What the experts recommend: Traditional Korean barbecue

Hebaragi Korean BBQ

Tustin, Calif.

The Korean barbecue craze has led to a wave of these restaurants throughout Orange County in recent years, said Edwin Goei in the Orange County, Calif., OC Weekly. This just-opened eatery, though, is already one of the best. I’ve had plenty of pork jowl in fine-dining establishments, but it was here that “I finally met pork jowl in its raw, primal state.” A part of the pig that connoisseurs argue is better than bacon, the “half–frosty white, half-pink” jowl is often found as thin shavings in pasta dishes. But here it is cut extra-thick into wedges that, when cooked, have the same deliciously gushing effect as a “juicy grape.” If you don’t go for the jowl, try the pork belly or perfectly marbled rib-eye—“pretty much any animal part tastes amazing after a few minutes on the blazing-hot griddles.” 14430 Newport Ave., (714) 734-5922

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Madangsui

New York

The food comes at you fast at Manhattan’s best Korean barbecue restaurant, said Sam Sifton in The New York Times. But “Jiminy Cricket, is the dining fine”—just be sure to order slowly, and leave yourself time to enjoy it all. Start with the oyster pancake, kimchi soup, and yook hwe—“beef tartare, essentially, that literally melts in the mouth.” Then move on to the barbecue. In the middle of the table, a stainless-steel top lifts to reveal an electric grill. A few minutes later, out come plates of meat: “fresh, glistening butterflied short rib, thin-sliced rib-eye, brisket, tongue.” Customarily, the waitress will take charge of cooking, but don’t be afraid to grab the reins. “No eyebrow stays raised in the presence of grilling self-confidence.” Off the heat, drag a piece through the mix of sesame oil, salt, and pepper, then add some slaw, “perhaps a dot or two of bean paste,” wrap in crisp lettuce, and eat. 35 W. 35th St., (212) 564-9333

Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Grill

Annandale, Va.

“Visiting this 24-hour Korean barbecue place, especially on weekends, is like mainlining Red Bull,” said Candy Sagon in The Washington Post. A slice of Seoul that seems to have somehow migrated to the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale, it’s packed with groups of 20-somethings basking in a frantic atmosphere of thumping Korean pop music and the “pungent, garlicky steam and smoke rising from the tabletop grills.” The stellar meat is the draw, and it helps that “prices here are cheap compared with those at the better-known Korean places.” The bulgogi—a beef dish synonymous with Korean barbecue—is a can’t-miss pick. But the brisket, recommended by the waitress, was my favorite. “Paper-thin, bright-red slices of fat-studded rolled meat” were so delightful that we skipped rolling them up ssam-style—in the traditional lettuce wrap—and instead picked the meat straight off the grill with chopsticks. Such dishes have attracted a following—a second location is set to open near Baltimore. 7220-C Columbia Pike, (703) 256-5229