"It’s all about the fried chicken, with or without sweet chile sauce, at this jumping strip-mall joint. Except when it’s about the Army soup (budae jjigae), a sort of culinary and cultural kitchen-sink concoction with sausage and other meats, dumplings, noodles, and more. Or the tteokbokki, also mixed with dumplings and noodles as well as fishcakes, hard-boiled eggs, and veggies galore. Or the popular drinking snack called corn cheese, which is just what it sounds like. Of course it’s about soju, too, especially as the night wears on. Whether or not all that’s funny, it’s certainly a plus." - Ruth Tobias