K doesn't get home from work until 9pm most nights, and in our current state of unpacking (plus busted oven and microwave!) we're in no shape to throw a meal together at home. So our general interest in late-night dining is considerably heightened.
There's the Press in Claremont, which serves the bar menu until midnight, and Alberto's dishes up tacos 24/7. It turns out that we can another old favorite to the list: Korean BBQ, on Holt, just over the Montclair line, is open till 10pm.
Last night we pulled in, just in case they were open, and the grandpa who presides over the place gave us the thumb's up, even though no one else was there.
Usually we get the beef and cook it at our table, but we were feeling bad about keeping them late (those grills have got to be an unholy pain to clean), so we got jap chae (stir-fried glass noodles) and regular bibimbap. Actually, we tried to get something called "cool water noodles," but the waitress insisted that we wouldn't like it. Ordinarily, that wouldn't put us off in the least (I still have the strong suspicion that it resembles a Japanese dish of the same name), but we were worried that she was saying that because it was a pain for the kitchen to make at that late hour.
We have eaten at about two zillion Korean restaurants in KoTown, and none of them match KBBQ for the quality of the meat marinade. Most have better atmosphere, some have better panchan, and there is even better bibimbap. But no one beats KBBQ for marinade or friendly service.
If only they were open later....
