Handam BBQ – Chinatown

FOOD

The dinner A menu starts with ribeye bulgogi, including a spicy version, alongside sliced beef brisket and beef belly. That gives the beef order some range from the outset: marinated ribeye for diners who want seasoning already in place, or brisket and beef belly for those who prefer to add sauces at the table. Charcoal is the common thread, whether the next tray holds brisket or another helping of bulgogi.

B opens up the short ribs and steak cuts. LA kalbi comes in regular, spicy and Suwon-style versions, with sliced beef tongue, fresh or marinated hanger steak, sirloin steak and marinated sirloin short steak also listed. It’s the package to consider when comparing beef cuts is a main reason for dinner.

The pork selection gives the beef a fair amount of competition. Pork belly appears in regular and thinly sliced forms, as well as sweet garlic, gochujang and soybean-paste preparations. A table that enjoys pork belly can explore several seasonings without abandoning a favorite cut. The spicy gochujang version and the soybean-paste option are particularly useful choices for comparing a pepper-based seasoning with a savory fermented-soybean one.

There’s more pork beyond belly: pork jowl, gochujang pork jowl, seasoned shoulder, regular or spicy pork bulgogi and marinated spare ribs. The variety makes a pork-focused dinner quite plausible here. Rather than treating every tray as a warm-up for the upgraded beef, give the jowl or spare ribs a place in the order. The small side dishes provide company for whichever cut earns a return appearance.

Chicken comes as marinated chicken kalbi, spicy chicken kalbi or garlic herb chicken on the dinner menu. Salted prawns bring a simply seasoned seafood choice to A, while spicy baby octopus is part of B’s expanded selection. These give a mixed table more to consider than the next beef cut, especially when some diners favor chicken or seafood and others are still debating the short ribs.

B also includes two appetizer selections per table, with choices such as cheesy corn, steamed egg custard, seafood scallion pancake, crispy dumplings, kimchi stew and soybean stew. These are shared, nonrefillable additions. The distinction is useful: the barbecue comes in repeat rounds, while a pancake or stew is something the table chooses together. A little discussion before ordering is sensible when cheesy corn and dumplings both have supporters.

Banchan complete the table without requiring every bite to be another piece of meat. Their exact assortment can vary, so enjoy the small dishes alongside the barbecue rather than planning around a fixed list. Weekday lunch has a separate selection, with some dinner A foods moving to lunch B and fewer beef choices overall. The dinner menu described here is the fuller guide to Handam’s charcoal barbecue.