
Cho Sun Ok Restaurant - View this location on map ![]() 'Woo Bok Lee opened his restaurant in 1979, and it stands today as the oldest operating Korean restaurant in the city. People still line up at the door for a table in the tightly-packed room, where the specialties are five varieties of naengmyeon (buckwheat noodles) and stone pan cooking. The latter (for two or more people) involves gas burners on the table fueling a heavy stone griddle upon which a variety of seasoned meats are seared octopus, beef, tripe, or a combination. Marinated vegetables and steamed rice (or noodles) are then cooked in the rendered juices, the rice crisps on the pan, and the resulting fabric-penetrating aromas can be whiffed down the block. Originally a North Korean specialty, naengmyeon are served cold and slippery, a bracing refreshment in hot weather, usually in light beef broth garnished with slivered cucumber or radish, hard-boiled egg, mustard, and red pepper paste. I prefer the two dry variations served here with hot sauce, one topped with raw, chewy skate. Mike Sula' Chicago Reader 4200 N. Lincoln, Chicago, IL Budget, Restauran |