It’s one of the best times of year: summer. For most, this means: pool parties, road trips, ice cold watermelon, and a whole lot of sweating. (Or, if you live in Phoenix like me, this also means Haboobs, scorpion season, & asinine energy bills from your overworked air conditioner.)
Personally, my favorite part about summer (besides heat stroke) is barbecues. There’s just nothing like standing over an open flame with a bunch of meat to take you back to our ancient ancestors’ primeval state, bending over in an abandoned cave preparing some freshly hunted food. In my opinion, there’s not much better out there–burgers, hot dogs, carne asada, ribeyes, grilled fruits & vegetables, etc. The list goes on and on and on.
I recently had the opportunity to live in Salt Lake for a few weeks and work on some TBA projects. While I was in town, I had heard about an up-and-coming restaurant in Utah County from a few friends and that left me really intrigued by their take on the grill-it-your-way approach in Korean culture. I mean, it’s summertime and it’s Korean BBQ. How much better could it get? The thing is: I had no idea just what I was in for.
When we arrived, we were sat at our table and picked a few types of meat to start with. Once the raw, marinated meats were brought to us, we were given a number of sides to accompany our appetites while we waited for the meat to cook. Now keep this in mind as it shouldn’t be taken lightly: there was not a single side that I didn’t love. Oh, and did I mention this is ALL YOU CAN EAT? Because I definitely ate all. I. Could. Eat.
Here’s just a few of my favorite sides: Jeon (Korean Pancake), Japchae (Chilled Glass Noodle Salad), Cucumber Salad, Kimchi, & Potato Dish. My absolute favorite however was the Hurricane Rice.
Slightly sweet sticky rice is fried together with kimchi for an incredible flavor you never knew you’ve been dying to try. In all seriousness, this Hurricane Rice was one of the most memorable things I’ve had to eat in months. (I’m still going to bed every night dreaming about it!) Combine that together with the incredible Beef Short Ribs (again–as many as you can eat) and you’ve got yourself one of the best meals you’ve had in a long time. I could easily spend the rest of my days off a steady diet of E-Ga Short Ribs & Hurricane Rice. So come hungry and come ready to spend the rest of your day in the best post-meal zen you’ve ever had.
Opened in 2017 by Youngsun & Eric Murray in Springville, UT, you can count on E-Ga Korean BBQ as an excellent, unique experience for you and your friends to visit. Add this stop on your list of places to visit ASAP!
For more details, visit https://www.egakoreanbbq.com/.
