The Ultimate KOREAN BBQ Food Tour!!! 5 Best Restaurants Back to Back!

All right, and here we go with the Kobe style brisket. Hey guys, welcome back to my channel. This is Steve from Rockstar Eater coming to you with another rocking episode. And today I'm out here in Los Angeles because I'm gonna be visiting some of the top Korean barbecue spots in LA. In fact, I'm going to be going to eat at five of the best Korean barbecue restaurants in LA. Five restaurants, five separate days. This is gonna be the ultimate Korean barbecue food tour in LA and you'll find anywhere on the internet. Isn't that so exciting? So I'm gonna show you guys what are some of the absolute best Korean barbecue restaurants you must eat at in LA. And also at the end of this episode, I'm going to be casting my vote on which one I think was the best Korean barbecue restaurant out of all the ones that I visited. So that is why you need to stick all the way to the end so that not only can you see all this amazing grilling action at these restaurants, but you can also see my pick on what I think was the best Korean barbecue restaurant of these five so that if you want to go, then you have your pick right there. And also if you're new to this channel, take a moment right now to hit that subscribe button as well as that notification bell because I put out these food videos weekly that you don't want to miss out on. So go ahead, do that right now. And I'm about to get started with my first restaurant, Baek Jong. To give you a little history about this restaurant, this isn't the first Baek Jong location or it isn't the only Baek Jong because the original Baek Jong opened in 2012 in Koreatown. And since then, it has been a hit. Jonathan Gold, LA food critic, has been there. A lot of people have been there, raved about it. One of the best Korean barbecue restaurants in LA. And now they have expanded, I believe, to seven locations total all around California as well as the location in New York. And this Temple City location is beautiful. I would even say that it looks better than the Koreatown location. So it's another option in LA if you don't want to go to the Koreatown one, or if you're closer to this area. The dining room is magnificent and they even have this kitchen area right behind me where you can watch them cutting all the meats and it's an open kitchen as well. Looks like a marketplace that's going on right here. So this is a really great thing that they've got going on here. This is what I decided to get today. This is a small beef combo. They have beef combos. They also have pork combos as well. I'm going to get some pork. And for the beef combo, this is a small size. The brisket, or what you call chadol, and the boneless short ribs, this is the plain one. And then we also have the marinated boneless short ribs as well. This one, I heard, is one of the specialties here, so definitely had to try this one. And this one here is the premium pork belly. Look how fat that pork is. It's like a thick slice of bacon. This is something you definitely need to get, especially if you go to a Korean barbecue restaurant, that could present it in high quality. It cannot be missed. It's soft and buttery, and the sesame oil adds that sesame flavor to it. Now it's time to try it with the soy dip sauce, which is going to make it kind of sweet. Wow, he's turning the grill around. You know what that means. That means the next round of meat is going on top. And this is the marinated, marinated short rib, marinated kalbi. The Korean barbecue, you absolutely need to eat. If you don't know what else to get on the menu, really the best thing you can get at a Korean barbecue restaurant, marinated short ribs. Popular in every Korean barbecue restaurant, very traditional, and here it is magnificent of the highest quality. Once again, it's soft, buttery, melt in your mouth. Oh yeah. Oh, all six slices of it on here. It is brilliant. And you also can add some kimchi and jalapenos in to pair with the pork. It's going to taste marvelous together. Kimchi and pork is always a good combination. That is so amazing. Pork barbecue. You definitely need to get the pork barbecue. If you come to a Korean barbecue restaurant, especially if they can have a premium, high quality, the pork flavor itself is already pretty good because of the natural flavor of that meat. But with the kimchi, it adds that kimchi flavor. You can just kind of pair it however way you want. You'll get a nice flavor bomb in your mouth. One of the oldest Korean restaurants in Los Angeles, an OG restaurant. And this kitchen is smaller than I thought it was going to be, but it packs a lot of punch because right back here, they're cutting up all the different vegetables, cutting up all the different meats, the condiments, and they even have a section where they have all the famous marinated short ribs, which is the galbi, the timeless classic here. In fact, let me show you this right now. Oh man, look at all that beef. So many pounds of beef. Oh, so much beef. It looks so wonderful. Oh yeah. This is what you got to get here. This is their short rib marinated galbi, which is the most popular one on the menu. This one is the beef tongue. This is really unique because I heard this comes from a Kobe cow that's grown here in California and even imported into Japan as well. And this one is their house special baby back ribs. It's