Fine traditional Korean food at a fair price. They have the best Korean ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang) in New Jersey

PalkagJung is a traditional Korean restaurant with a very diverse offering. They provide a generous amount of Korean side dishes (Banchan) and their services is attentive and friendly. They’re best known for their authentic Korean ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang), which is the best I’ve had in all of New Jersey. This soup is composed of a whole chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng, garlic cloves, daechus, and number of other herbs. It’s traditionally served in the summer for its supposed nutrients, but I’ve had it in the winter and it think it’s just as good, if not better.

In addition to their amazing chicken soup, I also recommend any of their hot bibimbap dishes on stone plates and tofu soups in stone pots. There ingredients are very fresh and any of those dishes wont disappoint. If you’re looking for Korean BBQ, they also have that here. It’s not great, but decent. There’s no permanent grill at the table, they bring out portables ones for you.

Korean Side Dishes (Banchan) – Free w/ Meal

Octopus Bibimbap – $13.99

Chicken marinated and flame broiled to perfection, decent burritos and tacos, and always fresh salsas

El Pollo Loco, which translates to “The Crazy Chicken“ is mostly a west coast restaurant chain with new locations recently popping up on the east. They specializes in flame-grilling marinated chicken and is regarded as a healthier alternative to traditional fast food chains. They have over 300 restaurants across the country, I visited their newly open location in North Bergen, New Jersey.

I had their BBQ Slider sandwich ($1-1.50) and eight piece special ($6.99), which includes wings, thighs, and drumsticks. Their slider sandwiches are decent, cheap, and incredibly small; you can literally finish it in less than 2 bites. Their flame-grilled chicken is exceptionally good, the skin is crispy and the meat has good herbal flavoring. Their chicken is also not as greasy as your average chicken fast food chain (ie. KFC). You can purchase meals in 2, 3, 4, 8, 12 piece sets. All meals come with sides (there’s 8 to choose from) and a drink.

In addition to chicken, they also serve burritos, bowls, tacos, and a few specialties. I tried their Bean, Rice and Cheese Burrito (BRC) ($1.69) and there’s no comparison to Toco Bell and the like, they use solid pinto beans and real Spanish rice instead of that mushy refried junk you see in fast food chains. Their Toco al Carbon ($1), which is a chicken taco with diced cilantro and onions is also good, but is extremely small portioned. There fresh salsa bar is also a crowd favorite and it includes toppings such as avocado salsa and guacamole, which is free to all customers.

Overall, I recommend the majority of El Pollo Loco’s offerings, especially their flame-boiled chicken. They’re not the best I’ve had, but at their prices you’re definitely getting a value meal (good quality and descent portions at a fair price).

Store Front

The Kitchen

Salsa Bar

8pc Chicken Meal (Legs & Thighs) – $6.99

BBQ Slider – $0.99

Their food is decent, but what keeps me coming back is their attentive service.

Hong Ga Meun Ok Restaurant is a new Korean Restaurant on Columbia Avenue in Palisades Pak, NJ. They offer the round-of-the-mill Korean dishes, but specialize in Korean BBQ. The restaurant is broken up into two sections with a common area in the middle, one half is dedicated for BBQ and the other is for BBQ and non BBQ customers. This review is based solely on their non BBQ dishes, there will be a separate review for their BBQ offerings at a later date.

During my visit to Hong Ga Meun Ok Restaurant I tired their spicy rice noodle (duk bok ki), Korean roll (gimbap), fried pork cutlet, steamed pork dumplings and season beef rice stone pot (bulgogi bibimbap). None of those dishes are particularly special and compared to the vast Korean offerings in the Palisades Park area, they’re average at best . What I found particularly refreshing about Hong Ga Meun Ok was not their food, but their customer service. They’re very attentive and they go out of their way to make customers fell welcome. I was provided with a complementary dish because they felt that my bibimbap was not served prompt enough, which really wasn’t the case. The majority of their customers are Korean (I think 95%), thus they don’t even have a english menu but the waiter was patient enough to slowly explain the entire menu to me. I was told that they’re in the process of creating a english menu, but until that’s available it may be difficult for patrons that are unfamiliar with Korean food to order (even with a waiter translating the menu). The store front is also entirely in Korean (see image below), so unless you can read Korean get acquainted with the address and/or the image of their store front below.

Overall, Hong Ga Meun Ok has decent food, nothing mind blowing, but worth visiting because of their wonderful service.

Fried Pork Cutlet – $13.99

Steam Dumpling

Korean Roll (Gimbap) + Spicy rice Noodle (duk bok ki) Combo – $9.99

Tospia is a South Korean franchise that recently opened a US branch on Broad Avenue in Palisades Park, NJ. They specialize in press sandwiches that are made using their custom press machine. All sandwiches are made to order and are served hot and toasty. My favorite are their bulgogi, pizza and chicken teriyaki sandwiches. In addition to sandwiches they also serve korean bread and pastries, ice cream, fresh fruit juices, bubble tea and Douwe Egberts coffee. Their fruit juices are decent, but everything else is very sub-par, I would only revisit for their sandwiches. Their service is very friendly and they do take credit (Visa or Matercard), but there’s no lot so be prepared look for street parking.

