Jang Mo Nim...Jang No More - Now Joy Ribs

We went on a whim Friday and were dismayed to find that Jang Mo Nim had undergone a change in ownership and substantial remodeling. Because we were in a bit of a fog and did not actually detect the ownership change until we were seated and staring at the menu cover which said 'Joy Ribs', it was too late for us to slip back out.

We ordered kalbi for two and panfried mandoo for our son which was our regular order at JMN. The kalbi, while decently marinated, was a little too sweet for my taste. The mandoo when it came out turned out to be kimchi mandoo which was too spicy for our son. When we asked, the owner indicated that they had just opened and did not have regular pork mandoo. That kind of blew us away. How can a Korean restaurant not have mandoo? I mean it's just not that hard. I've made mandoo with my mom before and it takes two of us about an hour and a half to crank out 100-200 of them.

The pan chan was minimal and limited to greens, sauteed zucchini, kimchi and namul, with none of the extras like dried anchovies, fish cake, potato etc. that you would expect to find. The 'just opened' disconnect was also reflected in service as we had to ask for rice, and for lettuce and paste for the kalbi. My wife was just absolutely stunned that we had to ask for rice. On a positive note, the owner and waitstaff went out of their way to be friendly, which we have definitely not gotten at other places such as Kang Nam and the 24 hour Korean Restaurant.

Tab for three (our son can already pack it in like an adult) including gratuity but no drinks came out to just over $50 which I found to be quite high for the amount and quality of the food we had. We may return in a couple months after they've had a chance to work the kinks out, but I have to say I am sorely disappointed to have lost Jang Mo Nim and at this point equally disappointed by its replacement. Of course, as I told my wife (a diehard JMN fan to the exclusion of other Korean restaurants) the one upside to all this is now we have before us the opportunity to foray out and explore all the other Korean restaurants that have been storied on this board. Next stop...Woo Chon and Hae Woon Dae.

FWIW, rice, unless specified, isn't automatically served w/ kalbi, especially if it's at a grill-it-yourself joint.

indeed Jang Mo Nim was recently taken over by Joy Ribs. i did a double take during Xmas when i drove by while looking for Korean places off Lincoln. first FDLT, now this... it was dead the few times we've been tho... looks like we're gonna have to head out to the burbs for some Korean dining soon? a Korean gent recently mentioned:

New Seoul
638 W Algonquin Rd Ste 4
Des Plaines, IL 60016-5703
(847) 439-3720

as having one of the better Korean BBQ offerings in the burbs...

Mr. T. wrote:We went on a whim Friday and were dismayed to find that Jang Mo Nim had undergone a change in ownership and substantial remodeling.

Mr. T,

I noticed the change as well, very glad you posted I was going to try Joy Ribs in the nex week or two, now I think I'll hold off for a little while.

Enjoy,
Gary

Mr. T. wrote:We went on a whim Friday and were dismayed to find that Jang Mo Nim had undergone a change in ownership and substantial remodeling. Because we were in a bit of a fog and did not actually detect the ownership change until we were seated and staring at the menu cover which said 'Joy Ribs', it was too late for us to slip back out.

We ordered kalbi for two and panfried mandoo for our son which was our regular order at JMN. The kalbi, while decently marinated, was a little too sweet for my taste. The mandoo when it came out turned out to be kimchi mandoo which was too spicy for our son. When we asked, the owner indicated that they had just opened and did not have regular pork mandoo. That kind of blew us away. How can a Korean restaurant not have mandoo? I mean it's just not that hard. I've made mandoo with my mom before and it takes two of us about an hour and a half to crank out 100-200 of them.

The pan chan was minimal and limited to greens, sauteed zucchini, kimchi and namul, with none of the extras like dried anchovies, fish cake, potato etc. that you would expect to find. The 'just opened' disconnect was also reflected in service as we had to ask for rice, and for lettuce and paste for the kalbi. My wife was just absolutely stunned that we had to ask for rice. On a positive note, the owner and waitstaff went out of their way to be friendly, which we have definitely not gotten at other places such as Kang Nam and the 24 hour Korean Restaurant.

Tab for three (our son can already pack it in like an adult) including gratuity but no drinks came out to just over $50 which I found to be quite high for the amount and quality of the food we had. We may return in a couple months after they've had a chance to work the kinks out, but I have to say I am sorely disappointed to have lost Jang Mo Nim and at this point equally disappointed by its replacement. Of course, as I told my wife (a diehard JMN fan to the exclusion of other Korean restaurants) the one upside to all this is now we have before us the opportunity to foray out and explore all the other Korean restaurants that have been storied on this board. Next stop...Woo Chon and Hae Woon Dae.

OH NO...No more JMN?! *sob* Back in the days I was young, unmarried, and childless, I frequented this place quite a bit. I always went for their Bulgogi(sp?) and my husband also went there quite a bit. How sad it is now something else. I quite liked that place and bringing a bunch of friends over there for korean bbq. Ah well, I guess I'll go check out other Korean BBQ restaurants. I've seen one down Golf Rd. in Schaumburg. I've not had Korean BBQ in a while...so, I'll have to try some of these places out.

The following was in the Chicago magazine Dish newsletter today:

Poke in the Ribs
In an effort to update its image, the new owners of Jang Mo Nim (6320 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-509-0211) recently changed its name to Joy Ribs. “Jang Mo Nim meant ‘mother-in-law’ in Korean,” says Gail, a manager. “That was for old people. We didn’t like it. We wanted it to sound like a joyful restaurant.” The menu, while still Korean, has also changed: the new specialty is ginseng galbi (ribs), but don’t worry—you can still get regular, old bad-for-you ribs.

Mother-in-Law in Korean was way better than Joy Ribs ... in name terms, that is.

So is it just a name change, as Dish says, or is it an actual full-on ownership change?

Though we didn't really get into details when we went, I am quite certain it is a change in ownership. We used to go to JMN frequently enough that we got to know the owner, her young daughter (whom our son loved to play with), and the two ladies who did most of the waitstaffing. Also, the menu changes were so substantial that I don't think it was just a 'restaurant makeover'.

I had a perfectly nice lunch with a few gentlemen at Joy Ribs, including one of LTHForum's more esteemed members (who happened to be reviewing Joy Ribs for the current issue of The Reader).

The proprietress emphatically claimed that it is the same ownership as Jang Mo Nim and that this was just a makeover. The sign still holds the Jang Mo Nim name:


The Reader review is spot-on. I enjoyed the pork and kimchee, but I was disappointed by the panchan selection and the kalbi. The only significant highlight for me was the pheasant.

The massive cauldron of pheasant is served either spicy or not (even though we requested spicy, we were told afterward that it was made less spicy since we are not Korean. I would have preferred to order it "Korean-spicy"). What you get is a simmering pot of cut-up pheasant, daikon radish, and carrot in a deep, red broth. It's one of those winter stews that makes you happy just to look at it:


The quality of the broth definitely speaks well for their soups, which I have not tried, but intend to.

Be warned that this pot o'pheasant costs almost $45. It's $21.95 per order, minimum two orders. At that price, as much as I liked it, I don't think I'd order it again unless I was there with a big group.

They also serve Korean-Style Shabu-Shabu, which I have not had, but I hear that it's sooooo good that you won't regret you ordered it.



Joy Ribs / Jang Mo Nim
6320 N. Lincoln
773-509-0211
Their lunch hours are in flux, call first if you want to try it during the day.

Best,
Michael