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Jul 22, 2022Liked by Ruth Reichl

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had off the charts cravings for Kimchee. Luckily there was an outpost of Kang Suh near where I lived in Westchester. I went as often as was humanly possible and the staff was so so so nice to me. I was ravenous for spicy, funky, fermented things and boy, did they deliver. When I brought my baby daughter there after she finally arrived, they treated her as a VIP. When they closed the restaurant during Covid and I saw the "thanks for your patronage" sign on the door, I am not gonna lie, I teared up. I still feel sad (and hungry) when I drive by.

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In the early 1990's I was fortunate to live in Korea for eight months. Korean food was unknown to me when I arrived but soon I sampled the most popular dishes - bulgogi, japchae, kimchi, haemal pajeon pancakes and bibimbap. I very soon fell in love with bibimbap, served in a hot stone bowl with hot sauce and an array of banchan side dishes. It's my all time favorite asian food.

I also have fond memories of enjoying casual street foods like kimbap rolls, dried persimmons and roasted chestnuts.

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Ruth ! Thanks for sharing 

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All these Round Eyes figuring it out..

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I remember reading about your push for Korean food in Garlic and Sapphires. The slowness of the trend is definitely perplexing.

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When I was a teenager in the 1970s, my Dad got stationed to South Korea as his "war zone/hardship" posting while the rest of the family stayed in the U.S. (When he was stationed in what was then called "West Germany", we came with him both times.) He would write letters filled with horror stories of "Korean food" like kimchee, which he described as "Cabbage and garlic, bury it - and when the flies start doing loop-de-loops and dying in it, it's ready!" The Medved Brothers who wrote all those "Worst Movie Ever" books had a similarly contemptuous and dismissive view of Korean cuisine - far as they were concerned it was all kimchee (which they believed was used for torture!) and dog meat(!!!).

So I didn't even consider Korean food until my then-Partner, who'd been eating it since she first moved to New York City, persuaded me to try it. Unlike my All-American Dad or two sneering film critics, I LOVED Korean food - especially bibimbap which cooked the rice and egg in its own bowl, and kimchee which was just the right amount of spicy for me!

Unfortunately, the Korean restaurant we used to go to when we moved upstate closed down a while ago, and the other Korean place is near the college so it's more takeout than sit-down and eat. Takeout bibimbap in a styrofoam container just isn't the same....

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Wonderful descriptions, thank you!

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Many thanks to you, Ruth . . . thanks to your INST post on Atomix after your first meal there, we gave it a try and it has become our favorite spot for a special meal. We try to make it for each season . . . such a very special spot in so many ways. All you described, and more! (BTW . . . we have become huge fans of Kajitsu Shojin Cuisine, which sadly is closing mid-September. Kajitsu reminds me of Atomix in some ways, but with vegan temple food.)

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Jul 22, 2022·edited Jul 22, 2022

We have not been to Atomix. However, before they opened Atomix, there was, and still is, Atoboy. We have dined there twice and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food. Now, we are not doing any inside restaurants dining. Since neither restaurant has outdoor tables, sadly, no Atoboy or Atomix for us.

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Thank you for this peek down the culinary road I'm sure to find myself one day . . . .

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