The Red Pepper, Koreatown

The Red Pepper Korean Restaurant

3012 Wilshire Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90010

On a recent trip to Koreatown, on Wilshire by the old Bullocks-Wilshire building, I decided to be adventurous and try someplace different to eat. Having already paid for parking, and being in a hurry to get back to Ventura, I opted for the Red Pepper, which was across the street from where I was standing.

They had an A from the Health Department, so I figured it would be somewhat safe. I walked in at around 4, after the lunch crowd and before the dinner crowd. There were a few people inside a rather ordinary eating space, watching the World Cup in Spanish. The few people appeared to be Korean, and I don't know who was playing.

The waitress brought over a menu and had a very thick accent that I couldn't quite understand. I didn't know what to order, because I don't think I've ever been to this type of Korean restaurant before, and the waitress, though pleasant, was at best difficult to understand. 

But I was already at a table, so I looked through the menu, eventually settling on the Hot Stone Pot Bibimbap, which was both in my price range and had ingredients that looked somewhat familiar. 

It started with a miso soup, which looked a little weaker than I was used to. The waitress then brought over four small dishes. I asked what they were, and the waitress smiled as she told me, bean sprouts, egg plant, fish cake and kimchi. She didn't explain, however, how I was supposed to use these items. Do I mix them in the hot pot? Eat them on the side? Clean the palate, like with ginger at a sushi place?

Then came the hot pot, which she warned, was really hot. I could hear it sizzling and see the steam, so I had no reason to doubt her. The pot had a large fried egg on top, with rice, beef, sprouts, mushrooms and cucumbers in it. I added some more sprouts, the eggplant and the fish cakes into it, and mixed it all together. I don't know what kind of sauce was in the red bottle, but it added a bit of flavor, so I poured that on too.

I mixed it all together, and then started to eat. It was tasty to my western palate, and I found it to be like a good stir fry. There was some flavor beyond what I was eating, and it mixed together well. I've heard that Korean food can be spicy, but this really wasn't.

I don't know if it was good Korean food or bad Korean food, but it was hot, served quickly, tasted good, seemed reasonably healthy, and was filling enough. At $8.99, it might have been expensive, but I don't really have anything to compare it to.

I would no way make a special trip to the Red Pepper. But if I'm ever parked nearby, I'd not be opposed to eating there again.

What I do want to try now, though, is more of this type of Korean food. I've been to Korean Barbecues, too, and have run into a similar problem-I don't know what to order or how to eat it. I don't know if what I bought was a standard dinner type meal, or like chop suey, something only made here in the US.

I'll have to wait for a Korean restaurant in Ventura.