GOOD BEE-BIM-BOP in SEATTLE

[beerlovingmom]

Hi All-

Please let me know you favorite place for Bee-Bim-Bop in Seattle. I live near the University, and the closer the better, but I am happy to travel (especially north) within reason.

[MightyMac]

Someone mentioned Old Village on Aurora, but I'd recommend the little teriyaki place right next door, "Mom's Teriyaki".

It's not the stone hot bowl style variation with lots of bracken ferns, soy bean sprouts, carrots, etc...but Mom's serves up a Market style that has lots of sliced up lettuce and other side dish items...I can't believe I haven't been there in so long. I used to live up on 135th but have since moved downtown and I can say that their bibim bap IMHO is my favorite by far. The lettuce makes all the difference in the world and adds a crispness to an otherwise so-so Korean dish. My parents used to eat bibimbap in the hot stone bowls and I hated it as a kid, but the one at Mom's is fantastic. Also, be liberal with the gochujang (chili) sauce as it's not very spicy (to me) but has great flavor.

[newton111]

My partner is Korean and as far as he is concerned there is only one place for Korean Food in Seattle and that's Old Village on Aurora.......one of the few places that still uses charcoal grills at the tables.......and their bibimbop is quite good

[equinoise]

RE: Old Village--has this place had a significant change in quality over the past two years? When I last went, they did employ a charcoal-gas mix to cook their BBQ. Unfortunately, the quality of the the meat was subpar.

Any recent visits?

[forkit]

In the U District i like Sunney's Cafe for bi bim bap, short ribs and the tofu and seafood soup. It's pretty cozy and I do see Koreans eating there.

[akq]

When I was at UW, I used to love the bibimbop from Sakura Teriyaki Shop on 45th between the Ave and Brooklyn (next to the used bookstore) - you can get it with or without meat. They used to also give you the hot, salty fried nori that is really tasty with rice. YUM.

I also like the food from University Way Korean Cuisine at 4525 University Way NE.

[Lets_eat]

Sakura is no more...it's still a teriyaki joint, but with a new name & owners. I second University Way Korean: zero atmosphere, but decent food. The banchan is lacking though.

[akq]

That's a bummer. I don't get out to the Ave much anymore - thanks for the update!

[equinoise]

If you mean University of Washington, there are several cheap Korean restaurants on The Ave and I'm quite confident many of them serve bi bim bap. I've never been to any of them, but I've heard positive things about University Teriyaki at the south end of The Ave near 41st. http://www.seattleweekly.com/listings/dining/347219/

I used to like Korean Kitchen on Brooklyn for this dish but I think it closed long ago.

I don't usually order bi bim bap when I eat Korean these days, but I really like the version at Hae-Nam Kalbi & Kalamarie on Aurora. http://www.seattleweekly.com/listings...

[kkbriggs]

The bi bim bap at University Teriyaki IS good. Or, at least, it was as recently as a year ago - when I was in grad school at UW we ate at University Teriyaki a lot. The hot (dolsot) is the best, but the cold is also good. Since finishing grad school and moving outside of Seattle, I've learned to make it at home, too - the $20 I spent on the stone bowl has been well worth it (although it helps that we have a gas stove). There was an article in the Seattle Times last year that had a pretty good recipe to start from: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html...

[juniebug]

Thanks for the recipe link. I'd like to try it. Where did you find the stone bowls? What are they called?

[kkbriggs]

I'm not sure what they're called, but I found it at a Korean market on South Tacoma Way in Tacoma. I would imagine you could probably find them online by searching for bi bim bap bowls or something along those lines. Or, if hannaone is frequenting the Pacific Northwest board, perhaps he could chime in with better info.

[Lets_eat]

I'm pretty sure you can find them at Aurora Oriental Market, 15202 Aurora Ave N. They have an entire aisle of korean kitchenware. As to prices though....

[hannaone]

Sorry, missed this thread.
If you are still looking for the Korean stoneware, try the new Alderwood H-Mart, or the A-1 Restaurant Supply store just across from Cash and Carry in Lynnwood.

You will be looking for bowls similar to those about halfway down this page, either the lidded earthenware or the lidded stoneware.

http://www.koamart.com/shop/48-asian_...

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A1 Restaurant Supply
20307 Highway 99 # C, Lynnwood, WA

H Mart
3301 184th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98037

[bbqer]

Downtown, I frequent Red Bowls which has bibimbop -- with your choice of chicken, beef, veggie, crab, or calimari. Brown rice or white. Very flavorful with a mildly spicy sauce. A great place for lunch but come early or it tends to be crowded with noon office lunch people. 812 3rd Ave.

[akq]

I love Red Bowls. Very bummed that I now work on the other side of downtown and rarely make it over there.

[broksonic]

Second this - Red Bowls is always good and quick, which is great for the lunch crowd. Much better than the places in the food court across the street. I love it with the egg on top.

[Jane917]

Try South Gate Garden Korean restaurant in the Bellevue/Factoria area, south of I-90. I had bibimbop there last Fall, and it was quite good.

[thevioletpear]

I haven't had it many places but we always get it at Bento Sushi on 85th and 15th in Ballard/Crownhill. We probably go 2x month just for the bee bim bop, it's also very close to us and kid friendly (we have a 2 yr old). It's $8.95 in a stone pot and comes with spinach, bean sprouts, radish, seasoned ground beef, mushrooms, zuchinni, carrots, egg on top, and you can choose chicken or beef (beef is better). Kim chee and chili sauce on the side. You also get miso soup. We each order one and never finish it all. I'd love to try it at more places though! If you like tempura, the appetizer tempura order is huge and usually pretty good.