Korean Bars, specifically, Buldak a.k.a. Korean fire chicken

The end of a long search...

In one of my earliest LTH posts, I was on the lookout for something I used to eat at “24 hour korean restaurant”. On the menu there it was called “chicken bulgogi” (i know that doesn’t really make sense, chicken fire beef..). Long story short, a search for chicken bulgogi turned up a few mediocre and not so fiery grilled chicken dishes at a few korean bbq places. 6.5 years later while looking into the Korean bar scene I started seeing something on the menus listed as Buldak. Upon reading a description, I realized this must be exactly what I was looking for!

I managed to find the buldak at 3 bars near me, and I decided to do a mini crawl. Korean bars seem to be right up the LTH alley, very food centric, but there seems to be little mention of them on LTH. So I took it upon myself to do a mini crawl for the cause. I hit up Waba, Yeowoosai, and Dancen. The food was very good at all 3 places, and definitely worth checking out. The menus are extensive with a lot of dishes I’m not familiar with, which aren’t on the typical korean bbq menu. Lots of room for exploration here.

Yeowoosai,
Had a cute, younger college town cafe sort of vibe, with loud KPOP videos on the TVs all around. Tables were odd, made of 2x4 lumber, neon lights and balloons were all around, and there were wooden wagon wheels on the walls. I’m sure on a weekend this place is probably rockin’, or at least I’d hope so.

I have made 2 trips here so far. On the first visit, the fire chicken really got me excited, a nice mix of white and dark meat, and very spicy with added jalapenos if you need an additional boost. This place is definitely worth making a trip. The best dish of the night was the Chicken Galbi (not really kalbi as i know it, but instead a HUGE stone cooker over a flame was placed on our table with a spicy pork and cabbage dish was cooked in front of us. At the end the server made a fried rice with the leftovers, with added korean seaweed (algea) kim in it, which was a great surprise. We washed it down with plenty of yogurt soju and a pitcher of hite. Our 2nd trip here was successful as well, with the exception of the beef intestine dish. It looked exactly like the original kalbi one which is why we ordered it but the intestines were dry, mealy and bitter. I will not be ordering that again.



yogurt soju


buldak (fire chicken)


Chicken Galbi


Waba
Waba has a nightclub vibe with dark decor and hip music. The food here was also good enough to make it worth a 2nd visit. They also have some of the most comfortable and cheapest karaoke rooms I’ve been in ($25/hr and no food/drink minimum). Comfortable enough, in fact, that I fell asleep while my wife and sister stayed until 4am singing $25/hr isn't so cheap anymore. The food here was served with a selection of about 5 banchan. The buldak was also very good here, though was mostly white meat so a bit dry, and it was more thinly sliced. While I liked this buldak enough to happily order it again, I prefer the buldak at the other 2 places more. We also tried the tofu with pork belly which was great, worth getting again.

In addition to the typical korean beers they also had a couple of “craft beers”, such as fat tire and a sam adams seasonal.

Kimchi with pork and tofu (much better than it looks)


Buldak


Ban chan



Dancen:
Smallest of the bunch, with more of a dive bar layout than the others. It has arcade game shaped tables (think pong) made of brushed metal which made it a bit uncomfortable to get snug up to the table.

The food however really blew me away here. In my opinion, clearly the better of the 3 buldaks that we tried. All dark meat cut off the bone and grilled right on the bar by the bartender. We tried a whole array of grilled skewered meats, which were good. The one dish that really surprised me was the cod roe soup. Typically this soup doesn’t excite me but the broth in this was bright and clean, and the cod roe was soft and savory, not grainy or mealy as it typically is. Some people who were with us didn’t even want to try it (since they don’t like it typically), but they loved it and ended up eating more! If you go here get that soup and buldak and you will not be disappointed.

In all I’m really glad i finally found the fire chicken, and my search led me to discover a few new dishes along the way! All 3 were great, but If you pick one of these places to try, I’d recommend Dancen.



They even grill up the bones for you!




Cod Roe soup


Fire Chicken



Yeowoosai
6248 N California Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 465-7660

Waba
5100 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 728-3222


Dancen
5114 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60686
(773) 878-2400

Nice post, Saw your post about the last place a few weeks ago and have been thinking about going there since.

