Wonderful Dolsot Bibimbap at Moccozy

I haven't had Dolsot Bibimbap this satisfying since Kangnam Restaurant closed many years ago. I ordered the kalbi bibimbap and the meat was well marinated, panchan subtly seasoned, and there was a perfect ratio of sesame oil to molten hot bowl so that every other spoonful had crisp bits of burnt rice nurungji. Even the simple panchan dishes were just a step above - savory potatoes were neither overly sweet nor too laden with soy, and there was a refreshing, lovely cauliflower salad with a dressing loaded with finely ground fresh ginger, the kimchee had a perfect amount of shrimp paste, brine, fermentation. I'm so happy to have such a great alternative to the "not nearly hot enough to crisp your rice" dolsot bibimbap options in the city (I haven't tried the dolsot at the Jackson Blvd H-Mart yet but I'm not overly hopeful after eating the jajjangmien).

It's literally a mom and pop operation (except not my parents) and the spot opened in January -- the place is bare bones but the kind demeanor of the owners reminds me of the old Sunshine Cafe. I wish I weren't dining solo as I would have loved to try the soondubu and other dishes but I can't imagine being able to ever order anything other than the bibimbap. I'm quite surprised to find this place in Lakeview and really hope it takes off.

Moccozy
3333 Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
(872) 802-4030
(11am -10 pm, closed Tuesdays)

Thanks for the post -- it's in my hood but haven't gotten there yet (though I've been meaning to). I need to try their dolsot bibimbap before warm weather arrives!

Good to see someone supporting them as well!

Seconding that their hot stone bibimbap(dolsot) is awesome. It is the only bibimbap I've had in Chicago that gets a lot of the crispy rice. Their seafood dolsot is my recommendation.

They have a really simple menu, their fried rice is fragrant and the shrimp version is generous. The tofu stew is also solid.

Another standout is their seafood pancake. Most restaurants are softer with some crisp, but it is excellently crispy here.

The lunch prices are even more generous for their excellent home cooked feel.

I'm smitten with Moccozy, both what's on the table and the gracious charm of the owners. Yes, I recently gushed about Astoria Cafe, I'm 3 for 4 in the last month trying new to me* restaurants.

Crisp bottom dolsot bibimbob, both seafood and galbi, bubbly seafood soondubu, seafood pageon, panchan, a wonderful Brussels sprouts salad and gratis, what they called, Korean egg roll were prepared with care, confidence, skill, served with understated charm and old school hospitality.

In addition to the pictures below I took a short video of sizzling dolsot and bubbling soondubu, which I have no idea how to post to LTH, one can view on my Instagram feed if they are so inclined. ==> Link

Many thanks to Trotsky for the post and by fossilized for the soondubu/seafood pancake suggestion. As a fan of all things crisp, crunchy and delicious Moccozy is right in my wheelhouse. Moccozy Korean has been open three months, our table of three was the only one at lunch, this place needs/deserves some LTH love.








Moccozy Korean, Count me a Fan!

*Wentworth Seafood House, where I followed Louisa Chu's breakfast item lead. # 10 in Chicago best Chinese Dishes

I found a blog post on how to make Haemul Pageon. Have not tried it yet, but it sounds easy and good. She gives some nice back round and different ways to cook in order to achieve different textures. She calls it Haemul Pajeon

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/?s=haemul+pajeon

lougord99 wrote:I found a blog post on how to make Haemul Pageon. Have not tried it yet, but it sounds easy and good. She gives some nice back round and different ways to cook in order to achieve different textures. She calls it Haemul Pajeon

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/?s=haemul+pajeon

Then there's this as well http://www.lthforum.com/2016/03/eun-hes-recipes-boo-chim-kei-korean-seafood-pancake/ but she calls it boo chim kei.

I went and my dolsot bibimbap was incredibly bland. As in, added all of the kimchee, a several generous squirts of all three sauces. Did I just hit them on an off night? (Also, I was surprised there was no egg on it.)

I missed the egg as well and thought it was a bit dry w/o it. The sauces are served on the side allowing you to amp it up as much as you like, so that wasn't an issue. By in large, loved lunch.

I did not find the dolsot bland or dry but I always add a healthy dollop of gochujang and they brought us out, on request, chopped Thai peppers.

We inquired about the egg, never got an egg but they did bring us, as pictured/posted, gratis "Korean egg roll" I wonder if lack of egg on the dolsot is regional or simply not done with dolsot bibimbap. I've had dolsot bibimbap a good number of times, including fairly frequently at the long shuttered San Chae Dol Sot, and don't remember if it was served with an egg on top.

Egg or not, the crispy rice on the bottom of Moccozy's dolsot is enough to make me a regular. As Alan said above, loved lunch.

