TJFLR – Bibimbap Bowl – Fine If You’ve Never Had BBB

Trader Joe’s is admirably taking on the task of mass-marketing niche ethnic foods for the middle class market of captive desk lunchers. Unfortunately, they are doing so with a supply chain that does not seem to cross streams at all with the ethnic foods they are trying to mimic.

Mimic is probably the right word to describe TJ’s frozen Bibimbap Bowl. Ubiquitous at Korean restaurants, every family has their own spin on BBB since you can throw almost any veg in it. Correction: any KOREAN-seasoned veggies. TJ’s version tastes like someone had read about BBB in an old book, was trapped in a Midwest grocery store, and this was their best effort considering they had never tasted gochujang.

Chego East – Good News: Nothing’s Changed!

My tears have finally dried from the closing of Chego West. Good to his word, Roy Choi has moved everything east to the Far East Plaza in Chinatown and got up and running quick. This picture shows probably the biggest change (other than location): picnic tables and outdoor seating.

Chego Update – the King is Dead, Long Live the King

The news is bad this week — Roy Choi confirms that Chego is closing. The good news is that they will be reopening Chego in Chinatown, a strange choice for Choi’s Culver City/Palms-based mini-empire. I guess I was lied to by a Chego staffer I was wrong about Chego staying open in Palms.

Chego Erratum – Staying in West LA

I had previously posted that Chego is moving to Chinatown, but I was wrong. I took the opportunity to hit up the Chego truck and learned that Roy Choi’s fusion bibimbap place is growing into two. The Palms branch will remain, which makes sense as Roy uses it as a prep zone for his fleet of Kogi trucks. No word on when the Chinatown branch will rise.

Chego – More Pictures of Pre-Lapsarian Chego

Terrible rumor yesterday that Chego is moving to Chinatown. I don’t think it’s confirmed yet, so no need to panic until Choi bowls are no longer available on the Westside. But I’m taking the occasion to post some old photos of Chego before they closed down the storefront for “renovations.”

This could be the saddest closure since the Spice Table’s lunch service.

Chego Means the Best

Let’s get this out of the way: Chego is my favorite thing to eat in LA right now.

If you haven’t already dismissed me as a fraud, let me elaborate. I’ve eaten a lot of bibimbap in my life, most of it at home. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say I’ve eaten a couple hundred BBBs that were all roughly the same: white rice, bulgogi, sautéed spinach, bean sprouts, red chile paste, and of course the fried egg. Delicious. I went to Korea a few years ago and had probably half a dozen BBBs in a week, from probably the best I’ve ever had (in Daejeon) to one of the worst I’ve had (in the airport). But almost all of them were decorated with the same set of crayons.