Top notch photos as well.

I never would have heard of these places if not for this post...thanks for the heads up.

God's work, here. You have captured the weird sublimity of Korean bars. Nice to have so many replacements for the dearly departed Hourglass.

Really great to see the night lighting thanks to Canon at ISO3200.

FWIW, Yeowoosai served dalk kalbi, not so much bul-dalk. Some may argue bul-dalk is just really spicy dalk-kalbi, but good bul-dalk should be grilled/charred/rotisseried (think VONS Chicken) or even fried, and not served DIY on a portable stove. Jews/Chinese would all recognize dalk kalbi simply as spicy stir fried chicken. Minor difference, but the line must be drawn.

Also, as a favor to partying Chicagoans, can you let everyone know if these K-bars also have the infamous 치즈 구이 (chee-su con, "cheese corn" -- o yah, LOVE these loan words)? This is the tour de force of every single K-bar in LA, but only after 3 litres of watered down yogurtu soju. Cuz really, I can make dalk kalbi at home in about 15min , but I'd never let cheesu-con (canned corn, mayo, government cheese) touch my frying pan:



Finally, what's the price on these dishes? Dalk bulgogi has always been the more popular bulgogi because beef was so expensive. It's cheap over "there". Here, it has been turned to a $30 course thanks to the final act of the gochujang drenched rice. I find it the most offensive of Koreatown price gouging. Once, an ajuma stirring the chicken stir fry asked me, after casting her judgemental glare as she does for all non-Koreans dating Korean women: "why are you eating here"? For a second, I was pondering how offended I should become, but she followed immediately with: "it's too expensive". Touche, grams.

TonyC wrote:Really great to see the night lighting thanks to Canon at ISO3200.

FWIW, Yeowoosai served dalk kalbi, not so much bul-dalk. Some may argue bul-dalk is just really spicy dalk-kalbi, but good bul-dalk should be grilled/charred/rotisseried

You are correct. We were served both dak kalbi and buldak, being VERY different from one another. The buldak was coal fired at all of the places, as far as i remember. I admit my post probably lacked focus, I am not a professional writer by any means, so I'm glad you clarified that in case anyone was confused.

I don't remember seeing cheesy corn on any of the menus, but I'll keep an eye out. Menupages lists it on waba's menu. Cheesy corn definitely sounds like something fun to try at a K-bar. Part of the charm of these places is the unpretentiousness in which some stuff is served. I am pretty sure that all 3 buldaks were served with a salad (either lettuce or cabbage) topped with thousand island dressing. At Dancen each customer is greeted with a complimentary american cheese omelet.



As far as the prices go, I think they were reasonable, but not super cheap either. I remember being surprised by the high prices of some things, but definitely not approaching the $30 mark. The stone cooked dak galbi was big enough to feed 4 people without any additional dishes, and cost $22. by that measure it's pretty cheap. The buldak, i think ranged somewhere $9-$14. I think skewers at dancen were $2-$3. I think yeowoosai was probably the most expensive of the 3, and I did manage to snap pics of their menus. I didn't originally post it because, due to the low lighting they are a bit blurry.

Through PM Lemoneater suggested we do an LTH dinner at Dancen, and I happily jumped on the opportunity. I setup an event for friday at 7:30pm.
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=34819&p=414984#p414984

7:30? Won't things be lost in the translation that early? 10:30 at the earliest.

JeffB wrote:7:30? Won't things be lost in the translation that early? 10:30 at the earliest.

Early Bird Special. Bossam plate only $30 !

JeffB wrote:7:30? Won't things be lost in the translation that early? 10:30 at the earliest.

You may have a point there.. I'll post on the event thread asking if the attendees would be willing to meet later.

Fascinating! I have lived around the corner from Dancen for years but never ventured in because I didn't really know what it was - bar? restaurant? karoake spot? Nice to know there's a good food option so close. Now for the question - how welcome did you feel? How well were food items described on the menu (in English)? I'm the rare LTH-er who doesn't much care for much beyond beef, chicken, pork (and not the organs of said beasts). I'm always a little nervous that I'm about to accidentally order a heaping pile of raw guts if things aren't specific on the menu.

