The Summer Barbecue

Well Summer seems to have ended overnight. We flipped the calendar to September and it became fall. Two cool nights in a row and I slept like a baby.
When you’re stuck in the city here for most of the summer, the way everyone enjoys it is by finding shade and barbecuing. It’s a year round obsession here but it seems most fun in the summer


The patio of “Busan Kalbi” in Itaewon. It’s not a bad place for a late evening barbecue. It's not my favorite, but it's not far from home and I love upper level patios. We had a great view of the other side of the street.

The pork - Daejikalbi.

The Side Dishes:

Some spicy squid.

Pickled radish is a side dish on every Korean plate, for every Korean meal. It's like kimchi. It's always there.

Some crab doused in hot pepper spice.

The leeks are usually on the table as well. They're spiced with hot pepper. The idea is that you wrap them up with the pork in a lettuce leaf - for a big mouthful.

I promised myself I'd stay away from the Soju on this trip to Korea. It's been easy. There are many alternatives that are tasty with the barbecue. Above is Mae Hwa Sue. It's a sweet rice wine. And below is Kung Ha, which seems to be just a weaker form of Soju, and easier on the ol' stomach. It's also great for cooking duck.

The funny thing is that now that summer is over, patio season actually begins here. The shops turn off the air conditioning, open the doors and windows and drag all their little plastic chairs and tables outside. Everyone eats out on the sidewalks.

I’m not a fan of air conditioning. I suffered through most of the summer without it in my apartment. And it drives me mad when you need a winter coat to sit comfortably in a restaurant when it’s 35 degrees outside.