Williamsburger – Baekhyeon/Pangyo

Baekhyeon is a really pleasant place to walk around. During summer weekends, there are hand-made craft vendors set up along the fountains that flow all the way down the main cafe street, and throughout all the seasons, the pedestrian-friendly area has countless events and festivals. It’s also a neighborhood with a wide spectrum of restaurants of many themes, and a few standouts like Williamsburger.

Williamsburger keeps it simple and tasty – a handmade patty seasoned and topped with hot sauce, bleu cheese dressing and a fried onion ring on a soft sesame seed bun. They have a variety of toppings, but one thing all the burgers have in common is a simple flavor profile. They don’t rely on gimmicks to sell their fare – the meat is good enough to stand on its own.

One dish I hadn’t yet tried was the “Hole French Toast”. The toast is soft on the inside, crispy on the edges. The hole in the center is filled with a perfectly cooked over-easy egg and covered with mild cheese. I found the combination a bit strange when I ordered, but once I tasted it with maple syrup, it made perfect sense. The dish also came with a salad, small biscuit with fruit chutney and a couple of slices of bacon that were thick and delicious – the house-cured breakfast meat may have been my favorite part. You wouldn’t expect to find great brunch food at a burger place, but this was quite good.

The Oreo flavor of the milkshake was a good break from the traditional vanilla/ strawberry/ chocolate you usually find. The creamy cookie concoction was well blended without being too thin and one was big enough for two people to share.

The wings were very well cooked, but fair warning – the sauce has a heavy Tabasco content. The meat was still moist, and the skin was a bit crispy on the edges.

If you’re craving some grilled meat, Williamsburger will suit your needs nicely. The food is fast, delicious and a good price. The neighborhood is also a great place to window shop or grab dessert after you chow down.

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Burger Mill – Unjung/West Pangyo

When Mr. Big closed, I didn’t expect another burger joint to open in its place. I’m quite glad that Burger Mill decided to do just that.

This was my favorite part of the meal. Every great milkshake needs to start with good quality ice cream – this one was thick and creamy and tasted like the ice cream we used to get back home in Maine at a local farm.

On a whim, I ordered the “tornado” without knowing exactly what that meant. Turned out that the tornado is an order of delicious curved fries, crispy around the outside and soft in the middle. It was a good gamble.

The onion rings were fresh and well prepared, but strangely sweet. The breading was seasoned and crunchy and not oily at all. The order came with a ranch dipping sauce.

The burger was quite tasty. The bun was soft and the patty seasoned well and cooked to medium. Even though it’s winter, the produce was crisp and fresh, and the sauce that garnished the burger was spicy and complemented the taste of the beef rather than overwhelming it.

I took another chance and ordered the “bulgogi dog”. In general, I don’t really like hot dogs, but I decided to give this one a shot. Turns out there’s no hot dog in the bulgogi dog – instead, it was a little like a Korean steak sandwich, garnished with cheese, onions, lettuce and relish. It ended up being quite delicious.

Located on the cafe street that runs along the stream in Unjung, Burger Mill is just a stone’s throw from us. I’m glad to have a local burger place again, and even if I weren’t a glutton for ground beef, I’d come back just for the rich milkshakes.

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The Beastro – Hongdae

Beastro is one of those places that I want to visit every weekend. This establishment would be quite at home in any foodie city, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call it my favorite restaurant in Seoul. The menu is sophistication without pretense – unbelievable flavors in a wide spectrum of exciting combinations and simple dishes with amazing composition and top quality ingredients. I actually have found it quite difficult to review this place, because I don’t have enough synonyms for delicious to describe all their food and drink.

house bread with sweet garlic butter

old fashioned and 11PM – chamomile infused vodka, chamomile syrup, bay leaf

We started the night’s meal with a pair of drinks and the house bread and scrumptious garlic butter. The cocktail menu is both delicious and interesting, and the bar takes as much care with the ingredients of their drinks as the kitchen does with their food. The old fashioned would please any traditionalist, and the 11pm blew me away – the chamomile infused vodka and syrup produced a mellow and incredibly enjoyable cocktail.

