SAVE YOUR MONEY AND STEER CLEAR OF THIS PLACE!!!!
This is long so here's a summary:
- Restaurant was DIRTY
- Food was not good (flavor)
- Most of the side dishes are GONE!! We only got 3 with dinner service.
- Very Rude and unattentive staff. The owners son made the whole experience worse
- Horrible atmosphere... what's up with the music?? (visited at 5:30PM for dinner)
- Owners seems to care more about making money than having even half-way decent service. Penny-pinchers.
I went out to dinner with a group of friends and wasn't too impressed with the food (although they had a fried chicken dish that was not bad) and the service was on the really bad to terrible side. The floors were filthy too. When we first came in, the owner's son (he made it very clear who he was) came out to give us a history lesson about the restaurant... and he went on... and on... and on... and on... we were about to tell him to leave. We came to eat... not to get a history lesson!!
We came around 5:30PM to eat dinner and he (owner's son) made it a huge point to tell us that we shouldn't order food without alcohol... in his words, the whole menu was designed to be eaten with alcohol... which was interesting b/c it seemed like a semi-normal menu you'd see at any Korean restaurant. He was really pushing this and I felt like he cared more about increasing his profit margin instead of providing a good experience.
Anyway the atmosphere wasn't great, especially during the dinner hours... if it was 8, 9 or 10pm, it'd be fine. But while we were eating they BLASTED these crazy songs... one song had a constant beat of a person saying "B*tch,B*tch,B*tch,B*tch,B*tch,B*tch,B*tch,B*tch" for literally 5 minutes... while in the background there was a woman having a... umm... how to put this delicately?... a VERY pleasurable, climaxing moment... that must have been awesome b/c it lasted the whole song ;) That was the entire song. No joke. Again, if it's later in the night when people are drinking... no problem... but c'mon? 5:30 while serving dinner?
I also got the impression that the owners are penny-pinchers. My friends mentioned that they used to serve a lot of good side dishes, but when we were seated they told us that they're not doing that anymore. And the owners son made this weird comment when he brought out the waters... something to the effect of... "I brought you water in glasses so be careful b/c they could break." Â ?? Serious!? Calm down man!
The servers were not very attentive and rude... I got dirty looks when I tried talking to them in English. They kept trying to talk to me in Korean. That's problematic... b/c I don't speak Korean!!!
Oh... and the restaurant felt dirty. Pretty sure the building used to be a really old McDonalds b/c I recognized the floor tiles immediately and it didn't look like they bothered to clean it from when they opened the place.
So overall a pretty bad experience. Food was just average. Atmosphere horrible. Service poor. The owner's son was trying way too hard. Big disappointment. Would not go back.
Came here for lunch on a weekday and I immediately had a bad impression. The entire place was empty until a couple was seated right behind our table. The walls, furniture, and floors all looked disgusting, old, and dirty. Paint was chipping; splashes of food remnants were on the walls; and dust was clearly visible by your seating area. Also, the waiter gave us only two menus instead of three so we had to share a menu (trouble counting much?). To top it off, I heard a dog in the back room. I love dogs, but hopefully it was in the office and not kitchen area. It's still not a good idea....
Food was another disappointment. We ordered the seafood noodles. Clams were not fresh and tasted disgusting. Also, the shrimp was the size of a tiny button and had veins. We were very disappointed with the seafood quality. Â
The only good part of this place is the side dishes. They give you a wide variety of side dishes which are all fresh and delicious. Â I was disappointed to see after 7pm they charge you for side dishes. It's weird a Korean restaurant charging for side dishes, but when your main dishes are horrible I guess I understand why.... I would only want to eat the side dishes to be honest....
Food = 10/10
Atmosphere = 5/10 (if you're not drinking), 9/10 (if you're drinking)
The food is very good. Good selection of Ban Chan that comes with your order. I had one of the best Boo Dae Jjii Gae bowl and the price is decent. Deep fried chicken was also done perfectly, I recommend trying w/ spicy sauce.
If you're not going to be drinking there, the music tend to be too loud for non-drinkers.