I love dancen!! I go very frequently and it's good to see some interest from this place. Something you guys might want to try is the Ojingah Bokum... make sure you get the one Cooked at your table. It's spicy squid and vegetable stir fry, and when your done they do a Fried rice in the pan when your done. It's so good!! also If the Bul Dak is a little on the spicy side, try the Cheesy bul dak... bul dak with melted cheese on top, really good.

Yeeowsai... i think the best thing is the Kimchi Bokum Bap. It's a kimchi fried rice done at your table. Really really good.

Tobermory wrote:Fascinating! I have lived around the corner from Dancen for years but never ventured in because I didn't really know what it was - bar? restaurant? karoake spot? Nice to know there's a good food option so close. Now for the question - how welcome did you feel? How well were food items described on the menu (in English)? I'm the rare LTH-er who doesn't much care for much beyond beef, chicken, pork (and not the organs of said beasts). I'm always a little nervous that I'm about to accidentally order a heaping pile of raw guts if things aren't specific on the menu.

I think there is only one server walking around for the whole place. Remember, it's a divey bar, not a restaurant, so service is not their #1 priority.

I think the meat dishes seem to be labeled. You could use the menu posted above as a gauge for that. It's from a different restaurant, but I think the menus were all very similar. Really though... live life on the edge! Walk in and check it out for yourself! Sometimes part of the fun is the mystery of what you just ordered!

laikom wrote:I think there is only one server walking around for the whole place. Remember, it's a divey bar, not a restaurant, so service is not their #1 priority.

It might have been aided by laikom doing a great job communicating, but service seemed naturally, calmly good all yesterday night, and the crowd throughout the place was obviously having a great time. I will not hesitate to return to Dancen or to recommend it to the uninitiated.

Skewers of wonderful mushrooms, marinated beef, whole garlic cloves, and the icy yogurt soju were my favorite refreshments of the night, while everything was good. The jeons (seafood and kimchi) were very competent. Near the end, they brought out some lavishly spiced and perfectly fried chicken with dredging salt, quite impressive.

The buldak was perfect drinking food, almost too intense in spice and salt to savor on its own, but an ideal match with the golden beers and soju. I actually thought our plate of cheesy buldak was the spicier and more richly pasted / charred of the fire chicken selections. I'm very grateful to have been introduced to this dish and spots to try.

I just came back from Yeowoosai, had a blast so I had to Google it, and found this forum! My friend found this place from Groupon and she loved it so much that she dragged me out here. At first I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going to a Korean restaurant because the last time my friends and I went to a Korean restaurant/bar we didn't get one second of service... That one horrible experience turned me off from Korean places for about two years.

But Yeowoosai was simply amazing! At first it was confusing because the sign says "Yosi" outside...

ATMOSTPHERE.... Well there were no balloons here! It had a very cozy and classy feeling inside. My friend who came here a month ago said the place changed dramatically. She said the bathroom looked different too. From my first time point of view I didnt get that college feel. It felt grown up but I'll admit they played soooo much KPOP music videos! I'm assuming that was the college feel? Regardless the videos won me over! We were there for about two hours and not once the same video would repeat.

the tables and chairs or benches were definitely stand outs. It's unique and I've never seen anything like it before. I enjoyed the candle lit setting at our table. Our waitor immediately lit up a candle at our table. I thought it was silly because I wasn't with my girlfriend, just a friend... but then I realized that the waitor lit every table as they sat down. It felt really intimate and cozy. Once again I was with a friend but damn I felt like falling in love here! Must be the red walls or something or the heart in their spelling. I'll tell you what I did fall in love with...

THE FOOD.... We ordered the Kimbop Tigem (?) it was like a roll deep fried with the most amazing sauce on top. It was a great start to our meal. Our main course was Kimchi Fried Rice and it had cheese, eggs, spam, bacon, and pineapple. I'm not exagerating, it was the most epic thing I've ever eaten! I forget which one we chose but there were like four or five different options. We also ordered the goat, that was definitely interesting. I think we ordered it because of the menu description... we looked at each other and were like... why not? haha which by the way was pretty funny and informative at the same time. Anyway the goat is huge so we couldnt finish it. The portions here are just monstrous.