Jazzfood wrote:I missed the egg as well and thought it was a bit dry w/o it. The sauces are served on the side allowing you to amp it up as much as you like, so that wasn't an issue. By in large, loved lunch.

Did everyone who didn't get a fried egg order kalbi or haemul bibimbap? The fried egg is just the cheapest, easiest protein to put on top of the leftovers in a korean fridge (my mom made bibimbap to clear out panchan when she was making fresh batches), so oftentimes at restaurants, when you order what's considered "superior" proteins like kalbi or seafood, they won't add the fried egg.

You'll always get the egg with a standard bibimbap that has a modest portion of bulgogi. LA kalbi is considered a quality cut so many don't want egg yolk coating and mediating its flavor. My mom would kill me if I took her just grilled, sizzling kalbi and threw an over-easy egg and a 10 second dousing of gojuchang on top because it's supposed to be a "feature" ingredient. She's OK with us mixing leftover meats (always less flavorful and tender when reheated) with whatever and adding it to our bibimbap. But she grew up in the colonial period and the Korean war so she's old school enough that select cuts of meat and seafood are special.

I'm sure you could order the kalbi bimbimbap with a fried egg and they'd be much more pleasant and accommodating than my mom!

trotsky wrote:Did everyone who didn't get a fried egg order kalbi or haemul bibimbap?

Yes.

trotsky wrote:The fried egg is just the cheapest, easiest protein to put on top of the leftovers in a korean fridge (my mom made bibimbap to clear out panchan when she was making fresh batches), so oftentimes at restaurants, when you order what's considered "superior" proteins like kalbi or seafood, they won't add the fried egg.

Really interesting and not something I've considered, thank you for posting the info.

trotsky wrote:You'll always get the egg with a standard bibimbap that has a modest portion of bulgogi. LA kalbi is considered a quality cut so many don't want egg yolk coating and mediating its flavor. My mom would kill me if I took her just grilled, sizzling kalbi and threw an over-easy egg and a 10 second dousing of gojuchang on top because it's supposed to be a "feature" ingredient.

As a fan of Egg-On-Everything this is not something I've considered, once again thank you for the perspective.

Regards,
Gary

We ordered one kalbi and one bulgogi. No egg on either.

I agree with you, trotsky. When the meat is high-quality and flavorful, it should be the star of the dish. Putting an egg on top makes it harder to appreciate the meat's flavor.

chgoeditor wrote:We ordered one kalbi and one bulgogi. No egg on either.

Interesting, I've had dolsot bibimbap here (came with minimal bulgogi) and it had a fried egg, as expected. Was your portion of bulgogi substantial -- maybe there's a bulgogi dolsot bibimbap where there's quite a bit of meat and they omit the standard egg?

Went to Moccozy with high hopes but all six of us left disappointed. The service was very friendly and I wish the owners all the best. But the universal impression was that the prices were high, the portions were small, and, worst of all, the food just wasn't up to snuff. It wasn't bad by any stretch, it was just what I'd stereotypically expect Lakeview Korean food to taste like.

We tried all three appetizers: fried dumplings ($9 for 6), steamed dumplings ($9 for 10), and the haemul pajeon ($14). The dumplings were fine and the pancake had fine flavor but was way too soft.

For the mains, we had the LA Galbi ($20 for maybe 10-12 small pieces), galbi dolsot bibimbob, the shrimp fried rice, jab chae bob, and the soondubu. The soup was definitely the best of the bunch and if I had to go back, that's what I'd order again. It had really good flavor and solid kick of spice, and it was loaded with soft tofu and seafood.

Maybe it was an off night - obviously others on here and Yelp enjoyed it - but I'll be staying further north when looking for my next Korean fix.

Ending on a positive note: The kimchi, one of three panchan, was very good. It was fresh - almost no funk - but really good flavor a nice kick at the end.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:. . . the pancake had fine flavor but was way too soft.

My biggest complaint at many Korean restaurants is that the seafood pancake is cooked too crisp and the seafood thus overcooked. . . I want it soft. The vegetable pancake, on the other hand, I want crisp. I'm not really commenting on your experience and I haven't eaten at Moccozy . . . just a general impression of these two pancakes. But your description actually has me really wanting to try their seafood pancake.

trotsky wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:We ordered one kalbi and one bulgogi. No egg on either.

Interesting, I've had dolsot bibimbap here (came with minimal bulgogi) and it had a fried egg, as expected. Was your portion of bulgogi substantial -- maybe there's a bulgogi dolsot bibimbap where there's quite a bit of meat and they omit the standard egg?

Not particularly substantial.

