Cuisine: Korean
Nothing screams authentic like a strip mall. Let alone a chain in a strip mall. But, starting with its somewhat confusing name, SGD still feels like the real deal. Granted, it’s not a hole in the wall known only by locals with a secret Michelin star or anything, but it’s also not an overly fancy or particularly slick experience either. Utilitarian is probably the best way to describe the dining room. You know, nothing flashy or heavily chain-centric to distract from the food. There’s no SGD mascot or theme that somehow ties together their 24 restaurants across the US. At least not at this location.
This was another random trip to satiate Hipster Jr. Jr.’s semi-obsession with Korean food. Well, everything Korean, to be fair. And, let me tell you, I’m hardly complaining. God has created very few “perfect” foods. Pizza, of course. Halal chicken over rice with white and red sauce. Beef Stroganoff. French onion soup. Shrimp scampi. Chicken parm. Okay, there is a pretty long list, but add to this list bibimbap. A delicious explosion of hot and cold, fresh and cooked, meat and veggies, heat and refreshing cool, crunchy and soft all in one bowl. It’s a great mixture of texture and taste without heaviness — and you can pretend you’re being healthy because vegetables!
At SGD they serve their bibimbap two ways: traditional in a bowl or on a hot stone. I was intrigued by the hot stone, so went with that. It was generally a good call, though it’s placed on what is essentially a plate made of stone. Which sounds fine, other than the fact it’s actually kind of tough to eat a plate full of rice, veggies and bulgogi beef off a flat surface. Unless, of course, you don’t mind ending up with a lap full of grub. Because bibimbap is something you kind of mix up and dig through and trying to manage the pile of food is rough when not contained by sides. Also, the bowl version has an awesome egg on top, which is missing from the hot stone version (maybe because you’d end up with scrambled egg). But besides the dexterity challenge and the extra chicken-based protein, the hot stone does do this nice paella thing where the rice at the bottom that touches the stone gets kind of crunchy and adds even more texture and toothiness to an already great experience. I also spent the last 15 minutes of the meal scraping every last grain from the surface because I’m a bottomless heathen.
The other nice thing about bibimbap is that it generally comes with little bowls of other little treats. Pickled veggies and kimchi, radish (I think) and some marinated bean sprouts. Not to mention some of the better miso soup I’ve ever had. While the bibimbap does have taste in and of itself, it’s not complete without the red, gochujang bibimbap sauce. It’s somehow sweet, sour and spicy all at the same time. And it really kicks it up a notch (and makes your nose run if you’re prone to that). And because the beef bulgogi is the same ribeye cut as what you’d find in a cheesesteak, it makes me think that I’m gonna throw some of that stuff on my next cheesesteak and really shift that shiz into high gear. SGD’s version of this classic dish isn’t immaculate in and of itself, but when paired with the pickled stuff and the hot stuff and the snap of the carrots and the chew of the mushrooms, it all just makes for a medley in your mouth. And a hell of a decent deal for all that food for $16.99. Again, it’s not fancy. It’s not gourmet as far as that goes. But it is incredibly satisfying, and the others folks eating their lunch — most of whom were Korean — seemed to be enjoying it right along with us.
240 NJ-10 – East Hanover
973/386-5959
sgdrestaurant.com
