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The soon-to-be former Seoul Taco location at 571 Melville in University City.
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The soon-to-be Seoul Taco and Seoul Q at 6665 Delmar in University City
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Tableside stoves are somewhat common in stateside Korean BBQ restaurants; tables that feature pull-down exhaust hoods could be a first.
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One of Seoul Taco's signature dishes: the $7 Goji bowl.
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Judd's Custom Photos
Seoul Taco's food truck will continue to roll.
David Choi and his Seoul Taco Korean-Mexican fusion empire have announced big plans: Seoul Taco will move into an expansive space on the Delmar Loop, and debut a concept that will be unique to the Midwest, and possibly the country.
The 4,600-square-foot space (the former Ginger Bistro at 6665 Delmar) will be bifurcated.
One half of the restaurant will be called “Seoul Q.”
Half of Seoul Q’s tables will feature a cooking element built into the table. Diners may cook their own hot pots and stews for communal fun. Dishes will be sold in portions that accommodate couples, as well as in larger portions for larger groups of three, four or more. The hot pots will be available in various combinations of ingredients, including a traditional pork neck-bone stew called gamjatang, said Choi.
The other half of Seoul Q’s tables is where the magic happens. Eight to 10 tables will be individual cook-it-yourself Korean BBQ stations, each with its own pull-down fume hood.
“There will be nothing like this in the Midwest,” said Choi. “I was just in Koreatown in L.A. and you won’t even see this there.”
“Our focus will be on quality cuts of meat,” he added. “The all-you-can-eat Asian barbecue places have to cut costs, but we will not do all-you-can-eat, meaning we can have better meat. When we say ribeye, it’s gonna be ribeye. We will have marinated kalbi [Korean barbecue short ribs], and unseasoned meat like porkbelly, pork jowel, pork loin, and marbleized chuck flap.”
“Our dipping sauces will be created in collaboration with Pappy’s Smokehouse,” Choi said. “We’re gonna come up with new sauces, plus use their existing ones. People can wrap the meats in lettuce wraps, which is common, but what will be really fun will be wrapping the meats in tortillas from bun steamers at each table. That’s the Seoul Taco way.”
Choi said he has been hard at work with Seoul Taco Chef Han Kim developing the new recipes in a test kitchen.
The visual impact of individual fume hoods dropped from the ceiling should be impressive.
“I got the idea from a restaurant in Korea,” he said. “You will be able to pull down the hoods to within 10 inches of the grill.”
The concept induces quite the nerdgasm. Readers of a certain age may recall the grins that formed when Maxwell Smart lowered the Cone of Silence.
Seoul Q will also offer delicacies cooked by the actual cooks in the kitchen, like bossam. That’s porkbelly and pork shoulder cooked together “slow and low” for eight to ten hours, served with fresh tofu and house-made kimchi, Choi said.
The new concept will be embellished by a cocktail menu of drinks made with infused liquors, said Choi, amongst the sort of complex cocktails that seem to be increasingly de rigeur.
The half of the space that is not Seoul Q will stick with the name Seoul Taco. The fast-casual Seoul Taco restaurant currently located at 571 Melville Avenue will pick up and move to the nearby space.
“We are tripling our kitchen space,” said Choi, “so we can house bigger equipment, and hopefully expand the Seoul Taco menu.”
The same popular tacos, Gogi Bowls (bibimbap) and so on will still be offered, too.
The Seoul Taco food truck, which was instrumental in catalyzing the city’s food-truck revolution a few years back, will continue to make stops throughout the metro area.
Look for Seoul Q and the relocated Seoul Taco to bow in December, Choi said.
Seoul Q & Seoul Taco
Coming to 6665 Delmar
314-863-1148
