The primeval fear that a bigger, stronger animal could come along and snatch your kill was probably the root of mankind’s first eating disorder. That’s partly why the discovery of fire was so important to early humanoids, huddled around blazing embers not just for warmth and protection but also to take the time necessary to roast a sizzling mastodon joint and enjoy it in the nonthreatening company of friends and family.
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While Korean food in general enjoys a broader profile than it did in the not-so-distant past, and while Korean barbecue itself isn’t going anywhere, the movement (for better and worse) is toward faster, gas-burning grills at places like Wicker Park’s Tozi and Bill Kim’s BellyQ, where better-quality meat is cooked without the salubrious charring effects of organic smoke and fire. So it was a surprising and happy development when Gogi recently opened in the space that once housed Hai Woon Dae. It has both live fire and meat of a quality several orders above most anywhere else.
But relative to HWD’s omnibus menu of barbecue and other Korean standards, Gogi has chosen to focus more intensively on the meat, with nine cuts of mostly beef and pork, many available with different marinade options—which is another big difference from the more straightforward offerings of the existing competition. But the starkest difference between Gogi and any of the remaining Korean barbecue houses in the city lies in the quality and freshness of these proteins, among them bright red and beautifully marbled slabs of quarter-inch-thick pork belly; broad pork and beef ribs that unfurl into thin sheets of tenderized meat; lean, soy-and-sesame-oil-marinated nuggets of short steak; or ropy veal intestines, if you’re gutsy.
Every available space on the table at Gogi is covered with an assortment of replenishable banchan, the little side dishes standard at any Korean meal, which here include some rarely seen offerings, like gochujang-drizzled chile pepper leaves and sauteed mushrooms. And the drinking options are a step above the typical soju and watery Korean lager as well, including the crisp, refreshing Japanese Hitachino wheat beer and locally brewed Slow City Makgeolli. Those, along with several rounds of meat, are really all you need for the most satisfying Korean barbecue experience in the city.
6240 N. California 773-274-6669gogichicago.com
