KBQ Loves Park — Restaurant in Rockford Township

I don’t give reviews unless I feel compelled to….and I felt COMPELLED to, and this review might be a novel. I am Korean and always cook and go out to eat for Korean food. My favorite food is Korean bbq for the variety of delicious grilled meat and veggie side dishes. So I have eaten at almost every Korean bbq establishment in the chicago area. I’ve heard about this place from a number of Korean and non-Korean people and finally got the chance to try it and was COMPELLED to share how delicious it is. Better than any KBbq place in Chicago area….no joke. I’ve even been to the Michelin-rated Korean bbq place in Las Vegas but I didn’t react there, the way I was here. I was nodding my head the whole time and repetitively talking to myself, about how yummy it all was and the little details that stood out to me.

We got the Combo 2 and added a ribeye, kimchi jigae and BINGSOO! I wish I remembered to take pictures before we devoured most of it.

MEAT- The meat quality is another level. I don’t order bulgogi bc it is an unimpressive meat to me. But my husband has been here before and told us to order it. This is THE BEST BULGOGI I have ever had it in my life in America. It is sooo tender and they must use real quality ribeye here. I don’t think any Korean restaurant or store sells/uses such quality ribeye or makes me wonder now if it is even ribeye everywhere else. The ribeye was better than a steakhouse we just visited in Iowa that had delicious ribeyes. The galbi was beautifully marbled and deliciously tender. I loved the pork belly…seriously all of the meat with the delicious side dishes.

SIDE DISHES- The standouts were the seasoned pickled cucumbers and sliced green onions! I loved how fresh the dishes were and how the seasoning paired well with the meats and rice. The kimchi jigae soup was yummy and I personally add a touch of sweetness to my own and loved how they did that here. It was also loaded with meat, a rarity!

The BINGSOO- o.M.Geeeeee. Such a simple dessert but I CANNOT find a place to make it well in Chicago burbs and city. They have the legit snow-like shavings, whole red bean paste, soft serve ice cream (genius!!), small diced honeydew & chewy rice cake. It was soooo good and light. I wanted to get the strawberry and mango bingsoo but we were way too full and could split the dessert between four of us easily. I would just add misugaru (grain powder) all over it bc I love that stuff in my bingsoo for the nutty taste and to balance the sweetness. But other than that…LOVED it so much!!

The Small Things- I was really impressed with the details….from the cool decor, vibe of the place, square cylindrical chopsticks, soy dipping sauce, aprons, long scissors, quick change of grills, diced fruits for the bingsoo, soft serve ice cream spread out at the bottom of the chilled bingsoo, etc….too much to write out.

I will drive an hour to come here. It’s so worth it. So impressed. Excellence! I will be craving everything later this week…and I don’t usually crave or dream about food. I’m not a foodie. This place does everything well and that was what I noticed the most and was so...

Had dinner with my wife and my father the other day to try something new. Heard everyone in town and on social media sites raving about this place. Even had to make reservations on a Tuesday just to get in. So I had to come see for myself. Atmosphere had a cool hipster vibe with graffiti style art work on the walls. Very clean which it should be it's brand new. Overall ombiance was nice as we sat in our own private little booth. Next was learning to navigate through the Menu.... this was the most challenging part of our entire visit. Attempting to figure out how to order as a 1st time visitor good luck! Our group all agreed with the extended help and extreme patience from our wonderful server that anyones 2nd visit will be much more smooth knowing the format of this place works. Now onto the food. Let me start off by saying that the Korean Fried Chicken both styles spicy and sweet were 💯 🔥. Best thing we had by far. Great price on it and huge portion size. (We could have just eaten this all by itself) We would come back just for the chicken alone. We ordered a ton of stuff and this was what stood out by far. Dumpling appetizer was ok and cooked perfectly. You can taste all the fresh ingredients. We ordered 3 different types of meat to grill ourselves all at about $35 a pop. Pork Belly, Ribeye, and some other style steak. Each came with one bowl of rice. Ribeye and pork belly were both nice cuts of meat and very tasty. We all liked the ribeye the best but not worth the price, portion size or hype in our opinion. They do give you a tray with 6 different tiny portions of vegitables / cold salads that we all thought overall were not very good, kind of an afterthought type food. Of course any of these are all you can eat. They do give you another tray with 2 different sauce choices and fresh kosher style salt for seasoning the meat. It was fun cooking and cutting the meat for everyone but I can do that at home! Next time we want to try the soup hot pot that is family style and much more reasonably priced. Overall we had a fun great experience, something to try at least once, great date night idea, something unique in this city, great friendly service, attentative staff, fresh quality food, great location and very clean. Downside or struggles we think they will face going forward. Customers learning to navigate the menu will take servers a long time to explain for 1st timers. Prices are high when ordering cook yourself options for not a lot of food or any sides! For three people we left with almost a $180 bill only sodas on the tab no dessert. In closing we will be back again to explore some more of the menu and to eat some more KFC!

All reviews are just my honest opinion all meant to help others. It's all for the love and search of great food and...

The food & service is on point. It's a place that requires multiple visits. One of the few places, if not, the only place in Illinois that serves such authentic Korean food. It felt like I was back in South Korea again eating in Seoul. It was well worth the drive. It's a cheap trip compared to paying for a flight to the motherland. It was very clear the management here did their research on the most current restaurant trends in Seoul. If any place has noonchi, (Look it up if you're curious what that means.) KBQ has it in spades.

Their fried chicken is a must! I fell in love with their thick crispy skin at first bite. Would love that crumbled up and mixed in some kimchi fried rice. Can't go wrong with that kinda crunch. Pair that with some beer and it's game over. I went on the rest of the night and woke up this morning still thinking about that thick crispy skin.

If you get the jeon (pancakes), I recommend dipping it in the residue(sauce) from the fried chicken. The gochu tigim (fried stuffed peppers) is good with the sauce and adding some of the melted cheese they offer you for your grill. It's like a mini fondue cup.

Now the set combo we got had a little bit of everything. It is like taking a tour of flavors of Seoul on a plate. The marbling was beautifully coupled with a nice thick cut. It was cool to have even the extra long scissors to cut up our food. The marinades were all flavorful. It's one of those marinades you'd love to mix in your bowl of rice. Also to take your experience to the next level, and yes it is possible, ask for at least a couple trays of their toasted rice wraps. It's like thinly sliced strips of rice cake (dduk) allowing you to enjoy some dduk ssam(rice cake wraps), which is another current trend in Korean BBQ. Even though it's already slightly toasted I recommend you grill it slightly on the grill before making your wraps. You're welcome! So many little details they took to into account.

Finally, ending our meal with a small bowl of soondubu jjigae was a nice touch to help cut through some of the cheese and grease. It was nice to end on that note.

My only regret is not having a big enough stomach to try more in that meal.

Both the owners, our server, & the head of marketing were so welcoming. Thanks so much for taking such good care of us. I will be back again.

It's just a matter of time KBQ gets on Michelin's radar. ...