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Banchan, bibimbap and bendy straws

Paying attention to details in a Convoy Korean joint

Seriously, it's hot.
Seriously, it's hot.
Place

Friend's House Korean

4647 Convoy Street #101A, San Diego

From the outside, there's not a lot to distinguish Friend's House from the many restaurants lining Convoy Street. It sits at the end of a shopping center, touting photos of dinner specials on a poorly printed ad banner while promising superior Korean BBQ. You know, the usual.

Typical storefront.

But the inside tells a different story. A few sheets of plywood and some corrugated metal roofing frame the restaurant's interior, giving it a real shanty feel. Which doesn't sound like much, but it's actually kind of impressive what they've done with a quick trip to Home Depot. Throw in some culture-appropriate tchotchkes, camping lanterns and a room length mirror, and you've got yourself a unique decorative theme built more on elbow grease than design savvy.

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I ordered the dolsot bibimbap – a hot stone bowl of rice, beef and vegetables – but if I'm being honest, I was really in this for the banchan. The small side plates come gratis, of course, but you've got to order something from the menu to get them. Today they consisted of broccoli, potatoes, fish cakes, two kinds of bean sprout and, of course, kimchi. I took to them so quickly, it took a moment to realize I was eating with metal chopsticks. I've eaten with wood, plastic and enamel, but never metal, so I had to geek out for a moment how light and easy they were to grip.

Little things can make a difference.

My bibimbap showed up right on top of the banchan, so I couldn't linger over every spiced vegetable they way I'd have liked. That stone bowl shows up hot enough to burn rice, and I like to stir mine up before it gets too crunchy at the bottom. Still, before I mixed it all together and poured on the Sriracha, I did notice the egg on top was covered by a green spice blend.

I really don't have the patience for hot bowls. The spice blend had a novel flavor that I apparently thought I might be able to pick out if I kept shoveling the still-too-hot dish into my mouth. Fortunately, I had ordered an iced coke, delivered in a thick branded glass with a bendy straw. I guess you could say I was about as satisfied as I might ever be with a burnt tongue.

Moreso, I felt a long way from the heavily trafficked streets of Kearney Mesa at that moment, and almost looked for that signpost from M*ASH that tells you the distance to Burbank, Seoul and Decatur. Not because the place felt like some made-for-TV version of Korea, but because I'm pretty sure you could make one pretty easily with a couple of tools and a buck's worth of nails.

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Seriously, it's hot.
Seriously, it's hot.
Place

Friend's House Korean

4647 Convoy Street #101A, San Diego

From the outside, there's not a lot to distinguish Friend's House from the many restaurants lining Convoy Street. It sits at the end of a shopping center, touting photos of dinner specials on a poorly printed ad banner while promising superior Korean BBQ. You know, the usual.

Typical storefront.

But the inside tells a different story. A few sheets of plywood and some corrugated metal roofing frame the restaurant's interior, giving it a real shanty feel. Which doesn't sound like much, but it's actually kind of impressive what they've done with a quick trip to Home Depot. Throw in some culture-appropriate tchotchkes, camping lanterns and a room length mirror, and you've got yourself a unique decorative theme built more on elbow grease than design savvy.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I ordered the dolsot bibimbap – a hot stone bowl of rice, beef and vegetables – but if I'm being honest, I was really in this for the banchan. The small side plates come gratis, of course, but you've got to order something from the menu to get them. Today they consisted of broccoli, potatoes, fish cakes, two kinds of bean sprout and, of course, kimchi. I took to them so quickly, it took a moment to realize I was eating with metal chopsticks. I've eaten with wood, plastic and enamel, but never metal, so I had to geek out for a moment how light and easy they were to grip.

Little things can make a difference.

My bibimbap showed up right on top of the banchan, so I couldn't linger over every spiced vegetable they way I'd have liked. That stone bowl shows up hot enough to burn rice, and I like to stir mine up before it gets too crunchy at the bottom. Still, before I mixed it all together and poured on the Sriracha, I did notice the egg on top was covered by a green spice blend.

I really don't have the patience for hot bowls. The spice blend had a novel flavor that I apparently thought I might be able to pick out if I kept shoveling the still-too-hot dish into my mouth. Fortunately, I had ordered an iced coke, delivered in a thick branded glass with a bendy straw. I guess you could say I was about as satisfied as I might ever be with a burnt tongue.

Moreso, I felt a long way from the heavily trafficked streets of Kearney Mesa at that moment, and almost looked for that signpost from M*ASH that tells you the distance to Burbank, Seoul and Decatur. Not because the place felt like some made-for-TV version of Korea, but because I'm pretty sure you could make one pretty easily with a couple of tools and a buck's worth of nails.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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