Overall I recommend this place.
I came here on a week day evening..and it wasn't even that packed...was able to get seated immediately; however, it took 30-40 minutes for us (2 ppl) to get the food..when we only ordered 1 dish....
food: tasted ok, not bad..ordered spicy octopus noodles..nakjibokum..
service: bad...if you don't mind having a couple drinks and slow service on the food.. maybe it'll be an ideal place to come with friends...
atmosphere: looks just like any other Korean bar/restaurant..
if you want to eat food from here.. I would say.. either pre-order.. or just order carryout and hopefully you don't have to wait too long.. or just go when you're not too hungry and then you'll be hungry by the time that the food comes out..
Definitely better at night than in the day.
The place was packed, partially because of the Pacquiao fight (BOGUS by the way!), partially because it's a go-to nightly hang out spot for a lot of Koreans in the area. Â The food was much better this time around--due to the fact that the bf and I were wise enough to go with the safe choices. Â Though there are bones and it's hard to see exactly what's bone and what's crispy, fried skin because of the dark atmosphere, the fried chicken is spot on. Â One whole chicken is more than enough for two people to share. Â The bf and I being fatties, we also ordered the samgyupsal kimchi bokeum (pork meat stir fried with kimchi) served with tofu. Â Both dishes were delish and we were more than satisfied.
Minus one star because we were waiting to be seated and they seated other people who came after us first.
Minus another star because we waited 10 minutes before I finally asked for menus.
Minus the third and last star because the servers didn't come around to the table once the food was served and I had to ask for water.
Korean comfort food in average portions. A little loud, but great for groups. Particularly if you're out to drink. I'm not a weekend go-er out-er because places are usually super packed, but I enjoyed myself and my company. Young and sassy staff. Dark and intimate setting. The bar area is a bit crowded, but if you grab a table/booth you'll have plenty of space to eat/drink. Their food/drinks are a little pricier than I'd prefer for the portions, but I wasn't surprised and would still go back, but not for a date or one on one conversation. Even for drinks. Very clean and super cute Korean dudes everywhere. Tee hee.
Review Source:I've been a frequent customer since their old location on Lawrence. The food is decently good. The service is horrible. The wait time for ridiculous. It takes about 40 min on a good night to get your food. The servers are all very rude. The busier they are, the worst the service. I think they ALL need to take some hospitality training.
Review Source:I've been going to this place since it was on Lawrence in the city and I was underage. I've spent many a drunken night at the Lawrence location and loved every dark blurry moment of it.
The new place is nice but it doesn't have the same feel as the old place. That said I still enjoy the food even though it's not as good as it used to be and the beer is still served in ice cold mugs. It's nice to have a cleaner, newer environment but sometimes that's not really what you're looking for. That said, I'll try to write a review without comparing to the old place.
My all time favorite is the tong dak or fried chicken. They cut it up in to manageable pieces and fry it up that way as well. The chicken itself is small, maybe even a cornish hen but the breading is light and the meat is usually nice and juicy. The Korean slaw and radish that come out with it are the perfect accompaniments as well. Sometimes the breast meat needs a little dip in the salt and pepper dish that comes with as well. The tong dak with an ice cold pitcher of beer usually hits the spot but if we have a group then we'll order more such as the ddukboki or other various drink accompaniments. If you haven't noticed by now this place is NOT just a restaurant and is actually more of a bar that serves decent food so if you're looking for more light and quiet music then go to a real restaurant.
They have a decent variety of popular Korean accompaniment dishes and the majority of them are good but for whatever reason they take forever to prepare these dishes. Even when there isn't that many customers. I almost wonder if they do it purposely so that you drink more because people usually slow down on the alcohol once their bellies fill up with food.
Service is decent but they need some females in the crew. Way too many dudes. I like the bells at each table but when they're busy they are pretty much useless and you have to keep pressing it every 5 mins or so or else they'll forget you rang.
Although I'm not as happy with the new place as I was with the dive on Lawrence I'm still glad they're around and I will continue to give them business as long as the quality stays the same or hopefully improves. These types of places have disappeared by the handful over the last decade and it the lack of competition has made a huge negative impact in quality among the remaining establishments.