DRINKS... We ordered the house cocktails, my friend ordered the Kinky Girl and I ordered the Asian Spice. I will forver remember those two names because once again the description (Kinky Girl) and taste (Asian Spice) won my mind over. I didnt try my friends drink but mine was so damn delicious, definitely a very wintery drink. Then we started drinking the different kinds of cocktail soju, we had watermelon and ended with the yogurt. Who knew yogurt had a flavor? Delicious!

ALL IN ALL... I had a blast and thought the food portions were enormous and reasonable with the pricing. Definitely meant for a group of 2-4 people. I will definitely check out Waba and Dancen within the next two weeks. Will report back later!

Wow I rambled on but I am definitely buzzed from the drinks. I can't believe I rambled on! haha


EDIT:
LAIKOM ... I'm looking at your pics and the goat came in that portable stove which made me nervous but it was kind of cool to mess with it. Also noticed the tables and benches are in the same position but the color was totally different. Instead of blue it was all red.

Welcome dance2justice! Thanks for the detailed review - nice first post

dance2justice wrote: We also ordered the goat, that was definitely interesting. I think we ordered it because of the menu description... we looked at each other and were like... why not? haha which by the way was pretty funny and informative at the same time. Anyway the goat is huge so we couldnt finish it. The portions here are just monstrous.

Hey, thanks for following up on the forum. Hope you come back to post your reaction to Dancen and Waba as well! Maybe its' just that it has been a while, but I don't remember the goat on the menu! Sounds exciting. Can you describe the preparation of it? I'm interested.

I felt like going to Sidekicks to watch the drunks try to sing. But Sidekicks lacks quite a bit in atmosphere. I could use some help in picking a place to go. I'm thinking Waba, Dancen or The Place Next Door to Hae Woon Dae. It sounds like Waba has karaoke, but do they only have private rooms to rent? I wanted to go, watch people, maybe get the nerve to get up there myself. Do all these places offer songs in English? What is the best time to go? Is The Place Next Door to Hae Woon Dae called Yeowoosai, or is that something else? Any other tips would be nice. Other recommendations than these three are okay too, but I'd like to keep it around this area or further north.

Thanks!

Pie Lady, The Hidden Cove, a divey bar on the 5300 block of n. Lincoln has karaoke pretty much all the time. We used to hang out there for karaoke and trivia -- it's been a few years, but am pretty sure it still is a place to see drunken weekend karaoke.

Regarding Korean bars: anyone know if any of the places in this thread would have the NCAA basketball games showing on their TVs?

Shasson wrote:Regarding Korean bars: anyone know if any of the places in this thread would have the NCAA basketball games showing on their TVs?

Dancen definitely will have the basketball games on. I've been there often lately, and either the Bulls or NCAA was always playing.

Thanks Teresa!

I should also add that laikom and I and some friends recently rented a karaoke room at Waba and were sorely disappointed to find out that it has changed ownership and is now called "Buba." Although they assured us when we called to book the room that they still serve the same menu (and rental prices haven't changed - $25/hr for a small room that accommodates 5-8 and $35/hr for a bigger room for about 10), the food was, by all accounts, gross. This turn of events is sad given that the proprietors of Waba were such nice people and their food was, if not the best I've had, made with care and certainly a step above most bar food. The question now is: where in Chicago can we track down the elusive cheesy corn?

Also of interest: the menu at Buba had a page of "Mongolian" offerings, and although none were available while we were there, we were told that the owners are Mongolian and would be offering them soon. Strangely enough, this night was the busiest I had seen the place, with 3-5 karaoke rooms going at once. When it was Waba, we often had the place to ourselves.

Although we wish Buba the best and may find ourselves back there again because it is so conveniently located right in our neighborhood, I'd be interested in hearing whether anyone knows of any other Korean private-room karaoke bars in Chicago worth a visit. Maybe that would be a good excuse for another survey ...

Teresa

Pie Lady wrote:I felt like going to Sidekicks to watch the drunks try to sing. But Sidekicks lacks quite a bit in atmosphere. I could use some help in picking a place to go. I'm thinking Waba, Dancen or The Place Next Door to Hae Woon Dae. It sounds like Waba has karaoke, but do they only have private rooms to rent? I wanted to go, watch people, maybe get the nerve to get up there myself. Do all these places offer songs in English? What is the best time to go? Is The Place Next Door to Hae Woon Dae called Yeowoosai, or is that something else? Any other tips would be nice. Other recommendations than these three are okay too, but I'd like to keep it around this area or further north.

