Don's Bogum: Another Night of Korean

For my mom's last meal in town, I wanted to go to Queens and eat at Chao Thai. Ever since I went over the summer, I've been trying to get an eating buddy to go, so I can try more of the menu.

Not realizing the V train doesn't run on the weekends, I got impatient waiting for it and broke down and decided to take the F to K-town instead.

Don's Bogum is currently top of my list for Korean in midtown. In the back where there's seating for those who want to eat Korean BBQ, the tables are arranged so that you have to climb up on a low platform, but you still get to sit like a normal person because there's a well underneath the table for your feet. They also have the same vents that restaurants in Korea have to suck up all of the smoke from the grilling.

You know what this seating arrangement really makes me think about? My dad's socks. Many years ago, my father confessed about an experience visiting a Japanese restaurant with coworkers where they had to remove their shoes. My dad doesn't like waste and isn't much for vanity, which translates into holes in the toes of his sock for everyone to see. The mortification still embarasses my vain little heart. The great thing about the seating at Don's Bogum is that there isn't any need to remove your shoes, though you can if you want, as I noticed that some diners with big clunky boots chose to leave them by the platform.

Enough about footwear, there was a decent array of panchan. We got marinated pickled daikon, spicy cuttlefish, mushrooms, watercress, some weird creamy peas and carrots and corn dish, soybeans, cucumbers, kimchee and scallions. The kimchee wasn't as good as at Gam Mee Ok, but that's to be expected.

Even though it was a frigid day, I ordered the neng myun, which are cold buckwheat noodles because the texture of the noodles is similar to Totto Tokusei Morioka Style Reimen at Yakitori Totto. That was a stupid move because it's nowhere near as good as the ramen at Yakitori Totto, and the presence of ice floating in the broth really did not turn my mom onto the noodles. If I hadn't ordered that, I could have gotten a kimchee chigae, which would have been infinitely more satisfying.

For BBQ, we got the marinated meat platter that had three different types of marinated beef. You see how the little air suction thing comes down to hover right over the grill? It helps one to not reek afterwards. The meal wasn't mind-blowing, but it was casual and just a quick subway ride from home.