Korean Dive Bar in a very LA style (yes doorbells to ring the waiter to your table!) with Korean comfort food.
Holymoly the fried chicken here is amazing. I like the original the best (spicy one is good too). The original one just comes with a side of salt/pepper that you can sprinkle on. But it is so crispy and so deliciously fresh!
The ddukboki (spicy rice cakes) was also excellent. There are a ton of side dishes that come out with every order which I loved.
I'm not a huge fan of beer in general but actually really liked the pitchers here--- I think the frosted glasses helped too, but it tasted SO cold and refreshing.
The decor is very divey with flat screen tvs around-- but come for the food and drinks :)
Saboo aka Moraeshigae is one of my favorite Korean bars. I've never gone during the day...strictly in that 9pm-1am time frame.
They have some really good bulgoki ddukbokki and I hear some other good foods. But honestly, when I go here it's not for the food. So let me focus on the Korean bar aspect. It's a great little place for soju, both flavored and regular. The music is a mix of Korean and English (albeit it's usually one cd of 20 songs that repeats through the night lol), the servers are all very nice & include some twinkie servers which is always helpful and some nice tables outside if you need to go for a smoke (I don't but go out with friends sometimes). Not to mention they have a bowl of tootsie pops by the door...love it~!
This bar is small though so it can fill completely to the brim quickly, but lately has not been as popular when I've gone. That may be thanks to all the other Korean bars in the area (Ju Rang, I'm looking at your newbie). The service is good thanks to the bells at your table to call them over (gotta love the korean bars that still have that). In my opinion, the newly invented Moraeshigae in the form of Saboo is better then the last (used to be further up Milwaukee in the city). Def give it a try until it closes at 1 then head over to DMZ up the street! :)
Very friendly waitstaff, and a good place to come meet up late at night. Â I quite enjoyed the dukbokki, but I had already had dinner, so it was kind of like extra goodness in my belly, which is never as pleasing as the original goodness in my belly. Â It's like if you can already buy the car you want, and someone gives you 1,000 extra dollars to spend on your car. Â That's awesome!!!!! Â .....but what do you do with it? Â You can already buy the car you want without that. Â So you (hopefully) donate it to a great organization. Â
Now I'm feeling guilty that we didn't donate the dukbokki we couldn't finish to a great organization. Â Curses!!!
Anyway I'd venture to say that most of you didn't search ssaboo hourglass on yelp to hear about charitable donations. Â SO. Â The dukbokki has a delicious mostly savory but a little sweet sauce on it. Â It is also wonderfully chewy. Â Personally, I like the spicy dukbokkis better, in the red sauce, but this one was good too.
We also got apple soju and had fun trying to fish out the balls of apple. Â Good times!
In addition, we ran into 30 of our closest friends (well, not really, but seriously if you know any Koreans in the suburbs of Chicago, you will probably run into someone you know at Ssaboo. Â Don't come there lookin' shabby. Â I warned you).
I have one more thing to say. Â They give you free shrimp chips much like a mexican restaurant would give you free tortilla chips. Â Rule of thumb: If you put shrimp chips in front of me, I will eat them without my left hand even realizing what my right hand is doing (I know, I ripped that one off from the bible, but it is SUCH a good metaphor). Â It was unfortunate that on top of my previously had dinner, I ate a ton of shrimp chips, and could hardly eat any dukbokki.
The end.
Good late night place to go. Â I probably wouldn't go any other time.
Dduk-bogi is awesome here. Â Fruit sojus are better here than other places. My fave was the apple soju -- I love the balled chunks of apple in it. Â Other sojus tried -- grape, strawberry, and yogurt. Â Grape tastes like grape soda slushy, strawberry tastes like really sweet strawberry candy with chunks (a little too sweet). Â Yogurt is just like typical korean yogurt sojus (the little asian yogurt drinks).
I've decided that go-chu-jang (that red pepper paste) is to koreans like ranch is to white people. They put it on everything. Â Like raw cucumbers.
