Yechon

I'm pretty sure its the most predictable thing possible, but I went to Yechon last night after closing down carpool. It's my go to late night food, possibly because there aren't that many places open that late, but also because its possibly the most delicious food in the world. It wasn't until approximately 3 years ago that I even knew of Korean food. I know Kimchee. Everyone knows kimchee. But there is so much more to Korean food and for those of you who have not had it before, I insist you give it a try. I love this food so much that I even gave a go at cooking dae-ji bul-gogi at home. It's a very simple marinade, with chili paste, chili powder, soy, sake, some garlic, etc.. etc.. The taste was there, but I made it a little bit too spicy, but it got me excited to try preparing other favorite Korean dishes of mine.

Back to the restaurant. I am proud to say that I have attempted (successfully) to introduce this restaurant to pretty much every single friend of mine. I would say about 90-95% of those I bring, enjoy the restaurant. If you've never been to ANY Korean BBQ place, its quite the scene. You sit down at a table, cook food in front of you, but all the sides they bring out are amazing. I have probably been to eat Korean BBQ approximately 60-80 times in my life. Maybe more. And I SWEAR I've always come across a new side I've never seen before. It seems like dozens of little dishes come out with a plethora of food. Anything from mashed potatoes to pickled radish to spicy bean sprouts (all my favorites). I've never seen a type of sit down restaurant like this. Back in college, Little Johns and Qdoba were always packed late night. You stay in line, get your food, everyone is drunk, good food, good times. Here in Annandale (little Korea) is a whole different world. This is a legitimate sit down restaurant. You go in at let's say 7 pm, a basic dinner time, and there are probably a dozen tables available...EASY. You go in at 1 am, 2 am, its busy, but you can still get a table, maybe a short wait. But after the DC bars shut down, everyone drives out to these places and it is HOPPING. Long waits, lots of laughs, lots of conversation. It's great. The atmosphere is incredible, cause everyone is just SO happy to be eating such great food.

I wouldn't say that the restaurant is cheap by any means, but if you get a big group of people, you rarely spend more than $20 bucks. I know that 4th meal should never be that much, but believe you me, its worth every penny.