This is certainly one of the reasons why I love New York so much. The people who know me very well, Know that I’m an extremely curious person and for this reason , I love to travel,learn about new cultures even through their culinary traditions. New York is incredibly rich in different nationalities and traditions and we can find entire neighborhood where it seems to have stepped out our usual reality to immerse ourselves in a far away land. One of these neighborhoods is Koreatown. An enclave in Midtown Manhattan located on W32nd St. between 5th Ave. and the intersection of 6th Ave. and Broadway ( also known as Greeley Sq.). Born in the ’80s in an area by that time occupied mostly by the Garment District and chosen by the Korean immigrant because very spacious and economical.
All started with the opening of a Korean Bookstore and a handful of restaurants almost exclusively for the use of the Korean immigrants. However, given the vicinity of the Empire State Building, Macy’s, the Flower district and the Garment District it has become a destinations for newyorkers who like to try new delicious cuisines and recently discovered by tourists. Today we can count over 100 between bakeries, restaurants ,Karaoke bars, shops and SPAs on Korean Way only ( the most popular street of Koreatown). the peculiarity of the stores on this street is the verticality. In fact it features stores and restaurants on multiple stories occupied by independent establishments reaching up to the higher floors ( resembling the city of Seoul itself).
I wanted to talk more about food. The other night I went out to dinner with few old friends in one of these wonderful restaurants,Kunjip,specialized in the typical Korean Barbecue. Every table comes with a grill built in the center, that is turned on by a waiter and where a dish of your choice from the menu is cooked, right in front of your eyes. A true wonder for the eyes and the palate! But be very careful of the spicy dishes cause they car really put your palate on fire!. Korean cuisine is in fact very spicy! don’t be afraid though, cause you can always put down that fire with some Korean wine or So Ju ( something very similar to sake).
This is a place that I certainly suggest to everyone who is curious like me and would like to discover different aspects of this fantastic city, that are also responsible of creating the New York that we all love.