pork belly with sage mashed potatoes, chestnut puree and rosemary vinaigrette

The fatty pieces of pork belly in our first dish melted in our mouths – I think Eric actually passed out for a moment from sheer happiness after a bite of this. My only complaint with the Brussels sprouts was they were too few in number. They were cooked perfectly, still just a little crunchy with nice browned bits, and when you combined them with the chestnut puree, they were absolutely delicious. The potatoes were the weak spot of the dish as the texture was a bit too pureed, but by no means were they a reason not to order this meal.

orecchiette with basil and mint pesto, stilton blue cheese, marinated peppers, walnuts, and roasted mushrooms

The orecchiette was a new menu item since our last visit. Blue cheese is the type of ingredient that can either overpower or play against other flavors to bring out contrast. In this case, the pesto, sweet peppers, mushrooms, and walnuts played heavenly against the strong cheese, and the house-made pasta got this carb-addict’s approval.

malt shoppe – apple pie milkshake, bourbon, cinnamon whipped cream and crumble

pretty in pink – vodka, pink lemonade, and carbonated lychee gelee

Waiting for dessert gave us another opportunity (or excuse) to sample a few more from the bar menu. The pretty in pink didn’t reach the level of my first drink, but it was a tasty lemonade based concoction. I did enjoy the gimmicky carbonated lychee gelee that popped in my mouth. The malt shoppe was a decent milkshake, but we both decided there was something a bit strange about the apple pie flavor. I found myself wanting an adult hot chocolate or hot toddy with the delicious cinnamon whipped cream on top. Hopefully, they’ll develop a few hot cocktails and use it for garnish.

avocado ice cream with olive oil, black salt, chili sugar, and tequila basil seeds

Dessert began with the avocado ice cream. I find myself without a proper description for this dish – it was altogether incredibly strange but entirely enjoyable. The ice cream was sweet and so smooth, and with the spicy sweet salty seasoning, it totally confused my senses and activated all my taste buds.

apple turnover with chestnut ice cream and cacao nibs

The apple turnover was the star of the night – another new menu item, Eric remarked that he was “incredibly angry” about how good it was because 1) “we’ve never been able to have it before” and 2) “we can’t have this every single night”. Delectable crust, tasty fruit filling, and the chestnut ice cream made a wonderful accompaniment. Pretty darn close to a perfect dessert.

The dining rooms of beastro, along with the rooftop patio during the warmer months, have a great ambiance for date night or a group dinner. Despite the sophistication of the menu, I guarantee even the pickiest eater can find something they’ll love.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share a few pictures of other incredibly delicious menu items we’ve sampled during past trips to Beastro. The following are constant entries on the menu and are all worth sampling if you decide to visit:

buffalo mac and cheese – buttered bread crumb and buffalo chicken

salmon rillettes with lemon curd, olives, and preserved onion

chimichurri fries – garlic, parsley, cilantro, lemon, and parmigiano reggiano

fried brie wheel – cornmeal crusted brie, orange tomato jam and croutons

24 hour hanger steak – slow cooked hanger steak, beef fat potatoes, and onion mustard gravy

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Craftworks brunch – Baekhyeon/Pangyo

Every Sunday from 12-3pm, Craftworks in Pangyo has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet. Many may be familiar with the Itaewon location, but I’ve always preferred the one in Pangyo. It’s a much more comfortable atmosphere and feels more like a bistro. It’s completely normal to have a chat with the bartender or cooks, no one wears a uniform, and the food is undeniably delicious. In short, it’s a terrific place to stuff yourself full of breakfast food and acceptable-because-it’s brunch adult drinks.

The mainstays are the same every week – breakfast burrito, BLT sandwich, peanut butter muffins, egg scramble, home fries, fresh fruit, unlimited coffee, etc. – but the specials are where this place really shines. This week saw the introduction of cinnamon rolls, which were frankly to die for. The weekend after American Thanksgiving, they served up some leftover inspired hash and chimichangas. Another week saw them serving bacon pancakes with Bailey’s whipped cream.

We also discovered this week that they recently began to serve milkshakes. We tried the Bananas Foster rum variety. It was an excellent addition to the menu – the balance of ingredients needs a little tweaking, but the flavor was great. I look forward to trying the coffee Kahlua version next time.

Craftworks brunch is a gem. There’s always something new to try, and they take reservations right on their Facebook page. Brunch is 15,000 Won per adult, 5,000 per child.

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