Seoul Hot Pot - Can Not Miss

Ok, you have been watching Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel and you want to have a culinary adventure, but you are in Cleveland and have tried the well know Asian restaurants. Well I have a suggestion for you; head to the Near East Side of Cleveland and enjoy some of the best and most authentic Korean food in the US. After having the urge for some good Korean food for a while, I finally got back down to Seoul Hot Pot and it is as great as ever. I have been going here for quite a while. A Korean friend introduced me to it and I think it is the best Korean food around. This is one of my favorite restaurants and I don't understand why it doesn't get more attention. While the local reviewers and Zagat always cover and rave about Phenom Phen (which is also very good and a favorite) not a word is mentioned of Seoul Hot Pot. Seoul Hot Pot is located at 3709 Payne Avenue in Cleveland. If you are not familiar with the area it is part of the Cleveland Chinatown area, with Asian shops and residents moving in. Across the street is a little strip with a Chinese Restaurant and Koko Bakery where you can get wonderful Chinese bakery and good Bubble Tea. Part of the fun for me has been watching the place evolve. The story is that the Korean owners bought an existing Pizza place and kept it running, but as Korean friends would come in they would cook Korean home style food for them. Eventually they switched over and stopped serving the pizza menu, but when I started eating here the Pizza Sign was still out front (you can still see it painted over on the front of the building). They also used to have the Pizza Menu board still up on the wall of the front room; it used to hang over the Turtle tank that is also gone. Over the years the restaurant has evolved; grill tables were put in up front and the decor has been revised several times. Now while the exterior is ok, the interior is nice with wood paneling half way up the walls and nice decorative Asian touches on the walls. The tables and chairs are solid if unspectacular, with just a napkin dispenser on top. The front room has the grill tables with hoods, the back room is regular tables with a view into the kitchen. Many times the TV in the back room will be showing Korean shows. Once you are settled, you will get the menu and some barley tea (hot or cold depending on the season). Which has a wonderful nutty flavor. You can also get a Beer, domestic or Asian or Soju, a Korean rice distilled drink that can knock your socks off. The menu is fairly extensive, with much of it favoring the carniovers among us. For those unfamilar with Korean food it is far different from Chinese, with most dishes prepared simply and with bold flavors. Among my favorites are the Pajun (Seafood Pancake) which is a savory batter of egg and rice flour with green onions, small shrimp, pieces of squid and an occasional oyster pan fried to deliciousness and served with a soy sesame sauce. I also enjoy the Jap Chae, a rice noodle and vegetables dish (make sure that you let them know if you want it without any meat) and the squid in hot sauce. Be warned, the hot sauce dishes push hard on the heat, with the squid or rice cakes in a bright red sauce that will tingle the tongue. In fact be careful because any Korean food that is spicey will be extremely hot, including the Kim Chee and other spicey Banchan. Having brought my meat eater friends, I can tell you there are a number of very good meat dishes, including the beef spare ribs and the bulogi, which is a marinated beef. The beef is marinated in soy, sesame oil and garlic and brought to the table raw and you grill the meat yourself. Fun and from what I am told, delicious. There is also a good selection of soups and hot pot meals. When you get your meal you will be served a bowl of white rice and banchan, which are small side dishes to accompany your meal and my favorite part about eating Korean. The banchan at Seoul Hot Pot are especially good, most made fresh at the restaurant and delicious. You will usually get between 6-8 of these which usually include Kim Chee (marinated spicy cabbage), daikon chunks in hot sauce, marinated been sprouts, potatoes, a plain gelatain and pickles. I go to Seoul Hot Pot as much for these side dishes as I do for the main course, they are good enough to make a meal out of on their own. The food here is home style cooking, but consistently excellent. The service is good and friendly, although the kitchen can slow down when they get busy. There is usually only one server so it may take a bit to get your food, but it is worth it since everything is cooked fresh to order. I highly recommend that you give Seoul Hot Pot a try. The food is excellent and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is nice and it will be an adventure you will want to try again.