09 Nov Upscale Korean BBQ Comes to Culver City at Hanjip

Korean BBQ has come to the westside! Located in Culver City, on Main Street next to The Wallace, Hanjip Korean BBQ is the result of partners Stephane Bombet (Terrine, Viviane) and Francois Renaud (Terrine) and Chef Chris Oh (Seoul Sausage). Inside, the decor is modern and eye catching. The walls, as well as the ventilation systems above each table, are covered with black and white geometric lines. Korean BBQ is meant to be shared with friends. While you can sit at a table for two or four people, the booths and round tables in the center are better for parties of six. With the amount of food you will probably eat, the bigger the group, the better! As soon as we sat, we were served an array of banchan. Fish cakes, kim chi, potato salad, spicy cucumber and bean sprouts are some of the banchan. The standout was the crispy octopus banchan. The menu offers a selection of prime beef (marinated and plain boneless short rib, ribeye, skirt steak and sliced brisket) as well as pork (marinated and plain pork belly, marinated pork shoulder and pork neck/jowl). The beef and pork options range between $23-$39 each but in both categories, it is possible to order a beef or pork combo which might be the best option as you get three or four different styles for a good price [$57 (regular) / $89 (large) for beef and $47 (regular) and $76 (large) for pork].   Beyond the beef and pork, there is a section entitled Chef’s Cuts which include beef tongue, spiced lamb, intestines, hamachi collar, baby octopus and carabineros prawns. The octopus is spicy and sweet and the prawns come from Spain and are the largest you have ever seen. They are delicious but pricey at $88 for 3.   The big showstopper is the dry-aged tomahawk steak with foie gras butter. When the meat comes to the table, the server does all of the cooking. And, when you pick the bite size pieces off the grill, you can dip them in the truffle salt and sesame oil that each person has next to them. No matter how full you get with the meat, do not miss the Bonus section in the menu. These side dishes are also perfect to share and one (maybe two) orders of each one is sufficient for a table of six. Uni Steamed Egg with salmon roe is a fluffy egg souffle with uni piled on top. Bone Marrow Corn Cheese with Shaved Parmesan and Bonito Flakes is buttery decadence as the bone marrow is scraped off the bone and mixed into the cheese corn. Seafood Pancake with Curry Dipping Sauce is a tasty pancake filled with shrimp and scallops and the curry dipping sauce the star of the dish. Kimchi Fried Rice is served with the egg on top to be mixed in. It’s a spicy dish. To wash all of the food down, Francois Renaud has put together a succinct, eclectic list of wines from France and Spain. We started with a little sparkling Ligier Cremant du Jura Rose, followed by the fruity Angelot Gamay du Bugey 2012 to enjoy with the meats and ended with the Xarmant Arabaxo Txakolina 2014 from Spain to pair with the seafood.   Instead of heading to Koreatown, you can now enjoy Korean BBQ in Culver City! Get ready to eat a lot and eat well! Hanjip Korean BBQ 3829 Main Street Culver City, CA 90232