Dannie C.
Yelp
Right out of the gate, 5 stars for the food. The Korean Dog is singularly the best hot dog I've ever had! Cheesy, Spicy, Savory... all with an amazing hot dog with a perfect snap underneath it all! We also had a selection of taiyaki. Generally, I'm not a fan of these because I've had bad experiences with red bean paste... but here...oh, an amazing array of non-traditional stuffings from cheese to oreo to reeses...WOW! Hands down the food here is the star and the man grinding it out in the back is killing it! Fantastic job well done!
I usually incorporate service into my final rating for a restaurant. However, with the industry aflame with labor issues, demand being at an all-time high, especially with a hot new restaurant and just seasonal fervor... I'm going to relax my usual practice because the food was that amazing, and I'm certain that Yelps' recommendation of this restaurant as a Hot and Upcoming (how I found out about it) drove new business into a restaurant that was already struggling with keeping up.
This place popped up a few days ago, and being that my family is half Korean, and I've spent some time eating street food in Seoul... we are always interested in various takes on Korean Street Food. We had a very full calendar that day and it was getting late but when I realized we were passing through this area, I knew we just had to stop by for a late snack. However, we walked into an issue being had between a Grub Hub driver and the young man working the window. Then we were told that the only way we could order was if we did it online. I'm sorry, but I don't understand the online ordering craze...I mean I understand not wanting to leave my house and having food delivered... but why? All you get is barely warm, soggy food instead of hot and crispy food the way the chef/cook intended it to be eaten... and the business suffers because all of the 3rd party delivery groups take a cut of the profits.
Now, I'm not familiar with all of the various apps because of this, and I'm being told that despite a fully capable body at the window that you want to give preference to this system? A system that takes money out of your pocket? A system that I am trying to buck by actually coming to your business because I want a better quality product. I'm not taking it home, I am eating it in my car because I want it hot and fresh.
Despite the fact that you could have taken my order in less than 2-3 minutes, we acquiesced and tried to order twice...on two different phones (that is 4 times we tried)... and failed, partly due to our ignorance and partly due to a crappy cell signal that would not allow us to submit the order before timing out. After 10 minutes of standing in the cold and failing at submitting our order, my party was ready to give up and just go elsewhere... but I really wanted to try the food and in an act of desperation, I knocked on the window and asked for them to just take my order. It may have come off as aggressive but my intention was to double check and see if they wanted our business before we left. If i had left, there was little chance i would have come back. The guy at the window took our order in less than 3 minutes... we were given a buzzer and sent back to the warm confines of our car. Easy solution, and the business owner keeps more of his profit, and I don't have a coronary over having to use an app to order.
Now, I realize that Grubhub, Doordash, and others saved the restaurant industry during covid... but we are past that now and as much as there will always be people relying on those services...a customer at your window is akin to having a bird in the hand, being worth two in the bush. I've already braved traffic and cold weather to get here... I'm not asking to get put ahead of everyone that has already ordered from their couch but at least take my order because I will better appreciate hot and fresh better than the guy who knows degradation will happen because it spends 20 minutes in a strangers car.
Thank you for taking care of us and making it right. Thank you for amazing food. We will definitely be back next time we are in the area.