The lunch buffet is a bargain at $16.95, but know that the coveted LA galbi, sliced laterally across the bones, is reserved for dinner. If you leave anything behind, they’ll charge you for it. You can choose your own meat from the glass-front cooler, but pace yourself. The quality of both meat and banchan is standard, but many come for the all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet, which is DIY all the way. This upstairs-downstairs spot, with its tufted banquettes, seems eternally ready to host a wedding reception. The marinated yangnyeom galbi is sweet-and-spicy charred bliss. Koryo Kalbi is the king of charcoal-fired barbecue. There is no shame in reaching for what you desire. Hail the parade of banchan, the complimentary side dishes that soon cover the table-kimchee (fermented cabbage), sukju namul (marinated mung bean sprouts), oi sobagi (cucumbers in chile sauce).

Swaddle the finished morsels with lettuce leaves or dip them in sesame oil. Grab tongs for gripping, scissors for snipping. A quick primer: start with unmarinated meats, and then move on to marinated so as not to let char mar the grill. The usual suspects are brisket, rib-eye, octopus, chicken, pork belly, bulgogi (marinated beef), and, the sine qua non of Korean cuisine, galbi (short ribs). The elements of traditional Korean barbecue ignite the senses: the tantalizing sight of intricately marbled strips of beef, the intoxicating aroma of grilling meat, the popping and hissing of the grill.

Korean restaurant town cheesy ribs