New Korean Barbecue Restaurant Jeong Yuk Jeom Opens in New York City | Eater NY
"Opening in Koreatown at 44 West 32nd Street, Unit 2, near Broadway on Thursday, February 6, this two-story, high-end Korean barbecue—whose name is Korean for “butcher shop”—is positioning itself around dry-aged beef and fancier cuts for DIY grilling. Menu highlights include prime-grade and dry-aged options such as large dry-aged tomahawk steaks ($280), prime boneless short ribs ($65), and aged prime tenderloins ($66); the Butcher’s Pride meat package with varying levels of beef selections and banchan from $149 to $279; as well as a la carte options (which expand into $45 pork cuts like belly and collar). Beyond barbecue there are seasoned beef tendons, dumplings, beef tartare in sushi and bibimbap formats, cold noodles, soups and stews, and vegan meats made using Korean brand Unlimeat; drinks span wines, soju, rice wines, beers, spirits, cocktails, and boozy slushies. The two-story space is sizable—2,000 square feet with 32 seats on the first floor and 4,000 square feet with 143 seats on the second floor, which also includes a semi-private dining room—and an LED-ceilinged staircase connects the floors. Co-owners and brothers Jaeyong and Andrew Son opened the original in Los Angeles in 2018; this is their second overall location. As Bill Addison wrote, “Dry-aged meats have been inching into the Korean barbecue lexicon across the nation lately,” and he added, “When the charcoal is white-hot, the pleasure of quality beef is obvious,” characterizing the restaurant as “a fine, stunningly designed addition to Ktown’s meat palaces.” Through a spokesperson the brothers said, “expanding to NYC, another major food capital, makes sense to further grow the brand,” and they picked Koreatown because while “the Korean barbecue scene in NYC is strong,” there is still “always room for high-quality, authentic, and premium options.” The brothers previously opened the Queens location of Baekjeong and trained staff of the Manhattan one, which became one of Koreatown’s most essential Korean barbecue options until it closed; they are no longer a part of that restaurant, which is in the works to reopen in Manhattan." - Nadia Chaudhury
