Namu Gaji

photo - Yelp, Ann. L

Namu Gaji, Dinner, The Mission
May 6, 2016

P&J:
assorted pickles
kimchee
dumplings - shiitake, dashi, butter, nori
lamb tsukune - avocado, brûlée yolk, dill, cumin, calabrian chili
stonepot - market vegetables, kimchee, egg, koshihikari rice, gochujang, steak


Notes:
This was the last of the three dinner reservations I made during my friend's visit to San Francisco.  He's a restaurateur and was interested in catching one of the latest in food trends, "new" Korean; Namu Gaji seemed the perfect choice.  Unfortunately, it wasn't what I thought it was.  Their focus seems to be on Asian flavors generally, leaning more towards Japanese than Korean it seems.

Most of the food was good, but it wasn't particularly exciting, and generally we were put off by the everything else (more on that later).  The assorted pickles were a mess - little honshimeji mushrooms, red cabbage, and bean sprouts -  each tasted like they had been soaked in straight vinegar.  The napa cabbage kimchee on the other hand was top notch, and I'd love to know their secret.  It was supple but still a little crunchy, hot and sour and just a little fizzy on the tongue, just how it should be.  The dumplings were very good: mushroom filling stuffed inside thin wonton-type wrappers cooked until just tender and served in a rich, buttery broth.  The lamb tsukune, a skewer of ground lamb seasoned heavily with cumin and Calabrian chili was grilled until lightly charred but still juicy.  It was served with a brûléed yolk - raw egg yolk with a thin coat of sugar so as to be scorched, just as you would the dessert - topped with a heavy dose of finely chopped dill.  Potentially phenomenal (seriously - we're talkin' egg yolk), but it had no flavor to speak of.  Finally, the stonepot - a take on the Korean dish bibimbap.  Cooked white rice is layered in a giant, blistering hot stone pot with vegetables, kimchee, thinly sliced raw beef and a fried egg.  We were instructed to allow the pot to sit for at least 5 minutes, during which time the rice at the bottom of the pot would crisp, and the sliced beef would warm through.  When it was time, we stirred in the accompanying gochujang (Korean chili paste), mixing everything together while scraping up the crunchy rice and whacking the egg and beef into smaller pieces.  This was really tasty; the dish was well prepared and nicely proportioned between the rice and toppings, but it wasn't anything new, it was just really good bibimbap.

Sure, it was disappointing that the food wasn't what I expected, but I had only myself to blame.  The restaurant has a website, they have their menu posted, it shouldn't have been such a surprise to me.  But the real problem here was the experience itself.  When we walked into the tiny restaurant it was completely full but for the end of the bar seating which ran the length of the room against the windows.  There, in a space large enough for two people, were three bar stools.  We all knew - that was where they intended to seat us.  We should have said something, but we didn't.  Maybe we should have left, but we didn't.  Instead we sat, three people to a space built for two.  It was awful.  And did I mention the noise?  Restaurants these days are being designed for the modern aesthetic with little attention paid to the acoustics.  I know this.  I have been to countless restaurants which suffer from this affliction.  But this one was so bad, we gave up on trying to talk to one another.  There we sat, crammed together at the end of a sad little bar, left to stare out the window in between courses.

We cut the meal a little short that night and went for ice cream next door.  I doubt we'd go back.