on the top of the menu. I've never had this one before, but a lot of customers love it here. And I heard it's super popular and really good here. So I had to get this one. And this is the one that everybody comes here for. This is the marinated short ribs, the galbi. This is two orders here, but still, it's quite a big portion. And like I said, it's the most popular thing here. Been for many decades. And let me tell you folks, I used to eat here all the time when I was a kid. So I've been to this place at least 10 times already since I was, I think, eight or 10 years old. So I've been here a long time and it's always such a great feeling to come back here and to be able to experience this meat again and again, like comfort food. Whoa, just like I remembered it. I did get the marinated one too, so I'm gonna get to that in a bit. But the non-marinated one is just as good. I taste that oily butteriness of the meat. You can tell it's so high quality. You know, just that type of chew that it has to. It doesn't feel like old or raggedy. It tastes so fresh in your mouth. It's so like buttery too. Wow. And then when you dip it in the sauce, it adds a sweetness to it. Amazing, totally amazing. And I'm putting the bone on first because the bone takes a while to cook. And you're gonna see at the end why this is such an important step. This bone is really one of the treasures of this barbecue experience. Cause you're gonna cook this until it becomes super crunchy all around. The tendon is gonna taste so good. And there is the meat that I'm putting on as well. To give you a little note guys, whenever you cook this, try to cook it all the way on one side and flip it to the other. You don't wanna be turning it like 10, 20 times. That's not how you get the texture. Make sure it's cooked all the way on one side. And then you turn it to the other and it's gonna taste beautiful all around. Let me dip this in some of the sauce and go ahead with this one. Oh man, that is amazing. That is really awesome. It tastes so good. The meat is tender. It is crispy on the outside. It's smoky as well in a really delicious way. And that sauce adds that additional sweetness to it. Oh man, I'm telling you. If you want carby specifically, marinated short ribs, this is the place in LA to get it. A lot of restaurants have really good carby. No doubt in LA, but this place is known for the, the carby, like the OG carby. This is what you gotta get here. So if you wanna have like the best carby with the charcoals, the smoky flavor, and the sweetness of the meat and all that, this is the place you gotta get it. This is what they're really known for. So that's why I gotta get me some more of this. I'm enjoying it so much, guys. I wish you were here with me trying this right now. See my dance right here? That means that it is exceptional. So once you walk in, you're gonna see the display of all this meat. And this is really high quality. They say it's above premium quality meats. Kobe style beef that's grown here in the US. It's not from Japan, but still pretty good compared to your standard beef. So in this section back here, this is where they have all the banchan prepared as well as all the meat. So once you order the meat at your table, they're gonna start cutting it up back here. Cutting it up, plating it up so it looks really beautiful, and coming out. Not only is the meat delicious and high quality, but it looks spectacular when it comes out. So I'm gonna see how they're gonna plate up mine. This is gonna be a cool process. I'm gonna show you some of the sample things that they got here. They got the ribeye steak right here, and then they got the filet mignon in the center, and the skirt steak all the way right here. And then moving on this way, we got some prime short ribs right here, and then we got Kobe short ribs right over there. And there's still more to come after this. All right, here we go, guys. Kobe action about to begin. It is sizzling. Oh, man. That flame is strong. It is burning up this meat. I can't wait to try this. Oh, what do we got here? That's a piece of onion, I think. And I believe that's oyster mushroom. Per instruction, light dab in the salt. Don't go way too heavy on it. Look at my facial expression. That thing is incredible. It like melts in your mouth. It is like butter. I mean, is this even meat? It tastes just like butter. It's so rich, the marble, like oiliness inside of it. Wow, you don't even need to put that much salt or other garnishments on top of it because it tastes so amazing by itself. Wow. All right, here we go with the skirt steak. This looks so amazing too. In terms of the marbling, it doesn't look like it spreads as much like veins throughout the beef, but still it looks like really high quality beef. That one is amazing in its own way as well. This one, I would say it tastes more like steak. Like you actually taste more of the beefiness in the taste as well as in the texture of the meat too. Now don't get me wrong, it still is. It still has that juicy, kind of that marbly flavor to it. The other one was like butter, literally like butter that melts in your mouth. This is more like the traditional beef taste, but with kind of like buttery touches. Oh, boom, there we go with the filet mignon. I don't remember when was the last time I had filet mignon in a Korean barbecue restaurant. This is so exciting for