DAE GEE KOREAN BBQ — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

We attempted to try this place on a recent date night. Having never been here before we were excited to try something new. Upon arrival, we were quickly seated. The host and hostess we're very pleasant and polite. After a few minutes of waiting a waitress came over to begin taking our order and getting us started. We express that we had never been here before and she started to push a restaurant promotion that was part of a series of promotions happening within the community. It did not really fit what we were looking for and we inquired about a different selection from the menu. She immediately seemed off put by our selection, put it into her electronic ordering tab, and said she would be back. A short time later, a young man arrived with multiple plates of proteins that were to be part of the barbecue experience. Shortly after that our waitress returned and began hastily setting down our " sides" and rice. I was immediately off put but how sloppily everything was dished up. Food was stuck on the side of all of the dishes and presentation was definitely lacking. The waitress quickly rattled off the names of the sides but offered nothing about what they were. She then turned on our barbecue and started just putting different meats onto it to start cooking without giving any explanation once again. She then took the empty protein plates and walked away leaving us with small awkward tongs to try to manipulate everything with and no utensils. Should also be noted, we have yet to have a drink order inquired about, let alone placed. By now, my wife and I are both feeling extremely lackluster about this experience. I can cook scraps of meat with no seasoning at home for a hell of a lot cheaper than what I'm being expected to pay for this. We have no idea how this is supposed to work here and there is no effort from the waitress to give tutelage nor really even participate in her role. At this point I tell my wife I'll be damned if we're going to pay money for this poor quality of food and experience and we got up and left. I told the hostess that we had made our decision and we're leaving and once again she demonstrated to be the best part of the experience asking if we wanted to speak to a manager. Knowing that I would have nothing constructive to say at that time I kindly declined her offer and thanked her for being the better part of our time there. Maybe on a different day, maybe at a different time, maybe a different server this restaurant might offer a better experience. From this initial visit, I don't envision us desiring to return. Fort Wayne offers many fun and unique dining experiences, I cannot in good conscience though...

As much as I like (East) Asian food, I also love a place which embraces its Midwestern identity rather than rejecting it in blind pursuit of some kind of "authenticity". That's why I liked Haru's corn-based ramen and Chef Otto Phan's (Kyoten - Chicago) corn-based tamagoyaki so much. Japanese people would seethe and mald over putting corn on their ramen. I'd say it went well.

And hence I have to give special props to Dae Gee FW's version of corn-based cheese corn. Unlimited with your AYCE. They sure have a lot of good corn around here. Comes with that legendary Fort Wayne level of service, too! I approve. If you don't like corn for some reason (curse you), you can also opt for some pretty-mid-but-passable gyozas instead.

Still, speaking of the AYCE, I have to mention its price: $45 US dollars?!!! You don't have wagyu or spider crabs in here, buddy. I get that you have monopoly power at the moment considering the sole competition is UNIQ (ugh), but that wouldn't be the case for long. And that's AFTER limiting the galbi to only one piece per person! It's a good thing "value" isn't my top priority, but it's hard to say the same for a lot of other diners. Have you seen all these 1-star reviews?!

The tteok mandu guk was also pretty good, small bowl for a small price the way I liked it. It reminded me a lot of the old Seoul Garden before heartless capitalism took over and it turned into... whatever it is now at the Union Market. All these "American portions" do get tiring after some time, especially if you have to try out different foods.

They also provide pineapple slices to "flavor and grease the pan", which is... an odd idea, to be honest. Some pork belly is already a much better option for both purposes, anyway. But I guess they're trying to make it their "thing". I'd say the $45 sticker price is already their "thing" enough if things keep going this way.

Oh, yeah. The BBQ is good too, I guess. Kind of the same thing you'd get everywhere, if Fort Wayne had more K-BBQ.

TL;DR A chain trying to be the "local K-BBQ" spot and mostly succeeding at it, albeit with...

As an Asian in Fort Wayne it is important to recognize what is and isn't authentic. If the Asian community doesn't speak out then other people new to the cuisine may not know the truth. This is not authentic Korean food please beware you will be overpriced for a non authentic experience.

There are no authentic seasonings on the main dishes the veggies are just boiled or blanched without any seasoning and the bulgolgi chicken was just regular chicken. (Photo shows tofu hot rice bowl)

I saw the review with another customer saying it was not authentic and bulgolgi and the sauce was not right and the response was that the owner tasted it and it was "tasting right"

I am going to tell you the truth it is not "tasting right" and it is not authentic. It's easy to tell a customer you think it tastes right but a customer used to Asian food knows what "right" should taste like. Disappointed in the response to the other reviews. Perhaps this is a moment for cultural education for Fort Wayne to reach out to the Korean and Asian community to find out what authentic means.

My server was a very nice person and she was super kind however; I think they forget there is an open kitchen where customers are watching.

Kitchen waiter I saw him come out of the kitchen, lick his finger, stick his finger in a sauce dish, and serve it to a customers table. I also saw people fooling around making inappropriate jokes in the kitchen when I went to the bathroom. It seems like the staff forgets they are being observed and it is an open kitchen. The unprofessional conduct alone makes me give a second caution about this restaurant. One guy in the back was even making fun of customers he saw and it was actually horrible.

Our waitress was super super kind and I'm very glad we had her she was a positive experience and really sweet and did her job well. She was a positive...