Where to Eat Korean in Atlanta

It may seem pricey, but grab your friends to help you take down one of these enormous and gorgeous meat assortments tidily tucked into a light wood box. Fresh cuts of meat - unmarinated and marinated - are grilled over charcoal by your server and accompanied by tangy salad, banchan (small plates), and a spicy noodle soup to finish. It's destination-worthy. $25.99-$29.99.

There may be no dish more comforting than the classic Korean rice bowl known as bibimbap. And when you’re in Atlanta, there’s still no better place to find it than ye olde Woo Nam Jeong. The dolsot “stone bowl” varietal is king: rice, veggies, bulgogi, your choice of protein and a sunny side up egg on top, served still sizzling in a hot stone pot so that the rice on the bottom, if left to do its thing, gets delightfully toasted and crispy, and accompanied by a plethora of tasty banchan. $16.95. 5953

There may be no dish more comforting than the classic Korean rice bowl known as bibimbap. And when you're in Atlanta, there's still no better place to find it than ye olde Woo Nam Jeong. The dolsot “stone bowl” variety is king: rice, veggies, bulgogi, your choice of protein, and a sunny-side up egg on top, served still sizzling in a hot stone pot so that the rice on the bottom, if left to do its thing, gets delightfully toasted and crispy, and accompanied by a plethora of tasty banchan.

The answer to all your brothy, burning desires: Dense cylindrical rice cakes cooked with triangles of sliced fish cake, cabbage, and the chewiest noodles ever swim and simmer in a bubbling red spicy chili paste broth. Once you start, the heat will hook you and have you simultaneously begging for mercy and for more. $7.99.

With its subtle Korean influences, Heirloom Market consistently turns out some of the best and most unique barbecue in town. If you want to sample a wide array of Heirloom's Far East meets West meat-and-three mastery, the Georgia Sampler is the way to go - two trays piled with pulled pork, smoked chicken, a quarter rack of ribs, then your choice of brisket or turkey or Texas beef sausage (go brisket), AND three sides as well. You can't deny Heirloom's mac and cheese, but the Korean-influenced sides are especially worth exploring. Kimchi slaw or green tomato kimchi are musts and work wonders alongside smoked meats. $26.50.

Bits of chicken and a pungent piece of wild-looking fresh ginger dot a large bowl of mild, smooth rice porridge. The silky texture shimmies down your throat, and has the power to soothe the nastiest of colds with every sip. $10.95.

The sam-gyup-sal, or honey pig, cracks and sizzles on the hubcap-like grill and runs its piggy juices into the kimchee, garlic cloves, and other goodies provided at this upscale Korean barbecue joint. Some of the most tender, flavorful bacon you'll ever have, wrap it up in a cool lettuce leaf, pile on the kimchee, swipe through the salty, savory bean paste, and gobble your porcine self to contentment. $17.95.

A bowl of bubbling, lava-like red broth comes to the table via a rolling cart. Break the raw egg into the center of it, and stir the quickly cooking yolk into the jumble of pork belly, silken tofu and spicy kimchee leaves. Then let the gobbling, sweating and moaning with pleasure commence. $7.95.

Named after one of Heirloom’s choice pork purveyors (Jeff Cordova of Carolina Heritage Farms) and spelled with a K in homage to Korea, this layered sandwich starts with intense gochujang smoked pork shoulder, topped with kimchi cabbage and Korean-style pickles, drizzled with garlic-jalapeño ssam sauce and served on a toasted TGM Bread bun. Available as a special two or three times a week, there’s no better marriage of Southern barbecue and Korean sensibility. $10 (with one side).

While the regular bibimbap here is Atlanta's best, the mushroom version is a fun change of pace when you want something more earthy and light. A mix of mushrooms is nestled atop a sizzling bed of rice and mixed with shredded lettuce to lighten the dish. A sweet soy sauce mixture drizzled on top helps create an umami lovefest. $9.95.?

STILL THE ONE: Woo Nam Jeong's mushroom bibimbap was featured in the 2011 edition of 100 Dishes to Eat Before You Die

A huge black bowl arrives sizzling at your table, wafting the aroma of woodsy mushrooms. Stir the provided mound of shredded romaine lettuce into the crispy-edged rice, and add a slurp of sweetish soy sauce for a savory jumble that performs textural acrobatics in your mouth. $12.99.

Yet Tuh specializes in Korean dishes that warm the soul, and its spicy sausage stew, or budae jjigae, may be the most soul-warming of all. This bubbling cauldron gets its flavor from chunks of sausage (admittedly rather spam-like, in a good way) paired with kimchi, plenty of tofu and green onion rounding out the dish. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes it work so well, but there’s a deeply funky depth to the broth that avoids being too spicy. $9.

After being stripped naked and scrubbed within an inch of your life, there’s something uniquely soothing about settling onto a cool tile floor and dipping into a steaming pot of tteokbokki. At Jeju, the sprawling Korean spa where $25 gets you 24 hours of unlimited access to a series of igloo-shaped saunas, tubs of varying temperature and spa treatments of varying degrees of brutality, you can take your meals at the homey onsite Korean café. Chow down on chewy cylindrical rice cakes in a fiery red gochujang broth that burns oh so good. $9.