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Early Addition
They call it the city that never sleeps. But as someone who works the night shift, I’m here to tell you that New York takes a little nap between 4 and 5 in the morning. At that hour, sanitation trucks are still blasting through stop lights as though no one important enough to matter is walking the streets, and bread trucks are more common than private cars. When I’m out there, it’s the end of my shift, and I’m looking for my last meal of the day. Usually a deli sandwich or diner food suffices, but occasionally I’m in the mood for something more exotic. And Korean beef bulgogi cooked right at my table always does the trick.
New Yorkers know that Korean barbeque can be had at any hour from any number of places on 32nd Street in Manhattan. Even though Little Korea is the real deal, sometimes I like to take in the full New York experience, so I drive out to Flushing where neither the proprietors nor the customers speak a word of English. Out there, my favorite 24 hour barbeque joint is called San Hai Jin Mi.
For at least two days before it’s ready to hit the hot plate, their beef bulgogi “sleeps.” Using the international language of wild gesticulations and melodramic facial expressions, I found out that “sleeping” at San Hai Jin Mi means marinating in soy, sugar, garlic, rice wine, pepper, sesame oil, and scallions. As it cooks before my eyes, the heavenly scent is enough to put me to sleep where I sit. The beef comes out tender and extraordinarily tasty, and I always head home more than satisfied.
At 4 a.m. in New York, a table full of spicy kim chi and hot beef bulgogi along with a cultural exchange is as good as it gets while the rest of the city takes its nap.
San Hai Jin Mi, 36-24 Union Street, Flushing, Queens 718-539-3274
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Hungry Cabbie, you are my favorite Gothamist writer! I'm Korean, and even I don't think I could do bulgogi at 4am in the morning...
little korea? what? who calls it that? it's k-town. like the one in cali and everywhere else there's a k-town.
k-town is shwag, for me it's flushing or nothing.
Jang Tuh Sutbulgi is the best, the bbq is cooked on a grill over hot hardwood coals, not in a pan over gas. their side dishes rule, they have the best egg and scallion hotpot as well as cabbage and brisket stew and spicy tofu and seafood in red chilli soup.
Cali? What? Who calls it Cali? Okay, LL Cool J does, but he's from Queens. I read THC's link on the words Little Korea, and I see where he picked up L.K.
i really like this column...my only gripe is that none of these restaurants seem to be subway-accessible... how about some love for us non-drivers?
Nick,
Thank you very much for the kind words. Some places I've written about can only be gotten to by train/bus combo. This place is subwayable though. I rarely take the subway, but here's the directions someone gave on my personal site, and apparently they work:
Take the #7 Train to Main Street-Flushing. Walk down Main Street going north (away from the LIRR trestle/towards St George’s Church-big steeple). Where Main Street ends, make a right turn onto Northern Blvd, Kennedy Fried Chicken on the corner. Stay on the right side of Northern and start walking up the hill. Go two traffic lights (the first one for Linden Place and is just for the opposite direction of traffic) and then turn right onto Union Street. There’s a Nara Bank on the opposite corner. Stay on the right side of the street.
Good luck.
damn i'm hungry now. korean food is the best food in the entire world! need to make a trip out to qb. ok so k-town is shwag (although Kun Jip is damn good all around, and Gam Mee Ok's kimchi is the best) but what's everyone's take on north jersey korean joints? any recommendations?
thanks, sir hungry cabbie. keep up the good work!
Anytime's the right time for Korean BBQ.
I agree with Nick, seems most of his reviews are for places not really accessible by subway.
EXCEPT this one, awesome.
It's tiiime to set the record straight:
New Park Pizza: A train to Howard Beach
101 Deli: A train to the S train to Playland Station
Salonike: G train or F train to Bergen St.
Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie: B61 bus to Van Brunt
Mike's Deli: 4 train or D train to Fordham
Hope & Anchor: B61 bus to Van Brunt
Waterfalls: Any train to Downtown Brooklyn or Brooklyn Heights
Louie & Ernie's: 6 train to Buhre Ave. (10 minute walk)
The subway and busses run all night, just like yellow cabs. Go with God.
true, thc but those place can get you beaten up if you're looking for a car.
When we mean subway accessible, it means we get there safe getting there and coming back.
Flushing is tolerant of most everyone.
I think that's the main jist of the places you've reviewed. OK, so you didn't get any dirty looks but can you say that for other people?
buses run all night but can you rely on them?
yellow cab? most of us are working class.
Most of us are working class? How could you possibly know that?
Mets Fan, I think you're just being nitpicky.
And THC wasn't suggesting that we should all take cabs, just that the cab-driving and the cab-privileged aren't the only ones who have access to 4 AM treats all over the place.
OH pardon me for living, mr. moneybags.
a thousand apologies, sir.
so sorry, I'll walk behind you from now on.
Look at most of the places THC went to, these neighborhoods were called TWO FARE ZONES before the metrocard.
That means A CAR would be most helpful, sir.
And, buses? You'll be lucky if you can get one that runs once per hour on a weekend night. some stop service quite early and in the outskirts of Queens, you're using Triborough coach or some other private bus company.
Mets Fan 1986:
This column is called THC Eats THE OUTER BOROUGHS. Gothamist asked me to be their outer borough food writer to expand the food coverage to the entire city (but I still don't know Staten Island admittedly). So I just write about my favorite outer boroughs food discoveries.
I'm glad you like my recs. If you are looking for more easily reached places, you can go to my personal blog at www.famousfatdave.com/blog and there is a whole section on Manhattan.
Thanks for caring though. And let me say even I like the 86 Mets, and I'm a Yankee fan.
THC, I'm not knocking your reviews. They're all good reading.
You're very lucky to have access to an automobile to get to these hidden gems. (and a quick getaway, if need be)
Hell, I know people who won't even take the bridge over to Peter Luger's.
The only bad thing about the 86 Met's were the 87 Met's. They still sold out many games that year.
God I love Budweiser.
Mets Fan, now I think you misunderstood me. I have no money. I ride the bus and know its unreliability. I'm just saying that you can't assume that all people who read about eating at THC's locales are working class. Didn't mean to upset you so.
I don~t get the fascination with cooking the beef at the table. You just leave the restaurant smelling like a beef bomb. My (Korean) family just has the beef cooked in the kitchen and brought out. I like the eating part.
Oh, I~m the one who didn~t get the fascination with guacamole made at the table either.
Guys -
Korean BBQ is not barbecue at all. It's more akin to stir frying and grilling than it is to true barbeque. Don't ge tme wrong, I love Korean, Mongolian, Vietnamese etc. BBQ. Hell, I just love food! But it just ain't the Q!
For true blue barbecue, you need a wood/charcoal indirect low heat fire, some smoke, a big cut of cheap meat and time.
YEAH! Korean BBQ lovin love-in!
The 7-Train has improved ten fold since I used to take it to school waaay back in the day. I don't think the express runs at night, but without anyone getting on and off at 4AM, you can bet from Times Square to Main St is probably 40minutes at most.
Just tried Madangsui in Fort Lee, NJ. Yummy! It was my first excursion out of K-town. Their kalbi melted like butter and the tongue was awesome. (don't overcook!)
Lots of banchan and fast service. (although I hear it get really crowded on weekends)