Itaewon Sarangbang 이태원사랑방

Two floors below street level on Itaewon-ro 27-gil, this bar is fitted out like an indoor pojangmacha, the tented street stall where Koreans drink and share plates. Daechang kimchi jjim simmers fatty beef intestine with aged kimchi, and the bone-in pork is braised with bean sprouts for crunch. The soup side runs from beef-tendon hot pot and rose shrimp stew to spicy sujebi (hand-torn dough) and half-and-half chicken feet in two sauces. Rice dishes fill the gaps between plates: gimbap topped with raw beef and egg yolk, a gimbap rolled around a whole omelette, or anchovy-and-chili rice balls. LA galbi, thin cross-cut beef ribs in a sweet-salty marinade, is also on the menu.