Oh man...today's lunch was stellar. Once we got the gas burner at our table to cooperate, our intimate group of five did some serious eating. Great conversation too. Top quality meats and panchan along with some assistance by our table hostess to ensure that we were cooking things properly.

There was a clear and blatant attempt by jnm123 to knock me off at the meal. I suspect EddieK had something to do with it.

Thanks again to Cathy2's niece's in-laws for bringing this spot to our attention.

Until next month....I hope.

EC

No pics--I think diverse dancer has some--but even they won't do justice to the quality & quantity of meats that the Kogii Kogii ladies kept bringing out, piled high on plates. A carnivore's delight, at $19.95/per a steal. I'd take the grilled filets, whether it be fatty brisket, bulgogi or whatever else, wrap it in a Romaine leaf & top with crunchy bean sprouts and the sweet/hot Korean go chu jang sauce, and believe me, that was a tactile (and oft repeated) bite not soon to be forgotten. Oh, good call by Will to order the kimchi pancake--perfectly cooked & a very tasty counterpart.

I suppose it was true that I was goading our esteemed coordinator into some dangerous behavior (and maybe I had slipped into a caveman-like meat-based coma by that time) but I ask my fellow minions--isn't it the duty of our Commodore (a la Scientology's L. Ron Hubbard) to take the proverbial bull by the horns and try to fix the wonky grill by sticking his face down near the grate to see what the problem was?

I mean, they're doing wonders with reconstructive facial surgery these days...

Count me a definite fan of Kogii x 2!

First, comparison to BBQ Garden (henceforth BBQG) where I want 9 days before. I went to BBQG as a unassisted novice, so did not know what I was doing or what I should have asked for. Went to Kogii Kogli (henceforth Kogii) with a team of connoisseurs so had their expertise to make correct decisions and requests.

Meat cuts about the same, maybe a bit more tender (too tender?) at Kogii. Both AYCE, so quantities fine. At the end I asked for JUST ONE piece of chicken, but they still brought a full plate (or maybe an almost full plate). Wish the meats (any place) were on a buffet so could take as much or as little as desired. I'd have gone for ONE more piece of sirloin or one tong-full of bulgogi, but not another whole plate. Kogii included sirloin on the $20 AYCE, had to get the more expensive version at BBQG (and their $20 level is only at lunch time). But the more expensive included octopus, squid, and a bunch of other things. Pork had lot more fat at Kogii, but maybe it was just a different cut, or maybe that's good, and it was thicker too (not good in my opinion)

Panchan (?sp) was best at San Soo Kab San (at least most varied) and I think I liked it better at BBQG unless you count the lettuce leaves (don't know if they could have been requested at BBQG) which improved the meats by 40%. Sauces, especially the Korean BBQ sauce was plus at Kogii (again, don't know if could have been requested at BBQG and didn't eat BBQ at San Soo).

Grill itself was cooler (in traditional sense) at Koglii--heavy rectangular cast iron, except every time it was turned off because food ran out or to change grill, it took forever to get it started again. BBQ garden was smaller, round stainless steel, but had a drop down vacuum vent directly overhead which was nice.

Soup was nothing to remember at Kogii, the two soups on the hot bar at BBQG somewhat better but still not memorable.

Kim Chee pancake (aka pizza) was better than any one item on the BBQ Garden "hot bar", but counting all the stuff on it, including sushi, I preferred BBQG hot bar to ordering the one kimchee pancake...and again, don't know if it could have been ordered at BBQG.

We were the furthest table from the kitchen at Kogii, so we ran out of food more than at BBQG where servers were constantly passing by to be hailed, but service was still good.

BBQG included a scoop of ice cream, a nice closer.

I'd go back to either, but if I had a choice, I'd take BBQG at $40 to Kogii at $29 (which is what it would have been if we just rounded up the tip to next whole dollar, as at BBQG)

If anybody with more knowledge and a better memory can identify the meats, I will come back and update this.

--Carey (the diverse dancer)