Ahjoomah's Apron, Well-Being Korean in Chinatown

An LTHForum Mad Lib.

Thinking I'd head to (more common ethnic place), I pulled up and realized [thread title] was open, which I had only noticed peripherally when (inconvenient mode of transportation) by before. Sure, there was a scant mention in [LTHForum thread], and it may have been covered by (irrelevant outside media outlet). But I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that there is no dedicated thread here about this (superlative) place. What, you don't like (neighborhood), or know from (noun)?

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The restaurant was (postmodern adjective) but also (home-evoking adjective), with just enough seats I could picture an [event link] here. Looking at the menu, I had a particular hankering for (category) because I had just been reading [LTHForum front or quoted page]. And gee, (thinly-veiled reference to how attractive the servers are). I was pleased when the first plate(innappropriate punctuation)s arrived, because the presentation was authentic per my experiences in (vacation or roommate), and the flavors were (adjective, must be "bright" or "funky"), not muted.

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Firing on all cylinders, they delivered everything from unctuous through toothsome, with a vinegary tang. Those with seafood elements were (adjective, must be "pristine" or "immaculate"). My main, (national dish), was cooked in a (specific servingware), and hit its mark. I'm not sure why all places can't get the (characteristic texture) right; chalk it up to impatience and not committing to quality (type of cooking fat). There was a fried egg involved.

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Our hosts, (regional name one) and (regional name two), could not have been any more (adjective).

So much of this expansive menu is worth exploring; they obviously take particular pride in everything having to do with (region). If only they weren't on (Chicago street / side), I'm sure more people would be getting there. Destination dining? I'm not (adjective) enough to say.

(quirky signoff)

Ahjoomah's Apron
[address copied from Yelp]
218 W. Cermak
Chicago, IL
312.326.2800

Gotta be right up there among the posts of the year.
Thanks

That sounds (adjective). I'll be sure to get there and try some (obscure dish) soon.

Love it! Especially:

Firing on all cylinders, they delivered everything from unctuous through toothsome, with a vinegary tang.... My main, (national dish)...hit its mark... There was a fried egg involved.

If there was a "like" button, I would click it.

Btw, that's some good looking banchan!

Best post ever.

This thread sucks!

Replete with thready goodness!

mbh wrote:This thread sucks!

This thread only imagines this thread could suck. This thread does not suck.

[This post was posted by this post.]

Since I live close by, I've been making visits over the last month or so for midweek lunches at Ahjoomah's Apron. But I'd still be hitting this place up hard even of it wasn't so convenient.
One has to take a heap of faith and give up any preconceived notions that a Korean joint just doesn't belong in Chinatown. If you do, this place will deliver in spades, making some of finest soondubu, dolsot bibimbop, and banchan to be eaten in town right now. Ingredients in general here appear to be of higher quality than most typical Korean joints (Gogi Korean BBQ being another notable exception). Construction of dishes are also noticeably thoughtful.

My new server/friend (Austen) told me that "Check, Please" was scheduled to do a shoot there sometime soon and is supposedly to be on the very first episode with their new host. So, if he's right, you might want to check out Ahjoomah's Apron before the onslaught.

I had lunch here the other day with Pigmon, and my first experience was not quite as rosy, which is surprising since the Pigmon and I have such a high compatibility rate. As expected the soondubu was quite good, perhaps among the best you could find within city limits. Pigmon owes me a crisp $20 bill, which I intend to collect, if I can find a bowl as good within city limits.

I was really happy to see Haejangguk (hangover soup) on the menu. The server added that it literally translates to something more like "recovery soup". It can vary its ingredients, but in this case it was the typical combination of beef (kalbi) and ox blood soup with beansprouts and cabbage. The only other place I've seen it is the super H-mart food court which does a decent version. Unfortunately Ahjoomah's did not scratch the itch. The beef was chewy, and the oxblood overcooked and mealy. The broth was thin and lacked the spicy kick or complexity I have come to expect.

The bulgogi was abysmal, the meat nothing special, and the dish had little other flavor than sugar and the green onions.

The banchan was generally okay, but nothing I saw as noteworthy. Some were unnecessarily sweet, such as the seaweed, and the cucumber kimchi.

In all it was a comfy space with great service, and if I have a hankering for soondubu and am near Chinatown, I'd gladly stop in for a bowl. I feel bad to leave a negative post on such a new place after just one visit, but then again it's going to be on check please, so I don't feel too bad.

laikom wrote:As expected the soondubu was quite good, perhaps among the best you could find within city limits. Pigmon owes me a crisp $20 bill, which I intend to collect, if I can find a bowl as good within city limits.

Good luck finding a soondubu as good within the city limits - even if you do employ all your Korean buddies for consultation! The guy who said "I don't know. I like my mom's best" is really telling the true story about this dish.

A few years back, I attempted to do a soondubu project and after having tried some 15+ different bowls within the city, had to abandon thoughts of writing a roundup post since I couldn't fondly write about even one of them. The only places I think that are better are Cho Dang and Cho Jung and they're out in the Suburbs.

I like my $20s crisp. Otherwise, just pay me with 10-$2 bills.

laikom wrote:The bulgogi was abysmal, the meat nothing special, and the dish had little other flavor than sugar and the green onions.

So, so true. If the flaccid bulgogi happened to be the first item I ever tried too, I'd probably dislike this restaurant as much as you do for that alone.