Williamsburg’s Dokebi is not your typical
32nd Street Korean restaurant. There are no tables of men, with
their ties thrown to the side, gobbling up hundreds of little
dishes. The service is attentive without being fawning, and no
cloud of barbecue smoke lingers in the air.
This is a new kind of Korean restaurant, according to owner Chul
Kim.
"I’m serving authentic food of that country presented differently,"
he says. By "differently" he means that instead of
the $10 serving of low-quality food accompanied by a profusion
of "ban chan" (side dishes) – a typical dinner at any
midtown Manhattan Korean restaurant – there are three to six
small dishes that arrive with the house special barbecue. His
entree servings are large; and with quality ingredients, like
thin slices of Angus beef and beautiful, meaty mushrooms, lots
of little add-ons aren’t necessary.
And "differently" also means not just Korean. Another
Dokebi specialty is "shabu-shabu," a Japanese dish
of raw meat and vegetables simmered in a large pot of boiling
water that is seasoned with pieces of dried kelp, called "kombu."
Both dishes are cooked at the table. The first on a specially
designed, smokeless grill built into the center of the tables
that ring the large room; the soup cooks in a large pot set into
the same base. That smokeless grill (manufactured and installed
at great expense by Kim) means you’ll leave smelling no different
than you did entering the restaurant.
Chul, a former investment banker who opened Dokebi (which means
"devil" in Korean) in November, recruited a few friends
who helped him gut the former social club. The crew spent 14
months ripping down five dropped-ceilings ("it was like
being entombed" he said of the pre-existing dimensions)
to expose 12-foot ceilings and brick walls. Chul designed and
built the handsome, deep red tables and wooden benches and installed
simple, industrial lighting. The result – a big dining room with
an entrance on Grand Street and a bar and lounge that is separated
by a small hallway with an entry onto North First Street – is
more moody urban cafe than the close, smoky, Oriental dens of
midtown.
Downing a shot or two of "soju," a liquor made from
rice that tastes like vodka without the harsh burn, is the best
way to warm up for a meal at Dokebi. There’s a full bar, so sake,
Asian beer and any cocktail is available, too. Among the appetizers,
the "pajun," or scallion pancake, is delectable. The
chefs, Mrs. Lee and Mr. Park (formerly of Don’s Bogam in Manhattan),
fry it up thin, light and crisp-edged, then stud it with tender
pieces of squid, shrimp and scallops.
Crescent-shaped dumplings, "gyoza," were fried golden,
but the pork filling was on the bland side.
If you want to experience a decent salad in an Asian restaurant
– not the ubiquitous wilted iceberg with one-note ginger dressing
– order it here. In a small bowl is a handful of watercress and
a bit of romaine lettuce topped with a few thin slices of radish.
It’s nothing fancy, but the peppery bite of the watercress is
enhanced with a perfectly balanced, lemony carrot dressing brightened
with ginger.
Don’t linger over the appetizers, though. The waitstaff tends
to bring the main dishes while you’re still nibbling on the starters.
We ordered a few different meat entrees to fry on the grill.
Each large serving arrived glistening in their marinades, ready
for the searing heat. The meat is accompanied by another big
platter topped with red leaf lettuce, watercress and a splurge
of fresh mushrooms, each fungus lusciously rich after a short
sit over the heat.
The soft spoken waitress showed us how to place the meat on the
grill; to put the delicate mushrooms on the edges where they’d
cook with less intensity; and finally, to wrap the quickly cooked
morsels in a lettuce leaf, top them with one of the sauces and
a bit of rice, and to eat it as we would a burrito.
My least favorite of the three barbecue dishes that we tried
was the Angus ribeye. It’s a great cut of meat for this kind
of cooking, thanks to its high fat content, but, oddly, not terribly
flavorful. It’s served with a soybean paste sauce that has some
heat – and that helped.
Like the steak, the "kalbi" is made with Angus short
ribs, another fatty cut. It was rich and somewhat spicy thanks
to its chile-enhanced marinade. Most of the grill dishes can
be ordered regular, spicy, or hot. The regular is on the subtle
side, so if you want some heat, order it. The slices of pork
shoulder grilled up tender with just a touch of sweetness.
As we savored our messy, spicy and chewy little rolls, we nibbled
on the side dishes. I’ve had "kimchee," the pickled
cabbage stewed with garlic and chiles, and it nearly blew my
head off. The version here is milder by far. I’m not sure "kimchee"
purists will approve, but I preferred the tamer heat. Good, too,
are the garlic stems (the shoots that protrude from the tops
of the bulbs) in sesame seed oil.
"Shabu-shabu" means "swish-swish" in Japanese,
and that’s what you do – first dropping the mushrooms, tofu and
watercress into the pot of bubbling water to flavor the soup’s
broth, then swish-swishing thin slices of beef with your chopsticks
for a few seconds in the liquid until they’re rare. After that,
you can dip the meat into a soybean sauce with a peanut flavor,
and then again into a mild "ponzu" soy sauce (consisting
of "mirin" rice wine, citrus juice and bonito flakes).
Wonderfully chewy noodles simmer for a minute or two in the now-seasoned
stock, and when they’re ready, the noodles and soup are ladled
into bowls. It’s an interactive experience that’s great for group
dining.
The homemade ice cream Chul purchases from New York Gelato and
Sorbet, a vendor in Williamsburg, is not to be missed. I tried
three of the 12 flavors and they were light and silky with the
taste of the ingredient shining through. The ginger featured
chunky pieces of the crystallized root and left a warm taste
in my mouth; seeds and pieces of jammy fruit made the fig a sensory
pleasure; and green tea had a subtle, nut-like quality that I
loved.
Dokebi is a modernist’s interpretation of the Americanized Korean
restaurant. Chul’s stripped the experience of the honky-tonk
associated with garment industry places, leaving just the best:
great ingredients, fresh sauces and sides that don’t slam your
palate with heat, and a casual room in which to enjoy it.
Dokebi (199 Grand St. between Bedford
and Driggs avenues in Williamsburg) accepts American Express,
MasterCard and Visa. Entrees: $9-$20. The restaurant serves lunch
and dinner daily. For reservations for six or more diners, call
(718) 782-1424.