Bulgogi Sandwich (Seasoned Beef) – $4.50

Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich – $4.00

Pizza Sandwich – $3.50

The Big Red Tomato (BRT) has the best Italian food I’ve ever had in New Jersey. There’s nothing fancy about BRT, they’re simply a casual family-style Italian restaurant that serves dam good food. Their pastas are always perfect, their pizzas are great for the kids and the free garlic knots are always a great starter. They have great friendly service, their prices are reasonable and on top of that they’re BYOB. It does however, get busy during dinner and there’s usually a wait, but it’s worth it. They don’t have a parking lot and street parking near the restaurant is limited, so you might have to circle for a bit. I really like their pastas and recommend everyone try the Linguni Mariano and the Spaghetti Capacha.

Linguini Mariano (chicken, broccoli, mushrooms and pimentos sauteed in a light cream sauce) – $11.95

Shrimp Special of Day – $18

Sauteed Broccoli Rebe – $5.25

Yokohama St. Honore is a Japanese bakery that can be found next to Italian Tomato in the New Jersey Mitsuwa Marketplace. It specialize in Japanese style bread and pastries, but is best known for their Kyoto Bologne, a danish-style bread made by layering dough and baked in a loaf pan. You have to be quick to snag one, they usually sell out in a matter of minutes. There’s also a good variety of Japanese buns and sandwiches to choose from, I like their curry croquette bun ($1.6) and
raisin ball ($1.5).

Overall, St. Honore is a great place to grab fresh Japanese bread or pastries. Do remember to bring cash, they don’t accept credit cards.

Curry Croquette Bun – $1.6

Katsuhana is tucked in the food court section of the Mitsuwa Marketplace. They offer a good variety of katsu at decent prices. The majority of their sets come with miso soup, tofu, Japanese pickles, shredded cabbage, rice and fruits/ jello dessert. My usual at Katsuhana is their berkshire pork tender loin cutlet set, which goes for $7.50. Their portions are fair and it’s the closest to authentic katsu I’ve found in New Jersey. Remember to bring CASH, they don’t accept credit here.

Berkshire Pork Tender Loin Cutlet Set – $7.50

Realistic replicas of items on their menu

Santoka is well known for its ramen shops in Japan, where they have dozens of locations. Outside of Japan they have only seven, six in the States (one in New Jersey) and the remainder in Hong Kong (Causeway Bay). They’re famous for their delicious ramen noodles in a full-flavor soup. When it comes to ramen, the soup is just as important as the noodles and Santoka has them both. Their noodles are fresh and their soup is amazingly good. They have three serving sizes (small, regular and large) and four soup bases (salt, miso, spicy miso and soy sauces) to choose from. My favorite is the shio (salt) and if your like me who likes an egg with my ramen, I recommend getting the set. For additional $2 you get an egg and your choice of side rice. You can find Santoka in the food court section of the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, NJ. Be prepared to wait on line, this place has a huge following and gets really busy on the weekends. In like-Japanese fashion, Santoka only accepts cash so don’t bank on using the plastic here. Overall, Santoka is great place for ramen, probably the best in New Jersey, but Ippudo is still the best I’ve ever had in the US.

Realistic replicas of items on their menu

Their menu as of April 16, 2009

Shio and Shoyu Ramen set

School Zone is a fairly a new self-service diner in New Jersey with two locations, one in Palisades Park and the other in Fort Lee. They serve Korean style cafeteria food, which is nothing like the cafeteria food in the States. You can order dishes like ramen, spicy rice cake, pork cutlet, fried rice, curry rice, and rolls. There’s a good variety to choose from, the portions are fair and soup is always free. They attracts a lot of youngsters, but don’t be fooled in thinking this place is only for kids, it’s for everyone. Their food is decent, their prices are acceptable and you have the option to can eat-in or takeout. They also have a self-service frozen yogurt counter that’s similar to 16 Handles, only with a lot less favors. I recommend their mango frozen yogurt, it’s my favorite of the bunch. I’ve been to both of their locations and I prefer their Palisades Park branch because there are more seats and it’s often less crowded. Overall, I think School Zone is a good place for a quick no-frills Korean meal.

Front Counter

Free soup (fish cake is an addition $1.50)

Spicy rice cake with sauce $7.95

Ramen with seafood $7.00

Pork cutlet $8.75

Frozen Yogurt Station

Toppings Table

2 Bros Pizza is a dirt cheap New York City Pizzeria. They have three branches, two in the City (St. Marks, 17 & 6th Ave) and one in New Jersey (Woodcliff Lake). I’ve only been to their 6th Ave branch and it’s always filled with customers. Their $1 a slice and $2.75 two slices and a soda combo is incredibly cheap. The quality isn’t bad either, slices are made fresh and served sizzling hot. It’s not the best, but definitely one of the better slices I’ve had in the City. They also have a host of other offerings like fried chicken, french fries, and soup that are also recession friendly ($1-2.5), but I don’t recommend trying anything other than their pizza. The chicken looks really dry and the soups are less frequently sold and are usually sitting out for long periods of time.