"Located in the former Tokki space in Koreatown is Danbi, a modern Korean spot that doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor. This small plates restaurant from the Liu’s Cafe people has a short menu with upscale options, like a flower-studded uni bibimbap and wagyu steaks, but the ambiance is still casual. Show up here with a few friends to split creative spins on classic Korean dishes and drink good soju cocktails before a night out. Apart from a singular crudo and the bar’s chilled cocktails, most things at Danbi are on the heavier side, though delicious, nonetheless: paper-thin pork jowl that you eat as little wraps with slivers of Korean pear, a rich beef tartare that’s even richer once you mix in bone marrow and yolk, and—the best dish we tried—a savory bay scallop pancake dipped in tangy mentaiko aioli. Just make sure to ask the staff to course out your meal. Our small plates arrived all at once, which meant rushing to tackle the pork jowl and pancake before they got cold. Food Rundown Cocktails The cocktail menu at Danbi features soju and...more soju. Each drink offers a different experience, though, from the barley soju that tastes like someone poured whiskey into barley water to the nutty Sesame Street with black sesame that we’d have for dessert. Sliced Pork Jowl These fatty slivers are delicate, like pork snowflakes. (Plus, they don’t keep very long.) If you let them go cold, they’ll turn into pork jelly, but if you enjoy them hot, they’ll melt on your tongue. Use them to make little wraps with the sides of sweet pear and spicy sauce. Tartare On its own, this beef tartare is well seasoned: a little sweet, a bit of sesame flavor, and a yolk to mix in. But the side of bone marrow that’s supposed to be mixed in is overkill and makes everything too rich (unless you get the add-on bibimbap to add rice into the equation). Scallop Pancake This is a big and filling seafood pancake, so only order if you’re with a group. We appreciate the crispy edges, soft interior, and sweet baby scallops in every bite. The mentaiko sauce on the side adds that salty, tangy flavor you want with fried food. Uni Bibimbap Like the tartare, the flavors in this ornate bibimbap are good but rich. We were good after two bits of uni and yolk. Banana Milk Cloud Banana people will like this very banan-y dessert. And if you’re not a banana person, you won’t be swayed. The best part is the banana-flavored creme anglaise poured over the torched meringue." - Sylvio Martins
