Ask the average expat on the street in Korea what Louisiana, Kansas City, Texas, Memphis or St. Louis means to them, and you’ll get back answers ranging from “first names of famous poker players” to “places that wrote-in Sara Palin for President.”  

Video: Think its Memphis BBQ?  Think again!

Now ask the average American in Korea, and you’ll see the Pavlovian saliva instantly brim around their dry, winter lips before you’ve even finished your sentence:

“BBQ!” they’ll scream out, “Authentic, good-ol’ fashioned barbeque.”  Their eyes will glaze over, and its best to keep arm’s length distance as they mumble aloud Homer Simpson-like phrases such as “tangy, meaty barbequeish” and “smokey, marinatedy meats” or “spare ribs, baby backs, pork, beef--Where me can some get?!”

The best places for BBQ in and around Seoul, Korea aren’t easy to rank and I wouldn’t purport to do so here.   If the world of culinary criticism has taught me anything, its that American BBQ is a deeply personal, bordering on a religious experience.    Instead, I ask that you ttrap on a bib and let me attempt to paint a picture for you of the top spots for American BBQ ribs in Seoul, with broad, basting-brush strokes.

Memphis King BBQ

There are so many reasons Memphis King BBQ (MKB) explodes up to the top of this list, not least of all that they just signed an advertising deal with HiExpat.   Before you let loose on that collective-reader-groan on blogger credibility, however, it would behoove you to bear in mind that these are some of the tastiest, meatiest and most authentic ribs you are going to find anywhere in Korea;  monster-sized slabs of marbled pork meat lovingly falls off the bone upon even the most timid of approaches.   Full slabs of pork ribs smoked in and then imported from Memphis, with a trade secret sauce that tingle your mouth with traces of spicy Korean peppers, aka gochu.   

Foot-tapping tunes from Elvis and Sweet BB King meander out of the speakers all day long, making this poorly kept secret of the English Teachers in Kangnam is a hidden gem no more.  You pay for value here, and a Full Slab will run you 25,000 won a pop, but here’s my advice – walk in with two buddies, order up 2 Full Slabs of Ribs, 6 ice cold 2,500 won Cass and then clear your calendar for the next 3 hours.   Best yet – you can go there late on a Tuesday night and I guarantee they’ll still have all the ribs you can handle! 

Memphis King BBQ Full Slab

Taste:  5 Stars

Thickness:  4.5 Stars

Interior:  4 Stars

Price:  3.5 Stars

Sam Ryan’s

With its 10 ribs for 5,000 won special, this Irish pub has one of the most famous happy hour deals in Korea on Tuesday nights.  Fortunately for you, dear reader, Sam Ryan’s also has those same ribs on the menu all week long and with its long, communal wooden tables and outdoor patio, its not long before you are imagining yourself at busy park in Summer, the peaceful buzz of late afternoon and wafting smoke from the BBQ permeating the air, while your semi-drunk Uncle What’s-His-Face argues with your Aunt and gesticulates at you with a pair of tongs. 

The emphasis at Sam Ryan’s is on quantity and the thickness of the rib, without turning the meat into those grey, cardboard ribs that you are used to at other “all you can eat” type set ups.  Sam Ryan's ribs are bronzed, tangy and succulent and don't overpower the seasoned pork or your taste buds.   I was barely to put back two plates of ribs along with 4 beers, and I needed a buddy to help me get off the hook with the last three (ribs, not beers).

The only downside is the presentation on the platter and the consistency of sizes (ribs are cut up and tossed haphazardly to and fro across the plate).  Also, if you happen to mosey on in on a Tuesday night past 8:30 pm, they wont have a seat, they wont have any ribs, and they won't take your American Express.

Sam Ryan’s

Taste:  4 Stars

Thickness:  3 Stars

Interior:  3 Stars

Price:  4.5 Stars

VIPS

VIPS?  You mean the sad excuse for a Sizzler that hits you for under 20,000 won at the salad bar?  Not quite.  VIPS (prounounced “Bips”, not “Vee Eye Peas”) actually has the only real “All You Can Eat” deal at its Mapo location, walking distance from Gongdeok Station off of subway line 6.    The baby back pork ribs are part of the salad bar, and are flame-roasted on an open grill in front of you, dozens at a time.   The Pork ribs come two styles, Original and Spicy, with the Spicy version definitely the way to go if you like some drool-enhancing American tang to your meat.  

