Lincoln Restaurant [Korean - Closed]

LTH,

I'd been 3-4 times 3-4 years ago, ok homestyle Korean food, most notable for it's small size and the incredibly grouchy 75-year-old Korean grandmother type who ran the place. Fast forward a few years, m'th'su, recently back from 5-weeks in Korea*, Steve Z and I went for a retry and were in for a pleasant surprise, new owner, new menu, new prices**, nicely done homestyle Korean food.

Lincoln Restaurant.


Physical layout is unprepossessing, but comfortable.


Array of panchan not extensive, but good quality.


When it was obvious we were enjoying ourselves, the mother of the owner brought us*** dried anchovy.


Actually, I think we did not have to work as hard as most non Korean newcomers as m'th'su spoke a bit of Korean with the owner.

Lunch was a quite nice version of Sam Gyeop Sal Kimchi Bokkeum (pork w/kimchi).


Yook Gae Jang (beef soup w/vegetables)


And Yellow Fish Broiled on Charcoal. A bit of a misprint on the menu, no charcoal was in evidence, but the fish was terrific, meaty, moist, flavorful. Really delicious.


Just as we were wrapping up our meal the owner brought us Korean maki roll, Kim Bap, nicely filled with egg, surimi and spam. I haven't had spam since my last visit to Aloha Grill for Spam Musubi, and it hit the spot.

Kim Bap



Barley tea, rice, good service, comfortable, if modest surrounding, good food and reasonable pricing. I'll be back soon.

Owner in background, mother of owner waving good-by.


A few additional Lincoln Restaurant pictures may be found here

One note for all lovers of the 24-hour Korean Restaurant on Lawrence, which does not seem to be reopening. In the space of a former pho shop there is a new Korean restaurant simply named Korean Restaurant. I have not stopped in, but this may be where 24-hour Korean moved. I will investigate and report back.

Enjoy,
Gary

Lincoln Restaurant
5501 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
773-784-5225

Korean Restaurant
5800 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659

* Post forthcoming?
** Under the old regime everything was $10
*** C2 take note

Those dried anchovies are some of my favorites. Unfortunately, I rarely get them at Korean places I've gone -- perhaps I should start going with Sula.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:perhaps I should start going with Sula.

Hammond,

You'd have to really like dried anchovies.

They are available at Chicago Food Corp's sneeze-proof panchan bar.


Enjoy,
Gary

Chicago Food Corp
3333 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, IL
773-478-5566

G Wiv wrote:

David Hammond wrote:perhaps I should start going with Sula.

Hammond,

You'd have to really like dried anchovies.

They are available at Chicago Food Corp's sneeze-proof panchan bar.


Enjoy,
Gary

Chicago Food Corp
3333 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, IL
773-478-5566

This must be an old pic as most of the pan-chan is now pre-packed in plastic tubs w/ an accompanying note on the sneeze-guard stating that the Health Dept has stopped their practice of allowing "tasting" of samples on the pan-chan bar (people used to scoop/stab up a sample w/ provided toothpicks). The only "open" pan-chan was kimchi, spinach, kungnamool (soy sprout) and green onion kimchi at my most recent visit last week.

G Wiv wrote:When it was obvious we were enjoying ourselves, the mother of the owner brought us*** dried anchovy.


... snip ....

*** C2 take note

Let me tell you, I was already reacting like a Pavlovian Pouch long before I knew the three asteriks were an alert to me.

I love dead fish! Thanks for remembering me!

Regards,

On a stormy morning, just had a quick bite at Lincoln Restaurant. Neat, funky old diner, Korean-style. Asked for bibim bop (my favorite hangover food back in the Poolgogi Steak House days) and the old woman watching Korean TV said she couldn't make it this early. OK...so I had one of 'breakfast specials', Hang Sae Gook, or something to that effect, translated generically as 'beef & vegetables', for $5.45.

What I got was, besides the obligatory little dishes of kim chee, spicy cucumber, and sesame baby bok choy, was a killer spicy soup consisting of beef tongue or tendon, really flavorful, napa cabbage and green onion, in a wonderful broth. This was served with brown rice and a glass of warm water (?!).

