Don Soo Baek — Restaurant in Duluth

Don Soo Baek (돈수백) restaurant has a striking resemblance to ToDamGoal (토담골) restaurant, which I frequented while living in New Jersey. 토담골 was renowned for its 돼지국밥, and the flavors were absolutely delightful. The hearty soup had a knack for satisfying hunger and rejuvenating my body. So, when 돈수백 opened its doors some time ago, I was quite excited. Its taste closely mirrored my experiences at 토담골. The name "돈수백" translates to "Eating reliably cooked pork and enjoying a healthy life up to 100 years old." This name embodies the restaurant's commitment to culinary excellence.

However, I was genuinely surprised when I noticed the restaurant's relatively low Google review rating. I couldn't fathom how such a place could receive a less than stellar rating. Upon some investigation, I uncovered two primary reasons. First, 돈수백 should consider focusing its menu solely on "pork" dishes, in line with its name, which relates to pork-based items like 돼지국밥 or 해장국. It was evident that most of the negative reviews stemmed from non-pork items such as 냉면 or 왕만두. Streamlining the menu to center around pork dishes might help elevate their offerings. I'd also recommend that customers try 돼지국밥, rather than venturing into other menu items that can easily be found in other Korean restaurants. This specialization could further enhance the dining experience. I thoroughly relished the 돼지국밥 today, as always. The thrill of adding 부추 to the steaming 돼지국밥, along with the marinated sauce and chopped pepper, was an adventure for the taste buds. The bowl was generously packed with slices of 돼지고기, perfect for dipping in the 양념새우젓. And, of course, combining the entire bowl of white rice with the 돼지국밥 was a must. To top it off, their 깍두기 and 겉절이 were exceptional. I savored every last drop of the soup and every grain of rice. This is how you savor...

This is by far the worst restaurant I visited. Never in my life, have I written reviews, but the atrocity of the servers at the restaurant deserves one. If you read many of these reviews, you can find the common theme. The restaurant doesn’t allow guests to pay at their table, because they want to check the amount of tip you leave, so they have the opportunity to yell at you if you don’t leave 18% Tip!

The servers humiliate guests to make them pay 18% tip, which in my opinion, nothing different from a thug stealing money at a gun point. The gun point being shaming in front of other guests. If they want to get 18% tip, they will have to step up their level of service because they were rude, not attentive, and most importantly combative against guests! This blows my mind. The only reason they are staying in business is that there are no other restaurant in the area that has similar menu.

The Food smells and taste like they are expired and rotten. I just wish I have never visited the restaurant, because it ruined my day and the experience...

My wife ordered fried Korean black sausage with noodle bits inside and vegetables (In Korean, it is called Fried Soondae) for pick-up. She wanted to warm it up on her own; thus, she told them to give her just raw ingredients. It was almost $48 after the sales tax. However, we only found less than 15 slices of the sausage and the amount of vegetables was ridiculously little. We had to add one whole potato, onion, and cabbage. Besides, the entire vegetables including perilla leaves (or sesame leaves whatsoever) were all withered; they probably used veges from days ago. It should've been less than $20; you can't charge almost $50 for low quality/low amount cheap non-organic withered veges and fewer than 15 slices of the black sausage with some cheap MSG and synthetic seasoning. Plus, it didn't taste good or bad; anyone can make it spending less than $20; you can buy the black sausage, veges, and MSG and seasoning and spices in any Korean market. If they can't make it good, they should use fresh and appropriate amount of...