LTHNLG - Bibim Town - Mundelein - 9/26 - 11:30am

Bibim Town is a small Korean restaurant. Opened in Chicago in 2017. Moved up to Mundelein in 2022. Merle and I ate here earlier this year. Good stuff. Let's see what the LTH North Lunch Group folks have to say about this spot.

Bibim Town
738 Butterfield Rd
Mundelein, Illinois 60060
(847) 246-4003
https://www.bibimtown.com/

Dave148 = Esteemed Coordinator LTH North Lunch Group
Cathy2 = quickest RSVP + 1
Katie
Cynthia
jnm123 = who knows?
LHS
WillG

Hi,

I will be there, too!

This place moved from the city to the suburbs. It is now a short walk for the owners to reach it. That is a gamble to move a restaurant that far from its original location.

Regards,
Cathy2

I'm jealous. Bibim Town was originally around the corner from us. It was a reliable, tasty option for us.

I'll join you. Stopped by today to pick up a menu.

We may have to pass on this one -- too many other dining out events planned for that week.

I'm in. Looking forward to joining you.

I'll be in town but may or may not be able to make it. Game time call.

Jay

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I will be there, too!

This place moved from the city to the suburbs. It is now a short walk for the owners to reach it. That is a gamble to move a restaurant that far from its original location.

Regards,
Cathy2

Another win for suburban ethnic eats, another eatery (maybe) chased away by city government--read the thread on the tip rollback proposed by Mayor Johnson.

Hope Bibim Town succeeds--in the Mundelein area, we are graced with at least two other solid Korean joints, so great bibim bap is never too far away for me!

jnm123 wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I will be there, too!

This place moved from the city to the suburbs. It is now a short walk for the owners to reach it. That is a gamble to move a restaurant that far from its original location.

Regards,
Cathy2

Another win for suburban ethnic eats, another eatery (maybe) chased away by city government--read the thread on the tip rollback proposed by Mayor Johnson.

Hope Bibim Town succeeds--in the Mundelein area, we are graced with at least two other solid Korean joints, so great bibim bap is never too far away for me!

They weren't chased away by city government. They are closer to home. I'm not sure if their lease in Chicago was up but that could be a factor as well.

Please count me in.

Hi,

A Mystery Guest will be with me.

Regards,
Cathy2

Sorry for the late response. I will be there.

Thanks, Will

There's a reservation for us. See y'all tomorrow.

Dave148 wrote:There's a reservation for us. See y'all tomorrow.

I'll be there as well. Count me in.

jnm123 wrote:

Dave148 wrote:There's a reservation for us. See y'all tomorrow.

I'll be there as well. Count me in.

I had that assumption when I made the reservation.

Just returned from the latest luncheon of the North group. Eight of us, chowing on some very good Korean fare. Mandu, ttukbokki, pajeon & tofu teriyaki apps were all on point. And it seemed that people were enjoying-ly slurping their Korean ramen or my bibim rice, served bento box-style with (not too) spicy BBQ pork.

It was fine, kind of bare bones in the tiny storefront, not authentic-looking. But if they put out a quality product, I don't care if it's a shack. Amazingly, there are now three Korean restaurants in Mundelein, and I'd put Bibim Town square in the middle with mom-and-pop Hwang Dae Gham above it and Blue House below. But I've lived in Mundelein for 27 years and back then I'd have killed for any ethnic eatery, of any kind. This is a luxury.

And so is the conversation, consistently, no matter where we are. These are not stupid people communing here, but it's not like we're discussing Descartes on a regular basis. Or conversely, our favorite fart joke. With this group, there are usually 2 or 3 interesting convos going on simultaneously, and sitting in the middle I was going back & forth, sometimes mid-sentence.

We were stating/ruminating how, mainly for the young'ins, between mobile devices & Covid, their capacity or skill to converse with others face-to-face like this is lacking. We may be addicted to our devices as well, but at least we learned how to talk to people before that. And that's why this LTH group is so fun.

Agree with jnm123 that the conversation was delightful and the people interesting -- and I enjoyed the food, as well. Menu is not extensive, but everything is tasty and most items have options for modifying things by adding spice, veg, meat, etc.

In addition to the company and conversation, which is always enjoyable with this group, I enjoyed the food at Bibim Town very much and thought it was very good value for money. All I wanted going in was the "cup bap" version of beef bulgogi on rice, because of a nostalgic longing for it. But I changed my order at the last minute to the "jib bap" version (served in a large bento box) that also included two dumplings, two slices of vegetable pancake (paejon), and vegetables.

It was more than enough food for me, with some to take home, but I am glad we ordered some appetizers to share because I liked them all, even though two (rice cakes in spicy sauce, ddokbokki, and the pan-fried toku in teriyaki sauce) were things I probably never would have ordered on my own. The other two were, of course, dumplings (mandu) and kimchi paejon.

I though the beef bulgogi was delicious and can't wait to go back and get some more. Although those big bowls of ramen looked very good too ...