At 7:45, I was the only one eating there, and I just grooved in the environment, reading the paper & sweating my *** off from the soup and the humidity of the morning.

Good stop...

LTH,

Feeling fluish, flushed and generally off some from of spicy hot soup was in the cards. Typically Tom Kha Gai, heat and herbal softened by coconut milk works wonders, but Pigmon has been talking up Soon Dubu (Spicy tofu soup) lately, and I had not been to the pocket-sized Lincoln Restaurant in months, sounds like a plan.

As described above Lincoln Restaurant is a modest place, homestyle standards made on the spot by, at least Tuesday, a friendly woman who saw I was feeling off and kept me well supplied with roasted barley tea and napkins.

Soon Dubu was just what the doctor ordered, served volcanically hot, spicy, but not over the top, loaded with tofu, veg and bits of squid, I was feeling noticeably better by the end of the bowl.

Soon Dubu



While I was eating, sadly there were no other customers at noon on a Tuesday, the woman spent time tending her pepper patch on the side of the restaurant. Talk about local.



Enjoy,
Gary

I have been by that place a gazillion times,looks like Mrs. Trpt and I have to check it out, sooner rather than later. We love Hae Woon Dae but sometimes I don't want to have to grill myself, I'd rather they cook. And can anyone report on Korean Restaurant at 5800 N. Lincoln? Is it in fact related to the old defunct 24 hour joint of the same name on Lawrence? That was a real old school hangout.

I had dinner at Lincoln Restaurant Saturday night. I was there around 6:30 Saturday night and there was no one else in the restaurant while I was there. I was alone, so I only got to try one thing (plus panchan) but I'll definitely be back to try more of their menu.

I got the Hae Jang Gook (boiled spicy beef soup with assorted vegetables) and it was quite good, although not at all spicy. In fact, looking at the picture of the Yook Gae Jang (boiled beef soup with ripped beef and assorted vegetables) I'm wondering if the English descriptions are switched for those two. My soup had shreds of beef that could definitely be described as ripped. Regardless, it was a very tasty soup; light, salty broth full of beef shreds, bean sprouts, snow peas and something chewy that might have been dried fish? It struck me as a soup that would be perfect for someone feeling a bit under the weather.

They also do carryout, and I picked up a menu, since they're just a few blocks from my house. I've been meaning to try this place for a few years and never quite got around to it. Gary's posts spurred me to give it a shot. Thanks Gary!

I would say what you described as something chewy is a piece of tripe, not fried fish. That's the main ingredient for hae-jang-kook. Sometimes they have clotted blood as well.
It literally means "a cure after a heavy night's drinking."

LTH,

Lincoln Restaurant has closed, Rolls 'n Bowls Opening Soon I liked the homestyle Korean at Lincoln Restaurant, I will give Roll 'n Bowls a try and start a new thread.

4.17.10



Enjoy,
Gary

LAZ wrote:NOT to be confused with the Lincoln Restaurant at 4008 N Lincoln Ave., longtime meeting place of the College of Complexes.

An important point, which someone should make in this thread, also.

nr706 wrote:An important point, which someone should make in this thread, also.

Have you been to the Lincoln Restaurant LAZ references? Closed, open, seems a moot point to me.

G Wiv wrote:

nr706 wrote:An important point, which someone should make in this thread, also.

Have you been to the Lincoln Restaurant LAZ references? Closed, open, seems a moot point to me.

I was there Friday before last. Yeah, it's an unremarkable diner, except for the room that doubles as a comedy club. But definitely open, and probably not completely fair to the owners if there's an implication somewhere out on those interwebs that it's not.

nr706 wrote:I was there Friday before last. Yeah, it's an unremarkable diner, except for the room that doubles as a comedy club. But definitely open, and probably not completely fair to the owners if there's an implication somewhere out on those interwebs that it's not.

Lincoln Restaurant was the name of the closed restaurant, Lincoln Restaurant is the name of the still open mediocre diner ten blocks South. Thread has been up for four years and addresses of both places, specifying the difference, are in the thread. What would you suggest Mr. Tom?

