• Kaya Garden, Leonia, NJ
• Seoulite's, Berkeley Heights, NJ

• Ahri's Kitchen, Jersey City, NJ
• BCD Tofu House, Fort Lee, NJ
• Baden Baden, Palisades Park, NJ
• BonChon Chicken, Jersey City, NJ
• Boom Boom Chicken, Fort Lee, NJ
• Dong Bang Grill, Fort Lee, NJ
• Gam Mee Ok, Fort Lee, NJ
• Gamja Tang Tang, Fort Lee, NJ
• Gayeon, Fort Lee, NJ
• Homung Nangmyun, Closter, NJ
• Honey Bakery, Jersey City, NJ
• Hwang Bu Ja, Parsippany, NJ
• Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, Palisades Park, NJ
• Keum Ho Garden, Edison, NJ
• Koreander, Montclair, NJ
• Kraverie , Jersey City, NJ
• MOGO Korean Fusion Tacos, Asbury Park, NJ
• Mandarin, Palisades Park, NJ
• Masil House, Fort Lee, NJ
• Menya Sandaime, Fort Lee, NJ
• My Way, New Brunswick, NJ
• Peck Peck, Teaneck, NJ
• Picnic Garden BBQ Buffet, Edison, NJ
• Raku Izakaya, Fort Lee, NJ
• Seoulville, Somerville, NJ
• So Moon Nan Jip, Palisades Park, NJ
• Soram, Norwood, NJ
• Spring, Closter, NJ
• To Soc Chon, Fort Lee, NJ
• To Sok Chon, Palisades Park, NJ
• Tofu House, Ridgewood, NJ
• Yam Yam Chicken, Norwood, NJ
• You Chun, Palisades Park, NJ

Korean

In my mind, Korean food is the rustic cousin to city-slicker Japanese cuisine. Sweet marinated grilled meats (bulgogi), smack-you-in-the-face kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), and hearty rice mixed with vegetables, chili pepper paste and a fried egg (bibimbap) are staple Korean comfort foods. Nothing is better on a cold night than a spicy hot bowl of soft tofu stew (soondubu jjigae). Restaurants offering Korean barbecue, many with grills to cook the meat yourself at your table, are increasingly common in New Jersey. The full range of Korean dishes runs from savory egg pancakes to fried chicken to seafood noodle soups to French-inspired pastries. Menus can be difficult to navigate for those of us new to Korean cuisine. Be patient though, and your efforts will be rewarded.

Over 98,000 New Jersey residents claim Korean ancestr. Sixty percent of the state’s Korean population lives in Bergen County, with large communities in and around Palisades Park and Fort Lee. Not surprisingly, those two towns are the place to find the highest concentration of Korean restaurants, from fast food Korean fried chicken to upscale Korean BBQ. The EthnicNJ map shows highly regarded Korean food spots there, as well as in Jersey City and Middlesex County, where the Korean population is growing. My favorite dish so far is the soft tofu stew served at the literally-named Soft Tofu Restaurant (So Kong Dong, 소공동 순두부) in Fort Lee.

Share your favorite Korean spots in the comments below. I’ll add the most popular to the map.

Links

BRIDGE TO BANCHAN: FORT LEE, NJ’S KOREATOWN IS WHERE TO GET THE GOOD STUFF
Korean Food Guide (with pictures!)
Korean in Central Jersey
Palisades Park, NJ: K-Town West of the Hudson

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