Reviewed: Sing for your BBQ at GunBae
Pre-meal banchan!
Restaurant: GunBae
Cuisine: Korean/BBQ
Location: 67 Murray St. - Manhattan 10007
Korean BBQ upstairs. Karaoke downstairs. What could possibly be a better combination? If you find yourself in the Tribeca neighborhood craving Korean (traditional plates plus BBQ, too) - but aren't particularly keen on a fancy/pricy tasting menu a-la-Jungsik - then look no further than GunBae.
Housed in an attractive, modern, bi-level space, GunBae boasts a full bar (with a variety of house-infused soju) - plus rocks a serious happy hour (M-Th from 11:30A-7PM, $5 for all beer / $7 for selected wines), to boot. And while the wine list may not read like that of a fussy French restaurant, there are plenty of great red and white options by the glass/bottle.
Having chosen a two-top table outfitted with a BBQ grill (for the sheer cave woman-esque intrigue of watching someone cook glistening raw meat before your very own eyes), Danielle and I split a variety of food items - both Korean BBQ and traditional dishes - so that we could sample as many plates and preparations as possible. For the BBQ selections, we opted for the Yang Nyum Kalbi (boneless beef short rib) and an order of the American Wagyu Brisket. We also chose two of my personal favorite Korean dishes of all time (thank you, Christine Yi!), the Kimchi Pancake and Dduk Man Du Guk, a beef-broth stew chock full of rice cakes and dumplings.
Kimchi Pancake
While I love BBQ/grilled meat as much as the next guy (I am a Texan, after all), I have to say that, at this particular restaurant, I preferred the non-BBQ items! Why? Truth be told, I like my beef gristle-free and, unless we're talking about Japanese Kobe, relatively low on marbeling. Call me boring, perhaps even risk averse, but I'm a 'filet mignon' gal to the core. That being said, my protein preferences definitely lie within the minority, especially at Korean BBQ restaurants where most of the raw meat is enveloped with a higher fat ratio/percentage.
I'm pretty sure that Danielle and I chopstick-fought over the last slice of that piping hot and crispy Kimchi Pancake! And I can say with 100% confidence that I successfully polished off the remainder of that delicious beef stew. There is truly something so comforting and warm about rice cakes in a savory broth; it's like receiving an embrace from the person in your life who gives you the best hugs.
I look forward to returning to GunBae soon and checking out their karaoke space, plus sampling the (Gunbae Chicken) Wings, Bibimbop, Wagyu Kimchi Fried Rice, and like 15 other menu items.
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Until we eat again,
Lindsay, The Lunch Belle