Oh and if you come on a Saturday night like we did, you'll probably hear a lot of Far East Movement.
So, Koreans are notoriously impatient. With that in mind, I would imagine that a Korean restaurant would be better prepared to serve. How wrong I was.
Took my staff there for dinner and it was horrific. I understand that it was a Thursday night and they are busy but people are coming after work for dinner and are hungry. They used to take orders ahead of time, which a lot of asian places do but they refused this time, even for a group. Then we ordered a couple fried chicken as starters (very very good chicken. they chop up a whole chicken and fry it in pieces served with a fresh coleslaw-like salad, deliciously sweet radish and pickled jalapenos) as soon as we sat down. Afterwards, the waiter tried to take our ONE menu away. I had to fight for our ONE MENU!
They were filling up tables quickly and amidst the chaos I would have preferred a more American approach to serving tables, assign them. I've had better service at Applebee's.
Here is what ensued, we ordered lots of food that never came out after our chicken. With the long hiatus, we started to feel very full, so we tried to cancel some orders and they said they already started so we couldn't so we said ok. Then we canceled other orders  that hadn't even been started on after 30 minutes, except for one. Well, we never heard back and so we waited for our last dish and it never came. Upon us FLAGGING down a waiter and asking him, he said we were done. That all our orders were canceled. How irresponsible, just cuz the kitchen is busy doesn't mean you should be excited a customer cancels their dishes then never check up on them or follow up to inform them of the fact that their dinner has been terminated.
Needless to say, it was a very anti-climactic evening. Plus, the lighting was  just a tad bit too dark that reading the menu was just annoying (And I am by no means old). And the music got louder as the crowd got louder in response to the music getting louder.
Anyways, not happy with the service but they serve shrimp crackers which is pretty pricey compared to cheap popcorn served by other korean bar restaurants and their food tastes great.
I just wish they were friendlier and had better communication and service overall.
I would hesitate to go back with a group.
Sidenote: Never had this problem when they were on Lawrence. Before the huge expansion and move to the burbs and the young male waiters. :) Is it too much to ask that the food be great and the service be decent?
I've been here twice and I've had very far from any kind of positive experience. Â I'm very tolerant of crappy service or problems with servers and service, but there's no excuses here.
First off, I don't know why people recommend their chicken, not only is it dry and lacking in flavor, it's overpriced. Their Korean pancake was so-so, soup was decent but again overpriced. Â Their beer selection is a joke: who serves only Icehouse? I don't go to bars go drink primarily soju, so why list on your menu that you have 3 sizes of beer, when the only thing you have on tap is watered-down college beer? Last time I and my friends were there, our servers lied to us, didn't know what was in the food (if you have special needs or food allergies, BEWARE), and when they "told" the owner about a special needs issue, they said the owner said no way, even though our server told us the contrary. I don't care how good looking you are, you should know how to do your job and what and who you're serving first and foremost.
In short: Don't trust the servers...although you might end up with food you like but we sure didn't, unless you're here to only drink FLAVORED soju (if you want a bottle of soju, you can go to a few other restaurants or bars within the same 5 minute radius with better food and sometimes better service) and nothing else alcoholic, pass on this place. If you're over 25 and not hunting for immature FOBs, kids, or potheads, you're not missing much here.
The only thing that's saved me from giving this a 1 is the fact the owner's wife has helped us from leaving completely pissed off and seems to understand a bit non-native Korean customers.
PREFACE: I'm only giving this 2-stars because I've experienced better, not because it was BAD. This review is also based on the TAKE-OUT and not dine-in.
We picked up some dduk-boki (spicy rice cakes) and yang yum ttong dak (seasoned chicken) the other day.
Dduk-boki. Based on other yelp reviews, it appears that they are known for their dduk-boki. Yes, I agree, that their portion size was HUGE. As someone mentioned, it is probably enough for 4 people to split (in combination with other dishes). They did give 2 eggs, which is fantastic. It was extremely spicy, so if you're into spicy, it should be good. =) All in all, I enjoyed the dduk-boki. They had some of the most random veggies in it, like broccoli, ... can't remember what else. I just remember thinking, "What a random veggie to put in dduk-boki!" Hey, but whatever works!!!
