New eateries blend US, Korean palates
When you walk through the doors of Vatos, a four-month-old restaurant in Itaewon, you would be forgiven if you mistook the scene for something out of Austin, Texas: a welcoming interior of steel and burnished wood, servers that check up on you with a friendly ease, and most importantly, grilled galbi topped with a sweet ssamjang aioli and cabbage slaw wrapped in a freshly made tortilla.
Vatos introduces the Korean taco -- an idea that started with the Kogi truck in Los Angeles and spawned a national food obsession with spin-offs in every major U.S. city -- to Koreans.
"When you think about it, the taco is a very natural food to a Korean," Jonathan Kim, one of the co-owners of Vatos, said. "You're essentially wrapping and eating a piece of grilled meat, vegetables, and sauce -- just replace the lettuce with a tortilla."
Kim, who spent much of his formative years in Texas, partnered with Kenny Park, a native of Palos Verdes, a city a half hour drive from Los Angeles, to open a restaurant that would try to fill the void of "good Mexican food" in Seoul. Each plays to the other'
Mar 26, 2012