The American food scene has witnessed restaurant trends come and go. In recent years, Asian-fusion eateries, gourmet Mexican grills, vegan cafés, Japanese restaurants, and tapas bars have grown in popularity.
The last few years, trendy Korean restaurants have popped up in every major U.S. city. And now, Santa Maria has jumped on the Korean barbecue bandwagon.
SizzlinGogi Korean BBQ opened a few weeks ago on South Broadway, in the former Crab Cove and Bakers Square location. Anyone who visited the previous restaurants won’t even recognize the place when they walk in the doors; the new décor is industrial meets eclectic modern.
A stunning renovation included an impressive floor-to-ceiling glass wine cellar, granite table tops, contemporary fabric and leather booths, and about a dozen large crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, contrasting with the prominent stainless steel fixtures.
Restaurateur Sang Jun owned Crab Cove, too, but always dreamed of opening an upscale Korean restaurant here. He felt the time was right.
His daughter, Alice Jun, came to my table the evening I dined at SizzlinGogi in June. She attends college and is home for the summer to help at her dad’s new restaurant.
“We started with Japanese restaurants because it was trending then, especially on the Central Coast. People were getting used to it,” Alice said.
Sang’s first Japanese restaurant was California Sushi and Teriyaki on East Main Street in Santa Maria. He expanded to Nipomo and Lompoc, and has since sold the sushi restaurant in Nipomo.
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“Korean food is now trending. In Southern California it always was, just because they have a high Asian population,” Alice said.
The first thing you notice when you sit down at SizzlinGogi is the built-in gas grill in the center of each table. This is where your meat will be prepared, partially by the professional staff and partially by you with personal stainless steel tongs.
“This is very, very, very close to the way we serve traditional Korean food in Korea, especially when we’re eating meats, because we grill everything at the center of the table,” Alice said.
My entrée was the SizzlinGogi Combo, $55 for two people. It included an abundance of beef brisket, seasoned beef sirloin, marinated boneless beef short ribs, and Chicken Bulgogi. Since the meat is served bite size, it only takes five minutes or so for the beef to be grilled to your liking, and a little longer for chicken or pork.
Once ready to eat, you pick up the barbecued meat with stainless steel chopsticks and dip it in the four different Korean dipping sauces in front of you.
My dining companion, also named Wendy, and I enjoyed all the barbecue choices, but agreed that the spare ribs were exceptional.
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Each meal comes with a dish of steamed egg, a fresh green salad, choice of Korean soup, and an incredibly tasty fried rice and vegetable dish prepared tableside.
What made the dining experience especially unique and exciting were the Korean side dishes called Banchan that arrived at our table as soon as we ordered.
A dozen small square dishes hold portions of pan fried potatoes, pickled radish, macaroni salad, seasoned lotus root, deep-fried tofu, broccoli, and kimchi (fermented cabbage with chili), which is the most popular Banchan in the Korean culture.
The Jun family bent Banchan tradition a bit for the locals.
In Korean restaurants in Los Angeles, side dishes are served family-style. Not here.
“We put them on trays, so that things are more individualized. You have your own tongs, your own sauces, and things like that, because we wanted to adapt it to the Santa Maria people. People here aren’t used to communal eating,” Alice explained.
Korean restaurants also don’t traditionally serve much wine. Diners usually drink Korean beer or liquor with their meal.
“What my family wanted was to do everything that was local. So, because Santa Maria [is] in the middle of wine country, we’re drawing wines from all across the Central Coast and trying to stay local and pairing them with the different Korean foods,” Alice said.
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SizzlinGogi’s wine list includes such local labels as Rusack, Curtis, Rancho Sisquoc, Falcone, and Robert Hall.
There’s also Korean and American beer and Korean cocktails.
When I asked about dessert, manager Peter Jun told me Koreans don’t eat dessert. Not that I had room for anything else—after nearly two hours of eating some of the freshest, healthful, interesting food around.
“Not greasy, very healthy. A lot of people have been noticing that,” Alice said. “My dad’s a very picky eater. He likes his food very ‘clean’ and MSG-free, chemical-free, fresh!”
The Jun family is taking a chance that Santa Maria is ready for a whole new cuisine, prepared in front of their eyes with patrons taking part in the preparation, in an urban-chic environment. And they’re making a concerted effort to appeal to local residents’ habits and preferences.
Who wouldn’t be ready for a gracious, professionally run restaurant that offers a fun new experience and excellent food, which just so happens to add a little more sizzle to our lives?
Alice and Peter have noticed new customers walk in for the first time, unsure of what to expect, “but everyone leaves happy,” Alice said.
“In Santa Maria,” she summed up, “word of mouth is so powerful, so we’re hoping it’s going to bring a lot of people.”
Do you have sizzling story ideas for Sun food and wine writer Wendy Thies Sell? Contact her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 12-19, 2012.