Baekjeong Korean Barbecue, Michael Chon’s profitable Korean barbecue idea that has caught on all through Southern California with its evocation of the long-lasting Korean night time market, is planning to open a department in Seattle (Lynwood) this summer season and one other in San Jose, California this Fall. The title Baekjeong, which has the playful tagline “We Meat Once more,” is derived from the Korean phrase for “butcher,” and the menu lists a variety of USDA Prime beef cuts, from the quotidian (brisket) to the obscure (abomasum). And worry not — there’s a custom-made round grill at each desk upon which to prepare dinner them. Jonathan Gold fell in love with the place in 2015, and its recognition has additional exploded since then. There are presently six places in operation in Southern California.
Chon, CEO of Kijung Hospitality Group (which opened the primary location in Los Angeles’ Koreatown in January 2012), was born in East Los Angeles to first-generation Korean American mother and father who got here to the U.S to offer instructional and financial alternatives to their youngsters. Born with an entrepreneurial impulse, Chon first developed a number of profitable enterprises from the bottom up in finance and expertise. However he says what will get him away from bed within the morning is his ardour for the merging of nice meals and repair that’s Baekjeong’s mission: “When nice meals is married to glorious service with a singular and vibrant eating expertise, then the meal touches the hearts of our clients and delivers on my promise of ‘buyer happiness.’ I like specializing in all of the little particulars that should come collectively — increasing menus, delivering genuine taste profiles, coaching workers, and refreshing the eating surroundings.”
Chon credit his mom as being his most necessary mentor, saying, “She instilled in me my values and taught by instance that success is just achieved by arduous work and a spotlight to element.”
And now, for the primary time within the firm’s historical past, the kitchen is led by a Korean American chef. Senior Director of Culinary Operations Chef Samuel Kim hung out in Thomas Keller’s Michelin-starred Pe Se, Gabriel Kreuther’s The Fashionable, and different high-end eating places over the course of 20 years earlier than lastly arriving at a spot the place he can prepare dinner the meals of his heritage, which he says could be very satisfying. He credit Kreuther for educating him French method and the type of elevated service he brings to Baekjeong.
Past the prime cuts of meat, further menu objects embrace stone pot bibimbap, kimchi stew, spicy paste chilly noodles, cheese mountain tripe fried rice, seafood ramen, and Korean pancakes and dumplings. The preferred drinks provided to pair with the meals are beer and soju. Nearly every part is designed for sharing, in fact, however some places supply fast lunches for one.
The 2 new places in Seattle (Lynwood) and San Jose, that are well-timed as we slowly emerge from the pandemic, will advance the reason for Korean barbecue on the West Coast and appear destined for fulfillment.
Go to the Baekjeong web site for extra data.