Food Stop 5: Cho Sun Ok (Korean BBQ), Chicago IL

Aaron (the korean) took me on a short ride through downtown Chicago to go drop my stuff off at the condo. After we got the gear squared away, we go pick up a couple of friends (more koreans) and we go eat.... (surprise surpirse).... Korean Food! I have lived in S. Korea in 2005 / 2006 and had the privilege of experiencing one of the most unique food traditions in the world. I have had Korean food almost everywhere that i have lived, but i have fond memories of the Korean Cuisine in Chicago.  
So yeah... We pack into the Escalade and hop onto Lakeshore Drive North, then exited into a maze of Chicago streets and eventually ended up here....

View Larger Map


The humble little corner shop would have easily been missed if you were driving by but don't let that full you. This little establishment is quite well known by the local Korean community for putting out some great Korean BBQ.


As it turns out, one of our dining companions knew the owner's daughter, and in typical Korean hospitality, the owner loaded us up with more food than we can hope to swallow.  Queued up on the dinner service were pork belly and tripe (cooked to perfection by the owner's wife herself in the stone pot right at the table), two types of buckwheat noodle (naeng myun), refreshing veggie soup, fried rice and a whole table full of little korean side dishes. This is what our table looked like....

The intoxicating sent of meat being seared with whole cloves of garlic wafting from the stone pot  was simply mesmerizing.... i wish you could smell this....

As if hotstone grilled meat wasn't enough, next on the menu was buckwheat noodles. We ordered two kinds, couple of us got buckwheat noodle in broth....

The rest of us (me) got buckwheat noodle with hot pepper sauce....

By the time i was 1/4 of the way through the noodles, the owner's wife comes back and eaches across the table to grab all the little bits of of leftover side dishes which we didn't finish and empty everything into the the stone pot in the middle. I just figured she was cleaning up and our meal was done, but then i realize that he is holding a huge pot of white steamed rice which she empties into the cooking pot and starts stirring everything in.... INSTANT FRIED RICE!!

We eventually stumble out of the restaurant full, contented and ready for naptime. This place may be a little out of the way, but lemme tell you. It is well worth it. If you are ever in Chicagoland and want to try some good ethnic food that is off the beaten path, check out Cho Sun Ok.


I liked, 
- The traditional Korean atmosphere & decoration of the establishment.
- Great traditional BBQ which is as close to what they eat in Korea as we can get here in the US.
- Great variety of dishes.
- Friendly staff 


I didn't quite Like, 
- NO ALCOHOL FOR SALE. So apparently they don't have a liquor license, so it's BYOB. Before arriving, head down about half a block to the grocery store and pick up a carton of brewskies before heading over for some good food.


Cho Sun Ok (Korean Barbeque)
Address: 4200 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago IL 60618
Phone: 773-549-5555
Website: http://chosunokrestaurant.com/
Map:



View Larger Map