Yang-Yum Ttong-Dak. I definitely liked the sauce for this. One thing I was not a fan of was the random chicken pieces. Call me spoiled because I come from Atlanta, where the Korean food is all pretty awesome, but I am used to getting chicken drumsticks or wings (LARGE) in Atlanta. Here, you might find a wing and thigh, one drumstick, and whatever other part of the body. My friend told me that they probably (literally) take one chicken and chop it up and give it to you like that. If that is so, I can understand why we got such random pieces of chicken. I just wish that we had more chicken drumsticks, legs, or wings so that there's more meat than bones.
All in all enjoyable and I would go back, especially since there aren't too many of these type joints in the burbs.
This is a review for their lunch and after hours.
Lunch: I came here with a friend and we each ordered an entree passing on the appetizers. The side dishes were pretty good and came in a very clean presentation. My seafood noodles were ok. I felt like there wasn't enough broth but the texture and flavor of the noodles were fantastic. My friend's boodeh jjigae looked delicious but he said that it was so spicy he couldn't manage to finish it. Only downside to this place was that the food took soooooooooo long to come. So I guess just come here if you're not too hungry.
After hours: I came here with a group of about 12 and the setting of the place is kind of awkward so we were all cramped into a table that was probably made for 8 max. We stayed for about 3-4 hours but they never refilled the bowls of the shrimp crackers even though we kept ordering drinks =( In my knowledge this ssaboo is slightly cheaper then DMZ for hard liquor bottles (the crown was only 70) but in my opinion $13 for soju is whack.
Watermelon soju? Â Yes, please! Â
It's life-changing, I kid you not. Â
One of those special treats in life...usually associated with birthdays or other milestones in life. Â Soju is tricky, too. Â You hardly taste it, so you don't think it'll hit you as hard. Â Oh, but it does. Â The watermelon goodness just masks the fact that it's deadly. Â
Try it.
Fried chicken and katsu? Â Delicious! Â Like, the 10 of us crowded around that chicken and dug in, frealz. Â
I adore + Â love this place. Â I'm so sad that it's in the 'burbs now. Â (Used to be in AP!) Â On the plus side, parking is plentiful and it's alot bigger than its old space. Â And we loved the music - hello, Usher + Will.I.Am's 'OMG'. Â Official anthem for Spring 2010. Â Love.
Recently came to this place with two friends, but we didn't have any of the service problems mentioned in other reviews. The drink selection is decent from what I can remember and seating isn't bad, since we were able to be seated right when we walked in about 11-ish.
One thing I found funny is that my friend said one of the servers met her from before and she said he kept trying to get her number while we were leaving when she walked out of the restroom, rofl
Used to go to the original location on Lawrence when I was younger(yes, it's a bar and all.. but my parents would take me for the chicken)..
Anyway, checked it out and it's a total sausage fest.. LOL. Kind of awkward going in, sort of creepy..
Anyway, my friends got the chicken which I was told was amazing, and ddukbooki, which was HUGE and good.. and yogurt soju, which I was told was good.
Probably one of the better places for a drink in the place they call the "new Koreatown" in the intersection of Milwaukee and Golf. Â Their new place took awhile for me to get used to since I've been a fan of their Lawrence Ave location.
But yea the waitstaff are friendly, the food is good, and the soju keeps flowing. Â If I were to be picky I sometimes wish their mixed drinks were better.