There’s no restriction on the number of ribs you can mow down, so pile ‘em high on your plate, hunker down with a mountain of clean-wipes and get to work.  Finish your plate and muscle through the line to get yerself some more.   Like other all-you-can-stuff-yourself-with places, VIPS has a problem with consistency: oftentimes you’ll find yourself with the middle part of a full-slab:  heavy, thick, hanging from the bone, pork ribs.  Other times, you could choose “poorly” and end up with half a plate of rib ends of crisp meat and crunch cartilage.   Choose wisely.

Photos:  VIPS Ribs Before...

...and after

The good news is that because you are paying for the salad bar, you can, should the urge strike you, load up on other goodies, such as pizzas, a taco bar, and the Asian food section. Don’t get turned off by the higher price point:  depending on how much you can eat, VIPS might actually be the best deal in town.   The bad news?  The faux-Sizzler interior with 100s of toddlers running about with plates full of ice-cream, you’ll feel as if you are in pachinko machine, and not that backroads, Mama’s patio, barbeque shop.

VIPS (Mapo Station Location)

Taste:  4 Stars

Thickness:  3.5 Stars

Interior:  1.5 Stars

Price:  4 Stars

Tony Romas

How does the only self-proclaimed “American Rib Joint” do on our list?   Although I had no recollection of ever seeing a Tony Roma’s in Seoul, I was surprised to find that there was one right down the street from me in Myeongdong.  I headed over around 1 pm on a Thursday afternoon, gliding my way past thronging (and thonging) female Japanese tourists and into the calm, refined air con of a welcoming BBQ house.

Straight up, Tony Roma’s has the widest variety of ribs, and the most consistent in terms of size, flavor and taste.  Like Original Sauce?  You got it.  But what about Hot n Spicy?  Roasted Garlic?  Black Pepper?  Sweet Honey?  They got that, too.  The service was outstanding, with the server bending over backwards to make sure that this weigukin got everything he wanted, when he wanted it and without needless interruption. 

The interior is there, if not a bit manufactured -- after all, the company was founded in Florida, not exactly the center of the universe for BBQ in the States, and it’s a franchise hear in Korea, with three other stores to tempt you:  Yoido, Seoul Art Center and Kwangwhamun   

Be forewarned, however, as a full slab of Tony Roma’s award winning baby-backs will set your wallet-backs about 35,000+ won.   Wanna splurge?  Give it a shot.

Tony Roma’s

Taste:  4 Stars

Thickness:  4 Stars

Interior:  3.5 Stars

Price:  1 Star

Bistro Corner

I had high hopes on the Bistro Corner, which, from is perch situated directly above the entrance to Itaewon, had long tempted me on my winding, carefree walks up to Tony’s Aussie Bar.    A great interior, with a sketch board mural on how the variety of spare and baby back ribs are prepared, from farm to smoker to plate.  With five locations, you’d think for sure Bistro Corner would be the place to literally tear apart a full-slab of ribs.  Not exactly.  Bistro Corner does oak roast all their meats for three hours in a low temperature and does not use frozen meat.  Trust me, you can taste the difference in the texture of a rib when its been frozen for 3 weeks, and the texture of the half slab I ordered were outstanding. 

Photo:  Bistro Corner Half Slab -- Big n Tasty!

Not for the price sensitive, ribs at the Bistro Corner will cost you up to 26,000 won for a full slab.  (We’ll work on getting you a HiExpat discount in the near future, promise!)  The main issue with the Bistro is that the ribs are relatively thin and the sauce a bit light, leaving large portions of the meat exposed and unusually dry.  The sauce is not bad, however, but will definitely depend on your preferences:  the Jack Sauce (base of Jack Daniels Kentucky Bourbon has just a flutter of the charred barrel bourbon (check) and fruity, plum flavor to it.  The Original Sauce, according to my server, does have a bit of apple in as well.  I prefer a non-fruity slab of ribs, however, which will explain my rating below:

Bistro Corner

Taste:  3.5 Stars

Thickness:  3 Stars

Interior:  4 Stars

Price:  3 Stars

Anyone else out there got a decent, Authentic, American bbq rib shack that I might have missed out on?  Send the info my way and we’ll hit up a quick review on it to make sure you get the best food Korea has to offer!

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