I realized I just wrote a whole post and did not answer any of your questions. Waba (now "Buba") has karaoke in English, but only in private rooms. Dancen and The Place Next Door to Hae Woon Dae (which is Yeowoosai) do not have karaoke, but I believe they both are next door to karaoke places. I think they may only have private rooms as well, although I haven't actually been inside.

I second Shasson's recommendation of The Hidden Cove. I've never been there, but it has been recommended to me many times as a very good place to watch (and participate in, if you are so inclined) good karaoke.

BTW, I am the wife laikom mentioned upthread who stayed out until 4am singing in the private room. I can assure you that it is A LOT of fun.

Teresa wrote:I should also add that laikom and I and some friends recently rented a karaoke room at Waba and were sorely disappointed to find out that it has changed ownership and is now called "Buba."

I wondered about that. I thought GoogleMaps was losing its touch.

Teresa wrote:I realized I just wrote a whole post and did not answer any of your questions. Waba (now "Buba") has karaoke in English, but only in private rooms. Dancen and The Place Next Door to Hae Woon Dae (which is Yeowoosai) do not have karaoke, but I believe they both are next door to karaoke places. I think they may only have private rooms as well, although I haven't actually been inside.

I second Shasson's recommendation of The Hidden Cove. I've never been there, but it has been recommended to me many times as a very good place to watch (and participate in, if you are so inclined) good karaoke.

BTW, I am the wife laikom mentioned upthread who stayed out until 4am singing in the private room. I can assure you that it is A LOT of fun.

I thought Yeowoosai was the place next door that had karaoke.
I have been to The Hidden Cove about 13 years ago, and it was a decent dive bar, but I am generally too scared to get up and sing. I only tried a duet of the Muppets Theme song with my hubby once at a place downtown. I thought if I got up the nerve in the places I mentioned, I'd have a good chance of being ridiculed in Korean, and that would be preferable. I'll have to check these places out and report back.

It isn't nerve you need, just more alcohol.

I thought so too, but nope, I need a cocktail of both liquor and courage. But not too much booze, because then I go deaf. It's a delicate balance.

From a quick glance at the yelp page, it appears the place next door to to yeowoosai is known by a few names, Kutti Karaoke, Karaoke Restaurant, and sing sing karaoke. I'll call it Kutti since that's what they hvae listed on their own facebook page, where there are a few pictures showing the layout of the bar: facebook.

It looks like Kutti sells food, but most accounts of the food seem mediocre, looks like more exploration is in order. One yelp reviewer mentioned that "You can bring in your own food or drink", though I really doubt this to be true since it is a bar with a kitchen, that seems odd.

A complete night could include a full tour of that strip mall. Start at Yeowoosai to get some great food, and some drinks. Once you have bit of a buzz going, head to sing at the karaoke place ($45/hr for a room fitting up to 10). End the night at Hae Woon Dae to sober up and eat some hangover preventing soups. A great night and you don't even have to leave the strip mall!

I stopped by yeowoosai (yosi) the other night and while I thoroughly loved my first few visits, it seems in the past year some things may have changed, for the better. The fire chicken was spectacular, less sauce, more char, totally on par with Dancen, perhaps a bit more char flavor and a bit less sweet than Dancen. The huge surprise was the pajeon. Holy crap was it good, definitely the best I've had by a mile, and yes I've had, and love the one from cho jung. I have been thinking about this pajeon daily since I ate it, and can't wait to get back for another round. Really crispy edges, perfectly goey insides, just the right balance of seasoning and ingredients. The soju and Hite ice point was indeed ice cold and the atmosphere with the K-Pop videos on plasma screens surrounding you just can't be beat. It's a much larger space with huge semi-private booths, so for a group Yosi is a great choice.

THANK YOU! I will now be hitting up both Yeowoosai and Dancen in the next few months. Ever since I learned of fire chicken I've been dying to try it. I did successfully eat it at a place in San Francisco a year ago, but being in Milwaukee and having one Korean restaurant that does NOT serve buldak I've been SOL.
-Tom