What you can count on:
1. Â Solid fried chicken. Crispy, tasty, and accompanied with hot peppers, sweet pickled radish, and a small "salad." Â
2. Â Duk-bok-gi. Â A huge portion. Â Can be easily shared among 4 people. Â Saucy, spicy, flavorful. Â Even has 2 whole eggs in the dish. Yummy. Â
3. Â Ice cold beer. Large, icy mugs ensure your brew stays refreshingly cold. Â
What you can't count on:
1. Â Speedy food service. Â The food takes forever. Â We waited well over 30 minutes for fried chicken! Â Wait, shouldn't that be the quickest dish to cook? Â
2. Â Good lighting. Â They dim the lights way too low at 8:00pm. Â Most people are eating dinner at that time, not trying to be part of a clubby atmosphere. Â
3. Â A decent music level. Â Should I be yelling to talk to my friend across the table at 8:00pm? Â Turn that s#*t down! Â Again, it's only 8:00pm!
the music was way too loud, and service sucked. it's slow. plus, the 5 of us ordered 6 bottles of chamisul soju and 5 pitchers of beer..yet only received shrimp crackers & cucumbers. Â other places offer much more. Â I also found out the next day that on our way out, the last friend (drunkest) was held back by the waitress. she said, "you didn't tip us!" Â not knowing what he was doing, he gave her $15. Â but of course we tipped her 20% (even though we weren't happy about the service), only because I've worked in the restaurant industry! how stupid of her to look at the receipt incorrectly, and how rude of her to bother our friend (who was from out of town!) embarrassing!! never going again!!
Review Source:I can report that even though it moved from its original location on Lawrence to ... well, wherever the heck we were in the Chicago suburbs, it's still the best fried chicken in or around Chi-boogie. Even if it lacks the weird charm of its former digs (although, the knight in armor and the loud Korean pop music that plays through the restaurant made the move), it's worth the price in gas it takes to get out there. I'm totally stoked for the outdoor patio addition to the new place. Watermelon sojo al fresco on a hot July night? Yes, please!
Review Source:I've been there a few times before and went there again last night. Â This place has good Korean food but as with most Korean restaurants, the service is S.L.O.W. Â Even when it's not that busy, it's slow. Â But in the end, it's about the quality of food when you get Korean and in the suburbs, this is a good one to go to. Â Duk-bu-kee is great since the duk is cooked to perfection. Â The tongdak was yummy because the meat doesn't come out too dry and the skin is crispy. Â A bonus: shrimp chips are on the table, instead of stale popcorn.
Review Source:went on a weekday so it was decently slow. the ambiance is 100 times better than most korean bars and since it's fairly new everything does look decently nice. the food was pretty good as well. we had the chicken (tong-dak) and duk-bu-kee. my only complaint about this place is the service. our chicken came out pretty quick but we waited over 10 minutes for the duk-bu-kee. sooooo annoying esp if you want to enjoy both at the same time. it would have been fine if it was a busy night but there were only 3 other tables there besides us. they definitely need to hire an extra cook! they should know better being that they're a korean bar/restaurant, us koreans are not very patient. we demand good food and fast service!
Review Source:went on a sat night. the parking lot was crowded but we had no issues getting seated. the place felt familiar, i realized i'd eaten here many times when it was a burger king. nice remodel.
anyway, i did a lot of damage here. first, we ordered 2 orders of the fried chicken which was nice and crispy but could use another element in flavor.
kimchee stew. we didn't get any rice...how do you eat kimchee stew without rice? i'm so country. i didn't see any treasures in the stew either...spam and other emulsified meat products that was present in the original hourglass stew.
spicy rice cake. not really my thing but the others had no complaints.
beer. i think it was icehouse. you dont have a choice if you go with draft. only one beer on tap.
tonkatsu, couldnt tell you how it was. the waitress gave us a weird look when we ordered it. then a fried chicken plate came out, she misheard us. oh well, it's was good enough to eat a third time.
service was good. at first i thought they were ignoring us but i realized they had these buttons on the wall to call the waiters. they came promptly after pressing it.
i was suprised to see so many older people. 40 somethings. not a bad thing. i usually see a lot of younger people at places like this. underage drinking is bad... mmmkay?
I walked through the door with my family and almost requested that us "kids" be seated separate from the 'rents. Â Awkward! Â Ssaboo isn't exactly your most family-friendly restaurant (think bar/lounge), but then again my family's not the type to follow the family friendly rule (yes, we've dined together at Hooters before.) Â So, what makes this place not your typical Brady/Partridge restaurant?
Maybe it's the...
