
Comment by Ian — May 31, 2006 @ 1:09 pm
My gosh, I can’t believe that they gave you that much food. Was that just one individual order of each?
Comment by AWE — May 31, 2006 @ 4:44 pm
congrats on your gothamist debut! good reading, as usual.
Comment by nani — May 31, 2006 @ 9:08 pm
You should search for more zombies and demand they give you more food recommendations. Obviously the undead know what they are talking about.
Comment by Natalie — May 31, 2006 @ 10:15 pm
GEEWHIZZ YOU SURE MAKE A GIRL HUNGRY!!!!
Comment by cynthia — June 1, 2006 @ 9:35 am
For the past 3 weeks i’ve been on a korean bbq binge, and this place was one of the favs. The best part was definitely getting a sunburn from the wood grill right in your face! Any other (non-zombie) korean bbq suggestions?
love the blog!
Comment by Matt — June 2, 2006 @ 12:54 pm
Matt,
I mentioned in this post that my favorite korean bbq place is out in Flushing, Queens. It is called San Hai Jin Mi and it’s on Union just south of Northern Blvd. Their bulgogi is amazing and they’re open 24 hours as well. They are NOT set up for tourists like the ones on 32nd Street. They speak about 10 words of English, but I’ve still had really deep conversations with them late at night when I go in for a pit stop. Usually they’re really nice, except when I come in with a food tour and order just one thing and can’t communicate what we’re dong.
~Dave
Comment by Administrator — June 3, 2006 @ 12:59 am
Hello! I actually have a Korean friend visiting this weekend and would like to hang out w/ her in Flushing. I’m in Brooklyn so by default know nothing about Queens
What’s the best way to get to San Hai Jin Mi by public transport? I looked at googlemaps and having a hard time finding where Union and Northern Blvd cross.
Thanks!
-Sharon
Comment by Sharon — June 7, 2006 @ 5:04 pm
Sharon,
I’m a taxi driver and I drive my own private car so by default I know nothing about public trasnportation. Last time I took the subway on a regular basis there was no such thing as the W train.
San Hai Jin Mi is right near Shea Stadium. I guess if you take the 7 train to its terminus at Main Street, you could probably walk from there. Union Street is just east of Flushing Meadows park on Northern. San Hai Jin Mi is on Union a half a block south of Northern on the west side of the street.
That’s the best I could do. Good luck. If you don’t find it, if you manage to get to Flushing, I promise you that you WILL find something Korean. And it might be even better for all I know.
~Dave
Comment by Administrator — June 7, 2006 @ 5:13 pm
I can get by on those directions, thanks! If my friend and I stumble upon any other culinary gems, I’ll fwd them on.
Comment by Sharon — June 7, 2006 @ 5:26 pm
Sharon,
Take the #7 Train to Main Street-Flushing. Walk down Main Street going north (away from the LIRR trestle/towards St George’s Church-big steeple). Where Main Street ends, make a right turn onto Northern Blvd, Kennedy Fried Chicken on the corner. Stay on the right side of Northern and start walking up the hill. Go two traffic lights (the first one for Linden Place and is just for the opposite direction of traffic) and then turn right onto Union Street. There’s a Nara Bank on the opposite corner. Stay on the right side of the street. Then it’s up to yourself to find the place. Good luck!
~Josh
Comment by #7 Flushing — June 8, 2006 @ 5:12 pm
Josh, the directions were perfect… we found the place effortlessly and had a great lunch. The BBQ beef was very good, other tables were pointing to our food and asking for the same. When we first ordered it, our server said she’d have to “ask the boss” if it was available, because the meat might be “sleeping.” We figured out later she was referring to the 2-day marinating process.
Thanks for the rec, Dave! Better eating through blogs!
Comment by Sharon — June 15, 2006 @ 7:15 pm
luv the blog, but i grew up in nyc and i’m korean and no one here calls 32nd st little korea! the zombie must have been from out of town.
Comment by serling2 — June 29, 2006 @ 6:35 pm
I love Korean food. If you ever get sick, go to the Korean restaurants (you should find out who makes the best) and ask for yukajang (pronounced similiar…spelling, or yookajong, eh) it’ll make you feel better. Its a beef soup. Also for seafood soup you cannot beat champo (Shzam-po). That stuff is awesome.
Comment by chick — June 29, 2006 @ 8:21 pm
[…] My best friend, Jack Dolgen, is a character who has come in and out of this blog since the beginning. Though he appreciates jazz, he is more of a rock n’ roller than Aaron is. His pop band, Sam Champion, is a high energy, bass driven explosion of sound and fun that puts on one of the best shows in New York City every time they play. Yet, Jack reveals a softer, folkier side when he does his solo music. He is an accomplished song writer, and he used all his skills to write my theme song one afternoon after I took him and his family on an eating tour. Like Aaron, Jack is one of the most serious, adventurous eaters I know. […]
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