NYCReview
photo credit: Hojokban
Hojokban
Included In
Eating bone-in galbi served atop a wooden pedestal is infinitely more fun than picking at short ribs off a regular plate. Everyone at Hojokban, a homestyle Korean restaurant from Hand Hospitality (see: Ariari, Moono), knows this. There's an order of the house specialty served with scallion salad on every table. In fact, the couple drinking soju in matching sweatpants next to you won’t even bother looking at the menu, which is a mistake seeing as Hojokban's tender, braised pork jowl is just as good as the galbi.
photo credit: Hojokban
The casual restaurant with an original location in Seoul is useful when you want hearty, comforting food and don't care much about charm or ambiance beyond a blue-patterned banquette and some rice frying in the open kitchen. Service is polite and business-like, and the long dining room feels comfortable but not particularly memorable. You can easily be in and out in under an hour. So bring a friend and order both the short ribs and the pork jowl, and maybe some shrimp dumplings topped with crispy bits of beef or Spam-laden budae jjigae. Just make sure that friend is really in it for the food, and they're not trying to lounge around for hours sipping cocktails.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Hojokban
Hojok Galbi
Ramyun Fried Rice
photo credit: Hojokban