Baroo
Korean restaurant · Historic Core
905 E 2nd St #109, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Highlights
Modern Korean tasting menu with fermentation-forward dishes
Modern Korean tasting menu with fermentation-forward dishes
"Baroo Canteen is (very sadly) now closed. “Call your grandparents.” It’s the urgent rallying cry of teachers, parents, and the night trolls that lived under your bed when you were a kid. They have a point though - grandparents are full of essential life lessons and long-winded stories that ultimately give us a better perspective on things. Also, no one really knows how much longer they’ll be around. Here’s our urgent rallying cry: Go to Baroo Canteen, the tiny Korean-ish food stall inside an East Hollywood swapmeet that’s serving the most exciting new food we’ve eaten all year. It’s also going to be gone before you know it. Baroo Canteen is the second iteration of Baroo, the experimental Korean restaurant that suddenly closed in late 2018 after three years of lines out the door. If you were familiar with that spot, know this - Baroo Canteen is not only an entirely different experience, it’s an even better one. Where the original concentrated on nuanced dishes that relied heavily on fermented vegetables, Canteen serves the kind of hearty, flavorful comfort food that makes everything in the world disappear while you eat it. photo credit: Krystal Thompson Like the kimchi shrimp toast, a perfect balance of sweet and savory and one of the single best bites of food we’ve had this year, or the pastrami fried rice, an objectively soul-saving dish that’s so packed with flavor you’ll be texting a friend or therapist after the first bite. If you’re wondering if they still do fermented vegetables, the answer is yes, and eating red onion and rose out of a Mason jar while the rest of your food is prepared is the only way to begin a meal here. By the time the perfectly-cooked barley with spicy red goddess dressing hits the table - and after you realize you just ate the best Korean fried chicken in existence - it hits you: Baroo Canteen’s menu is far more than just comfort food, it’s a collection of the most unique, complex, and intensely-flavored dishes being served in LA right now. The most expensive thing at Baroo Canteen is $15, meaning you can easily order the entire menu for under $100. If you’re with a few friends, or just got an unexpected class-action lawsuit check in the mail, plan to do that. Because when the food is this across-the-board incredible, you need to be eating all of it. If this all seems too good to be true, it is. The building Baroo Canteen resides in, Union Swapmeet, is reportedly set to be demolished in early 2020. And as you weave your way to Baroo’s back counter (head to the left when you enter the building), that’s already apparent. You’ll pass by shuttered booths and long-standing businesses entering their final days of operation, which adds a certain melancholy to the air. For a brief moment, you’ll probably wonder if you should even be here, but the importance of witnessing the end of an East Hollywood institution speaks for itself. The fact you’ll eat incredible Korean comfort food while you’re there is a fantastic bonus. Food Rundown Kimchi Shrimp Toast We’ve already said this, but it bears repeating - this is one of the best bites of food we’ve had all year. Or maybe any year. This prawn toast is perfectly-deep fried, savory to the point it hurts, and ideally balanced with an avocado and yuzu dipping sauce that comes on the side. photo credit: Krystal Thompson Shiitake Seaweed Shrimp Baroo Canteen’s menu is full of fascinating dishes, but this is easily the most unique. It’s a deep-fried shiitake mushroom stuffed with seafood and shrimp, sitting in a pool of squid ink creme fraiche. There’s a lot going on here, but the umami from the mushroom and sweetness of the shrimp work perfectly together. If you’re with a group, order a few. photo credit: Krystal Thompson Kimchi Singing Spring This reminds us of the kind of dish you’d find at the original Baroo. And by that, we mean it’s a fragrant, complex salad that will make you feel like you’re giving back to your body. photo credit: Krystal Thompson Barley Meets Fire In Bali Compared to some of the other dishes on the menu here, this barley bowl is definitely on the simpler side, but it will also be one of your favorites when it’s all said and done. And it’s all because of the spicy red goddess dressing they put on top. If they sold it by the gallon, we would buy it. photo credit: Krystal Thompson Karma Circulation There is absolutely no reason any bowl of fried chicken should be this good. But we are better people for having eaten it and you will be, too. photo credit: Krystal Thompson International Affairs di Pastrami Aside from sounding like the only government job we’d be interested in, this incredible pastrami fried rice is something you’ll be thinking - and talking - about for weeks afterwards. photo credit: Krystal Thompson" - Brant Cox
