If you are a foreigner living in or coming to Korea, before you read any further, you should know I can read your mind. Don't believe me? Sit back, close your eyes and think of the one food item you miss (will miss) the most as a foreigner living in Korea; the cuisine that springs tears from your eyes and leaves you sadly salivating wishing you were back in Calgary, Texas, Omaha, California...Got it?
The Answer: You are hunkering for the elusive, supremely grilled, perfectly marbled, immaculately seasoned, Western Rib Eye steak. Ok, hoist your stunned self back into you chair and keep reading--I'm here all week.
Photo: Gramercy Kitchen's Australian Wagyu Rib Eye with salad & horseradish sauce.
Ironically, you'll never go hungry without steak in Korea, a country known so well by foreigners for its incredible selection of beef-related cuisine as well as a growing number of Western-style restaurants. Unfortunately, Korea also has an inexcusable dearth of decent, Western steakhouses with a reasonable price. Sure, you can walk into any major 5 star hotel in Korea, stroll past the reception area with a hop, smile and necktie and, if you've made a reservation a week or two in advance, sit down in an outstanding, high class ambiance and cut into a rich, quality rib eye steak (mostly likely from Australia) for around 100,000 won, plus a stomach-shrinking 10% VAT. Just make sure to bring your American Express.
Now let's get back to reality. I love living in Korea, and I love being a foreigner in Korea, and I want you to love it, too. Thus, I've created a list of dining establishments in Korea (focused on Seoul, for now), that feature the magnificent Rib Eye steak on their menu. Remember, I don't do top 10 lists and I don't do "eat-here-its-great-every-time-really" reviews. Just the facts, starting with:
Casa J.J.: Nestled in the thundering mountains of Namsan above Itaewon, Casa J.J.'s tagline is "Simply the Best Steak & Wine in Korea." Its a bold claim and, on some days, its true. Unfortunately, its not quite accurate all the time. Casa J.J. is the most inconsistent of all the steak houses I covered and, with a menu that offers much more than just steaks (think chicken salad, pan-seared seabass, lobster, et al.), its easy to see why its outstanding Grilled Rib Eye may sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Casa J.J. offers 200g of the famous Blackmore Ranch Wagyu from Australia, charcoal grilled and served up with baby artichokes, onion and a deeply flavorful Hermitage sauce. The quality is clearly evident from the first tantalizing bite. The problem is the preparation, presentation, sauce and cut are not always what you'd expect for 43,000 won. Suggestion on tagline: "Sometimes the Best Steak & Wine in Korea."
Outback Steakhouse: its been a while since I found myself storming through the 'back in a panicked hunt for a Rockhampton Rib Eye. Heavily marbled, heavily seasoned (with a 17 spice rub), "OK" quality and sinfully prepared, you know it can't be good for you...but you just can't stop eating! With their 100+ outlets in Korea and caloric monstrosities elsewhere on the menu, Outback has been villain-ized, somewhat unfairly, as the "fast-food of the steakhouse world." Nonetheless, its hard to argue with a 280g cut of Aussie Rib Eye for less than 28,000 won, even if you do have to eat it under a plastic Australian canopy, surrounded by loud music, Croc Dundee safari hats and framed boomerangs.
Photo: VIPS Yum Stone Steak and cheese potatoes, grilled to perfection.
VIPS: run by the Korean chaebol CJ Group, VIPS also has dozens of locations throughout Korea. The steak to get here is the VIPs Yum Stone: 210 grams of beef prepared and seasoned EXACTLY how you like it each and every time. How do they do it? The steak is presented to your table only slightly cooked, sizzling on a heated, red-hot stone over a thick chunk of white onion. You control when its flipped, how long its cooked for and whether you want it seared (remove the onion from underneath and so the steak touches the grill) rare or go a bit longer to get it well done. With the peppered seasoning served separately, you are free to sprinkle as much or as little as you like to taste, or slice up the onion and dress them onto the beef to increase the flavor and soften the texture of the Aussie beef. The meat is again, ok quality and thankfully not outweighed by the gristle. A word of warning, however: cook it too long, and the steak's consistency gets tough fast and then guess what, big boy? You'll have no one to blame but yourself. The Yum Stone Steak is 28,800 won, and also comes with the VIPS monster salad bar, free. (Disclaimer: Due to my prior work experience in Korea, I have personal knowledge of the efforts the Global GM has undertaken to make VIPS something more than a glamorized Sizzler. Based on my last visit, she's succeeding.)
Ecume: Located on one of the more pleasant side alleys in Itaewon between Tartine bakery and Le Saint Ex, Zagat-rated Ecume's art-deco, circa 1986 interior does not immediately inspire confidence. I cheated a bit on this one, because I went for lunch and I ordered the New York strip steak. I'm a freak for anything with the phrase "blue cheese" in it, whether an infused, drizzled or swamped, so I ambitiously ordered the lunch steak set menu with the blue cheese sauce, although I was strongly tempted by the crushed black pepper strip in a red wine, shitake mushroom sauce. Aside from some miscommunication on "Medium" and "Medium Rare," all disappointment stemmed from the service and ambiance, but not the food. For example, the set menu comes with what's advertised as a small side salad, and let me tell you, gentle reader, they weren't kidding about "small." The one server for the lunch crowd was either in training, completely overwhelmed, or both. The upside is the steak: the strip comes with a sprinkling of soft, browned mushrooms the size of garlic cloves on top, and served over a small, golden, hashed potato pancake. The cut is lean, but maintains a strong flavor and texture without a lot of heavy marbling. About two fist sizes in length, its not a small cut of beef, but not overly thick either--just make sure you've made your nap time reservation if you do enjoy the very reasonably priced 19,000 won set lunch menu.