-too-hip-for-my-parents décor (lotsa black and brown and cool lighting fixtures)
-dim lighting that becomes dimmer at 8pm
-korean beer served on draft
-great mix of American and Korean hiphop/pop music
-two big screen TVs
-service bells! Â Yes, push the service button and the waiter will grant you three wishes.
-tong doc (fried chicken)... get it!
-young and trendy waitstaff
-Shrek size pajun (Korean style pancakes)
Don't come here with your parents. Â DO come here with friends.
Word of caution: service can be sloooow
2 stars = Meh. I've experienced better.
Yeah, I have. Â At the original Hourglass. Â
What happened to the food?
We got a dolsot bibimbap and some chicken to split. Â BBB was definitely not dolsot - it was in the clay pot but the rice was straight from the rice cooker. Â
And the chicken? Â Was it an off night? The Republic of Korea would be ashamed of that dry tasteless meat that we were served. It was overcooked yet cold, spicy-looking but flavorless. Â The side dishes were decent and the radish bowl was tasty.
The service was horrible. Â It wasn't too busy when we went, but as people started filing in, it was obvious that she was giving her friends and regulars all the love. Â Literally sat for fifteen minutes for some refills on our drinks, but watching the waitress gab with her friends got to be too aggravating and we left.
The space is nice and cozy and pretty cool for what was once a Burger King.
"Did you come through the side door? You're not supposed to come through the side door!" That's the first words that were said to me here. My exchange student friends just barged in and wanted to sit down right away, not really how it works here so when we doubled back the owner thought we walked in through the side. Never mind, that we were already stuffed but in the interest of scientific comparison ordered the same dishes we had at the old Hourglass, ddokbokgi and yangyum tong dak. The dishes here were better-ddokbokgi was back to its original huge size and even had TWO eggs! I'm going to go ahead and say that I am NOT a fan of yanyum tong dak, but I could tell the difference, still didn't like it.
Our waitress was really nice, we wanted the strawberry soju but she actually told us that it wasn't good and a lot of people complained about it so we went with one of her suggestions, grape soju. Interesting, it tasted like grape Kool-aid but the guys with me said this was much more like the flavored soju in Korea where they mix it with juice and not powder. When we asked for the apple one she said she didn't have it and when we were caught up in deciding what to drink next she said.
"Why don't I make you guys my own mix. If you don't like it I won't charge you." Damn it all if it wasn't delicious! I really wanted a free bottle of soju but it wasn't to be. The worst part of it was that she wouldn't say what was in it. I'd like to come back but it's fairly out of the way but I'll make my way here again.
When I first heard the Hourglass on Lawrence had changed owners I was pretty upset. Â I didn't speak nor eat for a week. Â I shuffled around aimlessly and people whispered in hush tones when I passed by. Â It was an ugly scene.
I ultimately accepted the loss of my beloved ddukbokki jip and hardened my heart to steel. Â I would not love another, I declared. Â Let this be my fate.
It all changed last week when my designer friends casually mentioned to me that they had finished the work on the new Hourglass out in Glenview. Â They even showed me pictures to confirm they weren't kidding around.
Yep - the old Hourglass on Lawrence has moved here. Â Hallelujah!
You'll be happy to know that your favorites are still served. Â They even added a bulgogi ddukbokki which I didn't try but will do so the next time I'm there. Â The prices have gone up a tad but I feel it's a small price to pay to be able to have the awesome food once again after I thought it was gone forever.
The major downside to this version of Hourglass is how far it is from the city. Â I really enjoyed the fact that I could visit the old location via the El or a cab ride. Â The new location demands a tighter coordination on transportation and DD duties.
I'm also unsure about the look and feel of this place. Â My friends have done an awesome job of putting the place together but I'm so used to the dark, "Frontierland" aesthetic that the new, well-lit and coordinated interior was a bit jarring for me.
I'm sure all this will pass once I start visiting this place more often.
ps: Â They've recently re-opened so expect a bit of a wait around 7 or so. Â I think the word has gotten around and there was a steady stream of people coming in. Â We got there at 6 and the place was filling up fast. Â
Go early if possible and stay awhile.
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