Brother's Korean BBQ Review

Brother's (Korean BBQ) was pretty good, with the bulgogi as the star. Even at 8:30pm it was packed (mostly with Koreans, some assorted other Asians, and some of us were some of very few white people in the restaurant) so we had to wait a little while to get seated, but the noise level was quiet enough that we could have a reasonable conversation.

• The bulgogi was great! A plentiful pile of meat, wonderfully marinated and then, of course -we did our job well-, cooked to perfection. Eating it with a little rice balanced out the meat nicely; I tried wrapping it in seaweed with a little rice or eating it enclosed in lettuce but found both of these distracted from or diluted the taste of the meat too much.

• The short ribs were disappointing. There only two, had very little meat on them, and the flavor wasn't as good as the bulgogi.

• They gave us a free soup (don't know why), but it was nothing special.

• We tried the "combination jun platter," which turned out to tempura-like dish with various vegetables and shrimp but with a more thick, damp, pancakey batter than traditional Japanese tempura. I said mediocre; others said good, but even these people would still rather try a new menu item rather than order this again.

Brother's, like all Korean restaurants, piled us high with the traditional multitude of small dishes (nine or so). They were good, about what one would expect at an average Korean restaurant.

After a little adventure with Ojan dropping his credit card into the charcoal pit (thankfully, the charcoal had already been removed and the card landed in the water at the bottom of the pit which was already cool) to no ill effect, we headed over to Creations Dessert House for dessert.

Original Announcement

Since BBQ went over so well last week, we'll keep in a similar vein and go to Korean BBQ this week! This is not just Korean; it's Korean BBQ in the truest sense where they give you the opportunity to grill your own meats (that they marinate/flavor/prepare). If you don't know what I mean, you really should come! (You may want to wear clothes that you don't mind if the smell/smoke from the grill gets on them.)

We'll meet there Thursday at 8:30pm. Please tell me if you are coming!

(The restaurant is in the Richmond district, at 4128 Geary Blvd, San Francisco.)

Comments from Other Attendees

Seth's Comment:

I really like this place. Bulgogi is definitely the star. I have a definite grievance though about the lack of 24 hour vitality with San Francisco's Korean scene, now that I've seen the alternative on the east coast. Korean barbeque is a social food, that's cooked in a social way by you and your friends - which makes going to a good barbeque joint at 3 in the morning Saturday night when all the Korean singles are cooking together a much more fun and interesting experience than what I've found in the bay area.

Still, if all you want is competent food, I thought Brother Jimmy's was relatively decent.

-Seth

Mark's Remark:

To clarify Seth's comment, Brother Jimmy's is in New York City.

-Mark

Feel free to add remarks here.