Banchan from San Soo Gab San

Attention vegetarians: you can still find peace with your meat-eating brethren. ‚ Just head to any Korean BBQ restaurant, and have your bovine-eating friends snag the grilled short ribs, because you’re in store for a serious veggie attack. Banchan is the series of tiny vegetable side dishes that traditionally accompany a meal of stone rice bowls or marinated and grilled short ribs (kalbi). One of the best examples of banchan variety is at San Soo Gap San, on the city’s North Side.  You’ll no doubt see a few dishes of kimchi – Korea’s national dish of spicy, fermented napa cabbage – but you’ll also spot plenty of bean sprouts, daikon radish (in several forms), plus fish cakes, lotus root and one of my favorites: potato salad!