me. It's making very good progress. It's pink in the center. I can tell it's about medium rare, kind of. So it's getting there. I heard it's best in the barbecue sauce, which that's why I'm gonna put it in the sauce. Whoa, that thing is like really soft. Man. Super soft, wow. I don't know how soft my soccer can get. That's like one of the top filet mignons I've ever had. They got a lot of rocking things going on back here. Of course, they have all the beef and the pork that they're cutting up all fresh when the customers order it. And they even have a machine that makes naengmyeon. You know, I gotta tell you this also, this restaurant specializes in the cold noodles naengmyeon, so obviously it's really good here. It looks so delicious. I like it when it's thick like that. Because once you barbecue it at the table, it comes out so perfect. So here is my large beef combo. Doesn't it look so epic? This is the beef brisket right here. This is something you always should eat as the first one when you're cooking. And check this out, guys. We got the ribeye going on here as part of the beef combo. And they got the marinated short rib, which is the galbi. And this one, I believe, is the rib, finger meat, I believe. And that one, I ordered it separately. This is their premium pork belly, samgyeopsal. Overall, this is gonna be so nice. And these are also some of the other things that come out with the menu as well. For example, the kimchi soup or kimchi jjigae. And we got the steamed egg. It is still steaming, it looks great. And this is the miso bean paste soup. Or in Korean, you call it doenjang jjigae. Okay, this is all the vegetables that come with it. Let me tell you, this is not just filler food or things for your health. This is a crucial part of your dining experience since this restaurant specializes in veggie wraps. So this, you're gonna need it with your meats. Look at how thick that steak is. It looks so beautiful. The finger meat is going on as well. And this is totally okay because both of them are non-marinated so they can totally cook together. Yeah, like brothers and sisters on the grill. Giving it a nice cut all around and let it cook for just a little bit more after that. Whoa, you see all the pinkness in the center? Yeah, that's the reason why you need to cut it up and cook it a little bit more unless you really wanna eat your steak pretty much rare, which I don't usually like to do. I think I'm gonna cook mine more to medium, something like that. So as you can tell, guys, it is really cooking now. So now we're at a point where we're kinda like stir-frying it on the grill. That's the actual ribeye itself. So we're gonna give it more cutting action and back to cooking it a little bit more. That steak, once again, it's very soft. It melts in your mouth. Has a beautiful buttery taste to it. Bam, the pork belly. It is time to eat some pork. It is sizzling. As usual, the cutting action, because this, you should eat it bite-sized because we're gonna take these and put it in the lettuce wraps once again. Okay, so the pork, I like it usually about charred. So that looks about right. And kimchi always makes this good. So obviously, kimchi, pork, match made in heaven. So obviously, they can't be separated even in the lettuce wraps as well. Mm, really great-tasting wrap. The dandelion, vegetables, and the cilantro, kimchi, all of it is so perfect together. This pork is really good in this wrap. As good as the beef is in this wrap, the pork is just as good in this wrap as well. I love it, yum. All right, so here we go with the last one. This is the marinated short ribs, the kalbi, which is always a traditional, classic favorites in Korean barbecue. And I expect nothing less of greatness here at Sam BBQ. So guys, I am stuffed. I am so full. That was a lot of food. And I showed you what's some of the most popular things that you can eat here at this restaurant. Definitely get that big beef combo because 80% of the customers here order that beef combo. And then their pork belly is also really good. Their naengmyeon is pretty good as well. I've been here to this restaurant in the past, but I kind of forgot how it tastes like. And after today, I can honestly say it is fantastic here. This Korean restaurant is unlike any that I've seen before. When you walk in, you'll see that it's very modern looking, not that traditional old school look. It's not even the modern Korean look. This is like a modern Westernized look. I almost feel like I entered into a coffee shop, like a slightly industrial, minimalist coffee shops. Love the color. I love all the space that's going on in here. It's very spacious. It's very comfortable. And they also have this open kitchen in the back where you can watch them cooking the stuff, slicing the meats. Wow. It's my kind of place. All right, so the ramen came out. This is the big combo that's on the menu. And I'm gonna show you some of the things that comes on this. For example, the beef brisket, which is the chadol, always very popular in Korean barbecue restaurants. And the onion, as well as the oyster mushroom. This one is the pork jaw. And this one is the boneless short ribs. Look at that marbling. It looks so rich. Very delicious. Yes. And also the ribeye steak, which I heard is another one of their standouts here. High quality ribeye steak. And also the bulgogi. This is the moment that I've been