Saturday, April 25, 2009

Chung Dam

I was all amped to try Pollo A La Brasa today, but was sadly deterred by their C rating by the public health department! I'm fine with B ratings, but gotta draw the line at C. I've had food poisoning incidents before, so I try my best to avoid living too dangerously. With the parking meter running, I had to improvise fast. Lucky for me, I parked right in front of Chung Dam Korean BBQ, a new restaurant on Western with a sparkly A rating.

chungdam 001
Banchan aka Korean side dish freebies. The quality of these small additions are important to me when forming an opinion about a Korean restaurant: these passed the mark nicely (didn't taste terribly MSG-laden and a satisfactory assortment)!

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More freebies.

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Red leaf lettuce, perilla leaves, seaweed and cabbage to wrap up my...

chungdam 004
Bulgogi! I know Korean short ribs get the most love and I adore those, but the thinly sliced marinated beef is cheaper and also delicious. Chung Dam's version is not too fatty.

The best part is that they have lunch specials daily (including weekends)! The above only put me back $12 and I had leftovers (the server was very friendly throughout and did not give me any attitude about asking for a box). The restaurant's interior is new and very clean, and they've got a patio area, which I'm sure will be nice on summer nights. I want to go back and try the grill for dinner (the lunch specials are prepared in the kitchen, not at the table). And of course, gotta try the nengmyun, the cold noodles that account for much of my summer diet!

Chung Dam
808 S. Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 389-0808

7 comments:

Diana said...

I'm with you on the C's! I have a hard of enough time with the B's!

Looks like a great lunch!

SinoSoul said...

bwahahahaahha. Pollo Ala Brasas LOOKS dingy doesn't it? Next time, I'd go over to Dino's Burger instead?

Chung Dom's s'pose to be one of the finer new KBBQ's in Ktown. I've yet to partake, but it's on the list.

Marie said...

Diana: I like that CA's ratings are so clearly displayed. I've lived in other parts of the country where most of the time, I didn't know what the health department gave them until I was paying my bill at the register!

TonyC: I'll have to try Dino's Burger! I think it was meant to be because you mentioned it and then I saw it again in my Eat Los Angeles book. I really need to get better acquainted with the various Ktown BBQ staples, I still haven't been to Soot Bull Jeep, if you can believe.

weezermonkey said...

Pollo a la Brasa has a C now?! That's a damn shame. Boo.

Marie said...

WeezerMonkey: I know, let's hope it's only temporary. I have been wanting to try their chicken for years!

Steve said...

What a total disgrace. You didn't go into Pollo a la Brasa because of some silly government designation? The place is an old-school smokehouse and makes the best chicken in the state. You don't need to know anything else. I wouldn't go if it received a grader higher than a C.

Marie said...

Steve: Damn. Now that's a ringing endorsement! Sorry to disappoint, but to each their own ratings standards?