G Wiv wrote:

nr706 wrote:I was there Friday before last. Yeah, it's an unremarkable diner, except for the room that doubles as a comedy club. But definitely open, and probably not completely fair to the owners if there's an implication somewhere out on those interwebs that it's not.

Lincoln Restaurant was the name of the closed restaurant, Lincoln Restaurant is the name of the still open mediocre diner ten blocks South. Thread has been up for four years and addresses of both places, specifying the difference, are in the thread. What would you suggest Mr. Tom?

Your response to LAZ's clarification was funny, but tart as well. When you said it was a moot point, it leant itself to the interpretation that you thought clarification was unnecessary, the southern Lincoln being too trivial to care about. But there are quite a few people who care a lot about it (including my parents) though mostly for reasons having little to do with the food.

ryanwc wrote:Your response to LAZ's clarification was funny, but tart as well. When you said it was a moot point, it leant itself to the interpretation that you thought clarification was unnecessary, the southern Lincoln being too trivial to care about. But there are quite a few people who care a lot about it (including my parents) though mostly for reasons having little to do with the food.

The surprising thing about this thread is not that yet another sweet little ethnic storefront closed, but that there are people who actually care about the oh-so-mediocre Lincoln Restaurant the diner.

Once again, for those who care enough about Lincoln Restaurant, either one, to read the thread both addresses are indicated and there are multiple pictures of the now closed Korean Lincoln Restaurant in the thread.

Regards,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

nr706 wrote:I was there Friday before last. Yeah, it's an unremarkable diner, except for the room that doubles as a comedy club. But definitely open, and probably not completely fair to the owners if there's an implication somewhere out on those interwebs that it's not.

Lincoln Restaurant was the name of the closed restaurant, Lincoln Restaurant is the name of the still open mediocre diner ten blocks South. Thread has been up for four years and addresses of both places, specifying the difference, are in the thread. What would you suggest Mr. Tom?

Serious suggestion - I shouldn't be posting late at night. Trivial suggestion - change the title of the thread to Lincoln [Korean] Restaurant closed. I wouldn't expect anyone new to the thread to necessarily go back through a lot of earlier posts.

G Wiv wrote:

ryanwc wrote:Once again, for those who care enough about Lincoln Restaurant, either one, to read the thread both addresses are indicated and there are multiple pictures of the now closed Korean Lincoln Restaurant in the thread.

Regards,
Gary

And once again, neither nr706 nor I denied that the address of the more prominent Lincoln Restaurant diner was given, in this thread titled merely "Lincoln Restaurant" which is about an almost unknown Korean restaurant nearby. The address of the more prominent place was given by LAZ, whose post you implied was unnecessary. It wasn't given upthread of that. We didn't say the address wasn't there. We just said LAZ was right to give it, and didn't need to be told her point was moot. Her point wasn't moot, since several of us checked into this thread about a nearly unknown restaurant thinking that the restaurant we all know about might be closing.

Not sure what is added by this new reply disparaging anyone who could care about the diner. But you've got the facts wrong when you say the diner is mediocre. The food is mediocre. The diner is a phenomenon. The college of complexes isn't my thing, and I've only seen video of the comedy. But bottom line is that a diner that's sustained regular public political lectures and comedy shows for decades is anything but mediocre.

Lincoln Restaurant RIP!
Long Live Lincoln Restaurant!

ryanwc wrote:The college of complexes isn't my thing, and I've only seen video of the comedy.

You've seen the video, have you been to Lincoln Restaurant the diner? I've been multiple times over the years and a discussion of its culinary merits, which is what I was commenting on as LTHforum is a culinary site, is like discussing the tallest mountain in Kansas. I can not bring myself to generate one little whit of enthusiasm, even to end this discussion.

My suggestion if you are a fan of Lincoln Restaurant, the one that's still open, do what we do on LTHForum, go there, eat, maybe take a picture or two and start a thread about the place.

Regards,
Gary

nr706 wrote:

LAZ wrote:NOT to be confused with the Lincoln Restaurant at 4008 N Lincoln Ave., longtime meeting place of the College of Complexes.

