Korean/Han Bat address
I have tried a find on this board, and on metromix for an address for Han Bat. I've read posts about it, but can't find an address. Or perhaps it's all a figment of my imagination that there is such a place.
It looks like a nice rainy weekend for another food adventure. I'm going to try the Kedzie/Lawrence area one night for Egyptian/Iraqi, per RST. I liked Al Ameer a lot, but will try for a random spot this time.
But I'd like to find a standard for Korean. I've tried the ones out in my area, near NW burbs. The one I reported on here (Kimchi Cabana), was summarily dismissed as mediocre. I liked it and still go there. So I figure I need more experience. I've tried a couple on Lawrence, one an all night place, which I liked a lot (name escapes me).
So any recs are welcomed, but I'm really curious about Han Bat.
Jim S.
Apr 17, 2003 11:58AM
Hey Jim,
I'm between meetings here and can't elaborate re Han Bat (it's right next to Penguin Argentinian ice cream). But if you're not familiar with Korean, you might want to start with San Chae Dolsot, if only bec we've already had 2 reports on it (Gwiv's and Ligament's plus pictures on Gwiv's site). It's a small but representative, fairly "home-y" menu. Most items are fairly accessible to the non-Korean eater although they make no concessions at all. From there, you can follow Gwiv (and Zim and Paul T's footsteps) and explore some of the more "haute Korean" cooking such as at those places on California and Lincoln. Separately, you can also explore "specialist" houses that concentrate on only one form of cooking: rice cake makers, tofu soup specialists, the woman who makes chicken ginseng soup and (almost) nothing else and finally, the seollongtang (in all its variations: tongue, spleen etc) at Han Bat. There's a superb Jim Leff write-up on seollongtang at a Han Bat (no relation) in New York; I have a different "take" and "reading" of this great dish from his and I'll see if I can write it up later. Rocco di Spirito is a huge fan of seollongtang and takes every chance he can (in media interviews etc) to fan its fame. It's not an easy dish to appreciate: the soup hits you first with a wall of blankness and emptiness. It asks you first to defer pleasure and enjoyment. Pleasure is deliberately withheld and then ritually reclaimed as one adds a bit of sea salt, a bit of chile paste. It's not lacking in a sensuous dimension either: at the bottom of the soup, beneath the cloudy, murky whiteness you will find a few strands of nang myun (sweet potato noodle), one of the most sensuous of all Asian noodles. I had to entertain a Michelin-starred chef once and instead of taking him to a three or four star restaurant, I took him to this humble shack for seollongtang. He virtually broke down and cried.
Have to run. More later. By the way, your Maxwell Street mangoes are from Tapachula in Chiapas. Maxwell now also has gorgeous bunches and bunches (everywhere) of huauzoncle, which came drectly from the market in Taxco. Senora Guadalupe of Restaurante Oaxaca makes huauzoncle tempura (torta de huauzoncle) on weekends.
RST
Permalink | Reply
Thank you very much. I'll try your recommedation first, and work my way up.
I saw the huauzoncle when I was there. I had to ask what it was. Several stands had it. When I asked of the spelling, they used g instead of h. I have to make it down to RO one of these days. So many place, so little time.
I was planning on going to Penguin this weekend, weather permittin. I'll check the Han Bat place.
Permalink | Reply
Han Bat is one door west of The Penguin
The Penguin
2723 W Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-271-4924
Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...
Permalink | Reply
Be aware that Han Bat specializes in just that one thing, which is pretty austere. So you're not going for a big spread of grilled meats and what not; you're going for broth.
Permalink | Reply
Sorry, sweet potato vermicelli is DANG myun not nang myun (buckwheat noodle). Had a lot on my mind when I was typing that.
Jim,
It's been a while since my last visit to George's, Al-Mataam and so on and a lot has changed (George has moved to another location). Of course, the most interesting things in these restaurants are the unlisted items (daily specials) or the items in Arabic only. (The "Egyptian" Luxor for instance has a "secret" menu-see the list in Arabic by the door-that I think is actually "Syrian".) But I need to go back and reconfirm how everything stands. I am headed out the door now for a long hounding day: first, Logan Square, then Avondale, then an appointment with Silvana to taste feijoada and to discuss the take-out, then Albany Park. I'll report back.
RST
Permalink | Reply
the all-night place on Lawrence may well be the cleverly named "Korean Restaurant" on Lawrence and Washtenaw. If you go again, get the bibimbop in a hot stone bowl. it's so good, I never order anything else when I go there.
Permalink | Reply
That's the place. I liked all the dishes they bring out before the meal. I'll try the bibimbop next time.
Permalink | Reply
The Bibimbop in the hot stone bowl is called Dolsit Bibimbop (often with alternate spellings).
Permalink | Reply