They at all times say not to buy groceries whilst you’re hungry, and that outdated noticed is rarely extra true than once you wander the aisles of a Dealer Joe’s and not using a listing or a meal in your stomach. I can’t rely the variety of impulse buys I’ve made through the years, normally disappointments like a Cuban black bean bowl that couldn’t look much less just like the picture on the field, or the cleverly named “Squiggly Knife-Minimize Noodles” that turned out to only be ramen by one other title.
So I’m happy to share with you that in case you’re a frequent customer of the Lion’s Head TJ’s, there may be assist and hope so that you can keep away from these pitfalls. In early October, a pleasant Korean cafe named Ollè Korean Eats opened only a few doorways down from Dealer Joe’s at 70 White Bridge Pike, and my first go to was a powerful success!
Operated by a husband-and-wife staff with loads of culinary expertise round city — together with working collectively at Ichiban — Ollè took over the poke spot within the nook of the procuring complicated on Oct. 4. Ahra Ko runs front-of-house, whereas her husband mans the kitchen, and he or she and her workers have created a welcoming setting with their transform of the earlier restaurant.
Simply contained in the entrance door, there’s a well-stocked and arranged grocery of Korean staples and ready banchan. For those who’re used to the small plates of free snacks served earlier than a meal at different Korean eating places, you could be slightly dissatisfied to need to pay for these treats, however I’m personally excited on the prospect of with the ability to take house treats like pickled seaweed and radish, squid salad or rice cake with mung bean paste — gadgets I’d by no means try to make by myself. There’s additionally a large assortment of candy buns, doughnuts and muffins, plus drinks and imported snacks obtainable for carryout. I didn’t strive the matcha on my go to, however people are raving about it.
The eating space is embellished in heat paneling, and there was a pleasant buzz within the room as teams loved informal luncheons. On-line ordering is out there, together with supply by way of Uber Eats and DoorDash. Nevertheless you order, you would possibly need to convey a cooler in case you plan to hit up Dealer Joe’s afterwards, as a result of the big parts just about assure leftovers.
I deliberately deliberate to check out three entrees on my first go to, however I didn’t anticipate to have the ability to get no less than a half-dozen meals out of my order. Much more shocking, I really wished to eat those self same leftovers thrice!
Bulgogi bibimbop is normally my go-to order at Korean eating places, particularly fast-casual spots like Ollè. Their model is definitely a deopbap, by which the substances are layered reasonably than blended collectively. Evidently, I blended the candy and savory beef into the steamed rice and fried egg instantly, as a result of I wished to get pleasure from all of it collectively. It was an enormous portion that simply stretched to a number of lunches.
On Ahra’s suggestion, I additionally ordered Jeyuk kimbap, a seaweed rice roll crammed with spicy pork and greens, together with pickled radish and burdock. Not like most sushi, the sturdy kimbap additionally held up for a number of days within the fridge since there was no approach I may end eight of the hockey-puck-size rolls in a single lunch sitting.
Ollè tonkatsu
My ultimate pattern was tonkatsu, and I opted for rooster over pork since I had already ordered the pork roll. The crispy cutlet was sliced into batons, and I didn’t even understand that there have been three layers of rooster till midway by way of my meal. The topmost layer was accented by a savory crimson sauce, and since the following layers weren’t sauced, they grew to become toppers for salads at house. The accompaniments for this dish have been steamed rice and an fascinating cabbage and corn salad.
I loved each little bit of this meal, particularly considrering the worth provided by the portion sizes. As God is my witness, I’ll by no means store hungry once more!
