Tasty Tuesday: Beale Street Korea

Ah, Beale Street!  I really miss Memphis some days...Elvis, the Blues, Sun Studios, Lorraine Motel, Memphis Tigers, barbecue, the Memphis Farmer's Market...when I feel homesick, I feel homesick for Memphis.  So when I heard there was a Memphis bbq place hidden away in my favorite neighborhood in Seoul (already too good to be true) I had to find it.

I decided to spend Chuseok in the city (it was a 5-day weekend, so why not?) and decided that it was time to go on a food adventure.  So, after checking in and taking a quick rest, I hit the street of Hongdae to find it.

So, how to get there is pretty tricky...Hongdae is a fantastic cluster of meandering pedestrian streets, so even though these are not the directions I used to find it, they are the easiest to follow, I think.

Take the Green Line (line 2) to Hongik University Station.  Take exit 9.  Walk to the first major 4-way intersection and turn left.  Walk all the way to the end of the block.  It's a long block.  There are lots of little pedestrian walk-ways and access roads, but you'll want to go all the way up to the major road for cars...just past the park.  Turn right and cross the street (if you haven't already done so).  You'll pass the park and a few small access roads, but when you get to the first major access road turn right and go down that street.  It will be on the left.

Or if you are Hongdae-savvy, of you are facing Cocoon night club and Art Box take the road on the left, past Thursday Party and you'll run into to.

Anyway, hop on up to the second floor and have a seat.

The menu is a little small...and could use a few tweaks to be truly authentic, but the gist is there.

It's looks surprisingly like a Memphis BBQ joint on the inside, including lots of blues music and (albeit, Korean) baseball on the big screen TV.  The door to enter even has a a cool speak-easy feel to it.  It's a push-button automatic door (like most public doors in Korea), but made out of a solid sheet of wood so when it slides aside it's like being allowed into a speak easy.

Now, came the arduous task of deciding what I would eat.

After much, much deliberation, I decided on the BBQ baked potato.  It would be what I would have gotten if I was back in Memphis, so I thought it would give me the best basis for comparison.

The potato itself was a little smaller that I would have gotten at home (ok, a lot smaller, but it was still plenty filling).  The bbq was nice and tender...just the right amount of smoky-ness and the sauce was just the right blend of spicy and sweet for Memphis-style bbq.  Real cheese and sour cream topped it off and I wasted no time in polishing off the meal.  I would have liked to sample other things on the menu, but the potato was just the right size to fill me up without feeling gross and over-stuffed.  I guess that means another trip is in my future. :)