An interesting way to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend:
Meetings # 3,070: May 29 "Why Do I Use Cannabis?"

nr706 wrote:change the title of the thread to Lincoln [Korean] Restaurant closed. I wouldn't expect anyone new to the thread to necessarily go back through a lot of earlier posts.

I agree. I'm less concerned about LTHers than with Googlers who'll only see its headline.

Hard as it may be for some here to understand, a restaurant can be important for reasons other than its food, and this one is.

Although my first thought was of the home of the College of Complexes and the Lincoln Lodge. But my second was that it would be a shame to lose the only diner in Chicago that serves a Chickmauga Fried Onion Burger with Anaconda Plan Golden Waffle Fries.



For clarity's sake, this is the menu of the the Lincoln Restaurant, 4008 N. Lincoln Ave., which opened in 1974 and remains open.

At Ribfest a few years ago I had what were, by far, the worst ribs I've ever had from the Lincoln Restaurant (Northside version). Dry, tasteless, just really really terrible.

LAZ wrote:Hard as it may be for some here to understand, a restaurant can be important for reasons other than its food, and this one is.

LAZ, all about the greater good. Just curious, have you ever been to Lincoln Restaurant at 4008 N Lincoln?

jesteinf wrote:At Ribfest a few years ago I had what were, by far, the worst ribs I've ever had from the Lincoln Restaurant (Northside version). Dry, tasteless, just really really terrible.

Not the worst ribs I've ever had, but my own experience with Lincoln Restaurant at the Northcenter Rib Fest was equally gruesome. I ordered a 1/3 slab tasting portion, took one bite of the shoe leather tough baked ribs and tossed them in a conveniently placed trash can right in front of the person who sold me the abomination. To her credit she did not bat an eye or change expression, I'm guessing she knew they were horrid, but couldn't do anything about the situation.

I will change the subject line to indicate the closed restaurant was the Korean restaurant of the same name if only so this absurdity can come to a close.

Regards,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

jesteinf wrote:At Ribfest a few years ago I had what were, by far, the worst ribs I've ever had from the Lincoln Restaurant (Northside version). Dry, tasteless, just really really terrible.

Not the worst ribs I've ever had, but my own experience with Lincoln Restaurant at the Northcenter Rib Fest was equally gruesome. I ordered a 1/3 slab tasting portion, took one bite of the shoe leather tough baked ribs and tossed them in a conveniently placed trash can right in front of the person who sold me the abomination. To her credit she did not bat an eye or change expression, I'm guessing she knew they were horrid, but couldn't do anything about the situation.

I did the exact same thing and got the exact same reaction.

G Wiv wrote:LAZ, all about the greater good. Just curious, have you ever been to Lincoln Restaurant at 4008 N Lincoln?

Yes, of course. That's how I can say its importance doesn't lie in its food. And why it never once occurred to me to try ribs from there.

You can have an adequate breakfast at the Lincoln Restaurant, but amusing as it is to order a Gettysburger, you will little note nor long remember the result. Occasionally their instincts lead them to something quite gruesome; many, many years ago I ordered a chicken fried steak there, only to discover that they took an actual steak, not a pounded minute steak but something like a ribeye, and battered and fried it, which was truly the worst possible thing to do either to that cut of meat, or to the concept of a chicken fried steak. As grotesque misreadings of country food go, right up there with The Supper Cup's biscuits and gravy, which used Italian sausage.

LAZ wrote:

G Wiv wrote:LAZ, all about the greater good. Just curious, have you ever been to Lincoln Restaurant at 4008 N Lincoln?

Yes, of course. That's how I can say its importance doesn't lie in its food. And why it never once occurred to me to try ribs from there.

Same here, though I hadn't thought it worth replying to the question till he asked you as well. Wow!

jesteinf wrote:At Ribfest a few years ago...

Any event where vendors sell "boneless rib" sandwiches shouldn't call itself Ribfest. Of course, there's always the McFib contingent that might be interested...

-Dan

ryanwc wrote:Same here, though I hadn't thought it worth replying to the question till he asked you as well. Wow!

Amazing how a simple post about the closing of a sweet little Korean mom and pop shop can become so damn annoying.

Only on LTHForum ~sigh~