Photo: The Sam Ryan's Rib Eye Steak with plenty o' salad and plenty o' potatoes.
Sam Ryan's: Ok, its a pub, I get that. And yes, I understand that on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights elbow room is at a premium. I knew that, too. But what I didn't know is that Sam Ryan's is also home of an excellent value, but poorly publicized, rib eye steak. Thick, juicy and supremely peppery, the rib eye comes with a crisp, refreshing green salad and a huge side serving of mashed potatoes, neither of which you'll be have enough room to finish. Scrape the pepper butter off the top of the meat: you won't need it. The Sam Ryan's steak is not the leanest cut in the world; but the marbling certainly keeps the flavor intact and hearty. You a meat, potatoes and microbrew beer type gal? Then Sam Ryan's is for you. Side Note: Sam Ryan's also serves up the cruel "Fat Bastard Special." 72 ozs (that's around 2 kilos, or 7 of the steaks pictured above) of beef that, if you can power down in an hour or less, comes free and gets your grinning, greasy face on the Sam Ryan's Wall of Fame. Go over 60 minutes, and shell out 75,000 won to cover the cost. I love contests like this.
Gramercy Kitchen: Top Class Apkujong location? Yep. Outstanding professional service? Yep. Open kitchen, subdued, candle-lit interior and overall incredible ambiance? Yep. Australian Wagyu Rib Eye...? Well, its good. And just like you, for around 50,000 won, I expect "great." The rib eye is a perfect cut--decently marbled and lightly seasoned, and garnished with a green salad. I love a light char to the outside of my steaks (always ask the server what the chef recommends on preparation, but I tend to go "Medium" in Korea), and my expectations were met. The one problem with the rib eye is that the fantastic, natural taste of the steak is blunted by the dollop of horseradish sauce. If you enjoy a strong hit from the horseradish pipe, then ignore this sentence, because rather than enhance the flavor and texture of what is otherwise an outstanding piece of beef, the horseradish overpowers the meat, leaving your sinus wondering aloud "what just happened?" As far as a romantic night out in Korea for two meat-eaters, however, you can enjoy two great cuts of beef and an appetizer for under 100,000 won at Gramercy Kitchen. Just ask for the horseradish on the side.
Photo: The Steak House (The Place) Dry Aged American Rib Eye--thick, juicy & supreme!
The Steak House (The Place) : Surprise, surprise. Who would have thought the same people behind Seafood Ocean, VIPS, China Factory & After the Rain could have put together such an exquisite dining experience? From the dark mahogany wood paneling and brass rail bar, to the checkered tile floors and the soft jazz ambiance, The Steak House at The Place has everything I hope for in an exquisite dining experience. Replace the 20-something servers with a professional wait staff, and you've made it. In short, the US Prime Rib Eye is a marvel in and of itself, moist, juicy, complex and slightly sweet and earthy. I found the side accompaniments of stone ground mustard, seasoned salt (with a hint of anise) and horseradish all to be superfluous. At 400g, the rib eye is easily enough for two, but your protective instincts wont allow you to share a bite unless its just small enough to let your dining partners know what they are missing. Eat it slowly--savor this thick texture, the perfect, seasoned grill (medium rare, reddish pink inside), the cliched melt in your mouth madness of what 79,000 won can still buy you. Be forewarned: it is not cheap (although the bill drops 5-30% if you have a local branded credit card, such as CJ, V, CJ Foodvil or KB Star cards; call ahead to confirm), but if you order anything but the Dry Aged American Rib Eye or Sirloin steaks, you are making a horrible mistake. I'll even argue that you get both only so you can taste just how good the Rib Eye is. The price will dent your wallet to the tune of 76,000-79,000 won each (with the credit card discount, 4 of us ate 2 steaks, a caprese salad, sides of crispy french fries and sauteed spinach, a chopped steak pasta and a bottle of wine for around 200,000 won), but after more than 5 years in Korea, I haven't found a place that comes this close to perfection. I know steaks can vary in taste by season, breed, region, etc., but The Steak House at The Place seems to have hit the perfect combo.
The Wolfhound Pub: Alright, I'm going to cheat one more time. I still haven't had the Wolfhound 22,000 won steak all to myself, but I did take an envious bite of a friend's order a few months ago. He was having it for breakfast, and that should say something about the steak. But one bite a review does not make.
Isabelle's Porterhouse: Who's gonna step up to the plate on this one (no pun intended)? I've heard good and bad on the steaks at Isabelle's, but I haven't been there yet. If you can submit an informed comment about them before I do, I'll buy the first Tuesday night round.
Would love to hear of any places I might have missed for a decent rib eye steak--contact me through the comments below and I'll take a peek as soon as possible!
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