After reflecting on my experiences eating bibimbap with Korean relatives and doing some online research, I am reconsidering, somewhat, the egg question. I gather that the yellow of an egg in the center has symbolic significance in the arrangement of foods of various colors in the bibimbap bowl. I'm accustomed to bibimbap with hard fried egg but not with a runny yolk, and I personally wouldn't enjoy a runny yolk on top of the beef in my bowl. However, I see that it is sometimes served this way. My impression is that it's more common with dolsot bibimbap for the egg to be placed on the side so it comes into contact with the hot stone and cooks, but this would seem to be counter to the symbolism of having the yellow in the center of the bowl. Anyway, the arrangement and symbolism is all about presentation; once you mix it all up, I guess it's just a matter of whether you want a hard-fried egg or sunny-side-up egg or raw egg or none of the above, or which of the above the chef wants you to have.

Sula, who has spent some time in Korea, was impressed and also gave a nice shout-out to LTH . . .

at chiagoreader.com Mike Sula wrote: But nurungi adds another dimension to the mix, a toasty, chunky crunchiness that takes it to another level. Prepared properly, it's pleasing to all the senses. Usually you can hear it snap, crackle, and pop before you see it leave the kitchen, but when you do it's in a blazing hot stone bowl—a dolsot—that would crush your foot if your server dropped it. Hopefully he doesn't, and when he places it in front of you, its billowing steam fogs your eyes and bathes your face with its perfume. You can get dolsot bibimbap at lots of Korean restaurants, barbecue and otherwise, but the quality of its execution can be just as variable as the bulgogi and galbi can. Haste, sloppiness, and insufficient heat are the enemies of a good nurungi.

It's rare to come across a specialist, so when I hear of one I investigate. Sleuths at LTHForum recently found one in an unlikely place. Moccozy is a small, five-month-old restaurant in Boystown that does dolsot bibimbop extremely well. . .

Korean mom-and-pop Moccozy serves bibimbap and more in their highest form

=R=

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:For the mains, we had the LA Galbi ($20 for maybe 10-12 small pieces), galbi dolsot bibimbob, the shrimp fried rice, jab chae bob, and the soondubu. The soup was definitely the best of the bunch and if I had to go back, that's what I'd order again. It had really good flavor and solid kick of spice, and it was loaded with soft tofu and seafood.

I hope I didn't leave a misleading review by mentioning the kalbi on my dolsot bibimbap, which I appreciated for its rarity (bulgogi and seafood are the standard bibimbop options). In general, ordering grilled meats is best reserved for specialized Korean bbq spots that feature live coal grilling. Those Korean BBQ restaurants have high turnover, fresh meat, and live coals (not gas grills) which are all crucial. So it's generally best to pass on entree meat orders at mom and pop K restaurants like Moccozy and look to home cooking type of offerings. It's standard practice for people to have a fav K spot for bbq, a diff fav for seolongtang, another for soondubu, another for dolsot bibimbap, etc. I feel lucky that Moccozy does dolsotbibimbap and pajeun so well and I look forward to trying the soondubu.

I'm happy to see Sula review Moccozy so favorably -- it popped up on my news feed as did an Eater article. Hope they see an uptick in business, I think they really deserve it.

trotsky wrote:I'm happy to see Sula review Moccozy so favorably -- it popped up on my news feed as did an Eater article. Hope they see an uptick in business, I think they really deserve it.

Had a terrific Monday lunch at Moccozy, though they were not busy in the least. Two of us were there about 2-hours and there were only three other customers.

I asked the owners about the lack of egg on the Dolsot Bibimbob they echoed what trotsky wrote about premium ingredients upthread. They also pointed out that of the four offered dolsots "plain beef" comes with an egg whereas galbi, bulgogi and haemul (seafood) do not. As an aside, the couple who owns Moccozy are incredibly sweet and nice.





Moccozy, Count me a Fan!

Call ahead before attempting to go to Moccozy. It's reported as permanently closed on Google.

Per recently Trib profiled LTH'er Da Beef, it's the result of the landlord's refusal to renew, not lack of business. Perhaps some relocation potential.

I'll wait for an eye witness or original source to finalize on openings/closings page.

bweiny wrote:Call ahead before attempting to go to Moccozy. It's reported as permanently closed on Google.

Per recently Trib profiled LTH'er Da Beef, it's the result of the landlord's refusal to renew, not lack of business. Perhaps some relocation potential.

I'll wait for an eye witness or original source to finalize on openings/closings page.

Critically-acclaimed mom-and-pop Korean restaurant Moccozy has closed after seven months in business at 3333 N. Broadway Street.

https://chicago.eater.com/2018/1/2/1684 ... sures-2018