Kimchi pop in Roger's park — Restaurant in Rogers Park Township

I really wanted to like this place. With all my heart. It seemed like the last bastion of my second half in the windy city. As a Korean-American recently wandering Chicago from Los Angeles (the Mecca of all that is good Korean food, with the exception of Korea), I have been on a desperate search for anything that reminds me a piece of home. Perhaps I just need to stick with what Chicago does best, and for now (although premature) Korean food is not one of them. Don't get me wrong, the Halmonee (grandma) was warm, welcoming and she even let me eat there when it was closing. There really isn't anything wrong about the atmosphere and the homely kitchen look to the place. What I did have a problem with however was the food. I had the Yeukeh Jang and I'm not sure what everyone else has been eating and raving about but whatever I ate was not Yeukeh Jang.

By no means is this saying don't go here for food (then again my rating says otherwise), regardless, my review probably will have very little effect anyways. To break down the soup... the ingredients in there,I have never seen in my life after a decades of eating yeukeh jang. Celery, bell peppers, bulgogi meat? Perhaps I am a bit too harsh, this is not authentic Korean food in the slightest but the rest of the menu did seem a bit promising. She did offer me some bulgogi and kimchi (perhaps she wanted to get rid of it) at no charge and I have to say her bulgogi wasn't too bad. It isn't anything I would kill for but putting myself in the shoes of a hungry lunch hour person, the lunch special would be quite a deal.

The place earns 2 stars solely on the halmonee (grandma) and how warm she made me feel coming to this new town. I would like to give more but honestly...the food is lacking: bland, not spicy, and random ingredients that should not be in traditional dishes. So to sum it up, if you are looking for a good deal on some bulgogi I would recommend the place but if you are looking for authentic Korean food, keep searching. The Bastion is out there somewhere in this town.

The good: lovely grandma who makes me feel at home. The bad: the Yeukeh...

I haven't been treated this poorly in a very long time. Considering the current political climate, the prejudice she exuded made me fearful of what is to come election time. My four friends and I were sitting at a table for four. When I ordered she rolled her eyes at me. I didnt mention it to my friends and let it go. We sat patiently waiting for our food. Three other customers came in about 10 minutes later. She took their order and they were served literally within minutes. I felt confused but I was enjoying my company and again let it go. When more time passed I began to feel uneasy but again I chalked it up to the fact that perhaps what the other customers ordered was readily available and what we ordered, while basic, perhaps wasn't? More time passed. A party of 5 came in. She looked at them and then at us and back again at us. She pointed at our table and said to the party of 5, " you sit here, they have to move!" (YES. no joke). She looked at us and pointed to a table nearby with 3 chairs ( we were a party of 4) " you sit there! " she coldly commanded. She picked up our waters and moved them to the smaller table. The other party apologized to us and offered to move somewhere else but she said "no. They have to move!". The place was empty aside from my party and theres. I felt like i wanted to cry and yell all at the same time. All i could say to her was" that was so rude". If you are a person of color do not support...

I want to start off in response to the comment about the owner refusing service to a lesbian couple: I am at odds with that because my friend that suggested this place to me is an obvious and blatant lesbian that would go to that restaurant with her partner regularly. I heard of no such discrimination from her.

It is rare to find an inexpensive Korean food restaurant. Even rarer to find a restaurant that has only one employee/owner, which lends to very slow service, but if you are patient, it is worth it. And yes, as others have mentioned, it's like grandma is cooking for you. Lovely.

The food is excellent for the price. Not very special, but quite authentic. Especially the bibimbap and "fusion" things like the bulgogi and kimchee omelette served with choice of white rice or hash browns.

Overall, great hole in the wall spot. Definitely check it...