waiting for. The onion goes first to kind of oil up that grill with the mushroom. And of course, you always have to go with the brisket first. Traditionally, that's what always goes first because you go from the lighter meats all the way to the heavier marinated meats. Usually the order when you eat at Korean barbecue. You see how fast it cooks already. The other side. It's almost done. So you just need to flip it over and just stir it a little bit. And it's ready to serve. Oh my. Whoa, that is so good. You see the sear marks? Beautiful. Yes. Touching it up with that butter. Gloss it up. And guys, this is so big. This piece of short rib. It's usually not this big when they serve it in a lot of Korean barbecue restaurants. So they cut it in a unique way where it's so thick that it's almost like a steak. Whoa, that is mind blowing. That is so good. I want to make sure it's not a fluke. Let's try one more time. Oh my. That is so good. That is so amazing. I cannot believe how juicy and tender it is. Okay, so it's not marinated. It's not sweet. So you're going to have to dip it in some of the sauce in order to get the flavor. But man, the quality of the meat itself is amazing. Truly mind blowing. Wow. All right guys, bulgogi time. Oh, all that bulgogi sauce on top of the grill. This one, I don't think you need butter because it's already marinated. And you guys know what bulgogi is, right? Thin slices of meat. I believe it's probably ribeye and they marinate it as some sesame seeds and it's supposed to be juicy when it's cooked. Very soupy meat. It's making good progress, guys. You see how it's getting crispy on the edges now? That's how I like it. My bulgogi barbecued. It should be kind of crispy. It shouldn't look like it's boiled. I like it like this. Amazing. So it's basically bulgogi, but it's barbecued. So it has a caramelization, the crispiness, and it is slightly sweet. Very tender as well. That is good because whenever I go to Korean barbecue restaurants, I don't really get bulgogi that often. And I've only been to a few places where I actually liked the bulgogi at the restaurant. This is one of those occasions. It is fabulous. Definitely if you're a bulgogi fan, you're gonna love this. That was pretty crazy. I've never been to so many Korean barbecue restaurants in such a short amount of time, but I had a blast. All of these Korean barbecues were so fantastic. So definitely I wanna give a shout out to all of these great Korean barbecue restaurants in Los Angeles for making LA the top destination for Korean barbecue all over America and all over the world as well. And now you've come to the question, what is the best Korean barbecue restaurant out of all these ones I visited in this ultimate Korean barbecue tour? This is very difficult decision because all these five restaurants were so good in its own unique way. And in my mind, I had it narrowed down to two very highly competitive contestants. And I finally come to the decision on which I think is the best Korean barbecue of all the ones that I visited on this ultimate Korean barbecue tour. So now here it is, the Rockstar Award for Best Korean Barbecue in Los Angeles. Kind of like giving out an Oscar award in some ways. Gonna open up the envelope here. So now the award goes to So Grill House. Oh yes, this new restaurant in Pasadena is really the surprise of this entire trip because even I didn't expect it. When I visited there, especially since outside of Koreatown, I didn't really know what to expect, but man, I was blown away by their food. Everything tasted good from their basic brisket to the steak and even that mind-blowing short rib. It was just all fantastic. Even the appetizers there were really great as well. This is one of those hidden gem restaurants that needs more attention because it was just so fabulous. It was mind-blowing and it was just so creative and inspirational in many different ways. So that is why I give it my pick for the top Korean barbecue restaurants of all the ones I visited on this Ultimate Korean Barbecue Tour. Now, like I said, it doesn't reflect poorly on all the other Korean barbecue restaurants. They were all so fantastic in its own way and this was a very competitive, tough decision. So all of them were winners in my opinion, but definitely if you wanted to know which one was the one that I thought was so memorable, it's this one, So Grill House. So if you're in Pasadena, you happen to be around that restaurant, check it out because this has Rockstar Eaters Award for best Korean barbecue restaurant. Anyways, thank you so much for watching this episode of Rockstar Eater. If you enjoy what I'm doing here on the show, give me a thumbs up and also comment on the section below. If you've been to any of these five different Korean barbecue restaurants that I visited, tell me what you think about it. Do you think I chose the right one as the best Korean barbecue out of the five? I'd love to hear your story. And also, like I said, please subscribe so that you can get these videos on a weekly basis that you don't wanna miss out on. Well, I hope you have a rocking day today and that you'll try some of these rocking Korean barbecue restaurants sometime soon. And be sure to also check out the other videos on my screen so that you can see some of my other hot LA restaurant visits on this channel. So I'll see you guys in the next episode.