“Have you eaten here before?” a server asked upon greeting us at the entrance to Gopchang Salon.
We had not.
“You do know what we serve?”
We did.
The server’s screening questions weren’t out of order. It could save unsuspecting customers from an unwanted menu of offal.
Gopchang is Korean for small intestines, and Gopchang Salon specializes in grilling them — along with other organ meats.
Offal is what sets Gopchang Salon apart from the slew of other Korean restaurants along a stretch of Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road off I-85.
Vegetarians would do better elsewhere. So, too, would squeamish eaters. Adventurous diners, however, are in for a treat.
Like standard Korean barbecue restaurants, each table in this cavernous space sports a built-in grill. It’s worth pointing out that, during grilling, not a whiff of smoke came from the electric grills, and no off-putting smells hung in the air.
And, rest assured, your meat will be cooked thoroughly. A server attends to the grill from start to finish, snipping tubular intestines and other innards into ever smaller pieces, shifting them to the side and giving guests the OK, once they are done.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
You’ve got a couple of options for ordering: a set menu or a la carte. The former brings an assortment of small and large intestines, tripe, hearts and abomasum (the fourth stomach in a cow). You get enough to feed two to three people, and it costs $60; the spicy version is an additional $5. Each cut of beef, pork belly or pork jowl also can be ordered a la carte, but, oddly, the restaurant requires a minimum of two orders.
If you want a taste of everything, stick with the set menu.
The spicy versions (especially the small intestines) tempt with savory gochujang-induced heat. Because the meat needs to cook in a sauce, it mostly is prepared in the kitchen, with final cooking on a portable tableside burner.
As soon as we had ordered our meat, the parade of banchan began. Gopchang Salon’s spread of side dishes is not bountiful, but it is balanced. You’ll find punchy fermented cabbage (baechu kimchi), scallion salad and spicy bean sprouts (kongnamul muchim) with red flecks of gochugaru. A saucer of chilled corn kernels with a scattering of blueberries in a creamy coleslaw-like dressing was an unexpected foil to the grilled meats, while a stack of marinated, minty Korean perilla leaves, interspersed with wafer-thin rounds of daikon radish, was a fine palate cleanser between bites of fatty large intestines and beefy hearts.
While you’re waiting for the meat to grill, enjoy a bowl of seafood-tofu stew that is more tofu than seafood.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
The Korean Food and Snacks section of the menu offered other ways to build a meal.
Somyeon wheat noodles in ice-cold radish water kimchi (dongchimi noodle) were cooling refreshment.
Another cold dish, seasoned sea snail salad, was a delightful presentation of chilled somyeon twirled into nests and set around a mound of snail meat, zucchini and onion strips, red and green chile pepper rings, and wilted perilla leaves — all tossed in a sweet, spicy chile sauce. It was surprisingly light and clean-tasting.
The seafood pancake (haemul pajeon) was thicker and starchier than most, although the exterior was satisfyingly crisp. I would have liked to have found more than a couple of shrimp — scallions, too — among the eight generous wedges.
An order of fried chicken gizzards brought a pile of deep-fried nuggets of chewy goodness that disappeared faster than any other snack.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
What didn’t disappear was an order of kimchi fried rice that wanted for vegetables. Its spicy-savory flavor did pair well with fatty grilled pork belly, though.
Among the beverages, soju — the clear, colorless Korean spirit made from rice — ranges from budget ($14) to big-bucks Hwayo 53 ($110). Other alcoholic drinks include bottled beers and a handful of Korean wines. Our server’s recommendation of a raspberry wine as a pairing with the grilled meat proved spot on. All of the wines lean sweet, but the Seonunsan Bokbunja was less so, offering the tang of fruit vinegar.
Gopchang Salon doesn’t offer the sort of meal you’d want to eat alone, or every day, but, if you’re looking for the ultimate offal experience, a capable staff is ready and waiting. And, when the waiter asks, “You do know what we serve?,” you can nod in eager anticipation.
GOPCHANG SALON
Food: Korean barbecue, specializing in beef intestines
Service: helpful and patient
Best dishes: assorted grilled gopchang, spicy grilled gopchang, grilled pork belly, seafood soft tofu stew, fried chicken gizzard, seasoned sea snail salad
Vegetarian dishes: kimchi fried rice, cold noodle soup with radish water kimchi, side dishes, white rice
Alcohol: bottled beer, Korean wine and soju
Price range: $$$
Credit cards: all major cards accepted
Hours: 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 4 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays
Parking: ample parking in strip mall lot
MARTA station: none
Reservations: not necessary
Wheelchair access: yes
Noise level: quiet
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: not recommended
Address, phone: 2850 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, Suwanee. 678-765-7922
Facebook: facebook.com/GopchangSalonSuwanee
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