"Downtown has no lack of flashy, high-end restaurants jostling to get you to spend a lot of money in one sitting. Baroo is the most exciting one of the bunch. This Korean restaurant first opened in 2015 as a fermentation-focused lunch counter in East Hollywood. Now, they're cooking out of a polished, industrial space in the Arts District that's very Baroo All Grown Up. The only option at dinner is an eight-course tasting menu for $110, designed to be paired with their interesting list of wines and Korean spirits. We do miss the hearty bowls and kimchi toasts of past menus, but dishes at new Baroo—like red-yeast rice squares topped with 'nduja and pichuberry, fried fermented soft-shell crab, and chamoe panna cotta—are just as special as anything at the original." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"LA is filled with tremendous traditional Korean spots, but less common are fine dining spots that add a new perspective to the cuisine. That’s why we’re thankful for Baroo. This upscale spot in the Arts District offers a never-boring,eight-course $110 tasting menu designed to be paired with their interesting list of wines and Korean spirits. Think milky makgeolli and yeast rice squares topped with ‘nduja and pichuberry, seaweed-battered skate wings, and lots of fermented vegetables. The chic, industrial aesthetic helps keep things breezy and casual." - sylvio martins, brant cox, garrett snyder, cathy park
"Married couple Kwang Uh and Mina Park are behind this modern Korean dining room in DTLA. The look is sleek (think concrete floors and black-and-white walls) and the seats to be had are at the chef's counter, where you can watch the team at work.The format is tasting menu only, with options for wine and non-alcoholic pairings. Items may include a nicely seared Hokkaido scallop in a pool of watercress sauce with cubed seaweed jelly and puffed rice. Silky, soy-braised wild black cod is served in the center of a wide-rimmed bowl that is filled with a creamy buttermilk sauce that's poured tableside. Finally, wood sorrel bingsu, shaved to order, is refreshingly tart and a nice contrast to the creamy panna cotta tucked beneath." - Michelin Inspector
"A lot of tasting menus are like TED Talks—a little self-important, prone to dramatic pauses, and marked by a couple of overrehearsed movements. But at Baroo, a Korean tasting menu spot in an understated loft-like space in the Arts District, dinner is more like a lovely handwritten note than a showy speech. Thoughtful and delicious dishes lean more into comfort than novelty, service is relaxed, and there’s enough guidance and backstory to bring the dinner to life without making it feel like a seminar. There are only six courses on the $125 tasting menu, but it’s a lot more substantial than it sounds due to the way Baroo borrows from homestyle Korean bansang traditions (where dishes are meant to be eaten together, not in succession). Most courses arrive with multiple elements meant for mixing, matching, and alternating bites. Though less exciting on their own, each combination clicks together like magnets, like slices of raw fish with gim bugak, a chunk of fried lobster with a bowl of doenjang jjigae, and short rib steak with finely chopped briny white kimchi. There’s also a fantastic vegan menu (available with advance notice) that builds on the bansang idea even further with the ultimate multi-plate banchan spread. Servers might give you a nudge or two on how to pair things, but more often than not, how you eat is (mostly) up to you. Baroo has moved far beyond its early days as a grain bowl counter spot in East Hollywood, but even with a rice wine pairing and a coursed-out menu, the scrappiness hasn’t gone away completely. Which is probably the point. Baroo might qualify as fine dining, but it doesn’t always feel like it—and we mean that as a compliment. Food Rundown Note: Baroo serves a seasonal tasting menu that changes frequently. These dishes are examples of what you can expect. Celeriac Puree, Jokpyeon, Black Sesame Sool Bbang The opening course is a miniature demo on textures: foamy celeriac puree, a slice of jelly-like pork that eats like a savory fruit strip, and a one-biter of mochi-like magkeolli bread. Eating them all in succession is like putting your mouth through a fun obstacle course. photo credit: Cathy Park Jaetbangeo, Aehobak, Jaepi Oil, Sangchu, Gim Bugak A more minimal dish that’s pleasantly refreshing, with glossy slices of raw amberjack, a side of greens, and seaweed crackers that come in strange, coral-like shapes. There’s not much direction on this one, so you can alternate between them or assemble bites freestyle. There’s no wrong way. photo credit: Cathy Park Lobster Tuigim And Lobster Doenjang Your server will suggest you bounce between the two dishes in this course. One is a deeply funky doenjang soup, the other is tempura-esque lobster that tastes like refined lobster funnel cake. The back-and-forth makes each one better: the soup brings out the sweetness in the lobster, and the crispy batter gives your mouth a break from salty bean paste intensity. photo credit: Cathy Park Soy-Braised Black Cod This dish shows up looking like a spa treatment, with the silky fillet of black cod pampered in a soak of coconut-buttermilk sauce. It’s just as soothing to eat, and the hint of gochugaru sends a nice tickle down your throat. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Brandt Beef Short Rib Ssam Baroo's short rib is grilled and sliced like a classic steakhouse cut, which means its a bit plain, but it’s also just plain good. And it’s even better when stacked with not-spicy white kimchi that adds crunch and funk. photo credit: Cathy Park" - Cathy Park
