A few weeks ago I went through a crummy break up and the timing was so inconvenient. Not that there’s a good time for a break up, but if I could schedule it, it would happen on a different day. Why? Because my new found single life just happened to land on the day I was set to check out a new restaurant. My options were to either reschedule the restaurant review and watch Sex in the City in bed all day, or suck it up and go the restaurant. I thought about it, hopped out of bed, and drove to the restaurant. Sorry Carrie, but I love food more than I love your foreseeable relationship drama. After about 30 minutes on the road, I made it to my foodie destination: gochew in DTLA.
I was invited to dine at gochew by the owner, Victor Choi. I was excited to meet him, try out the food, and distract myself from real life for at least an hour. The first impression of the restaurant is, it’s not in the best neighborhood, but it’s also not the worst. It sits south of USC and west of central Downtown LA. If you live on the trepid side of life, you may want to hit up gochew with a friend. Don’t have any friends? Then go during the day, you loner. The restaurant is next to a car repair shop, has both indoor and outdoor seating, and has a check cashing place on the interior. It’s weird, but then again, that’s parts of Downtown LA. I was there for the food, so I got over the layout really quickly.
Victor is the sweetest guy. He’s 25 years-old, is conversational in Spanish, has a restaurant in Philadelphia, first-hand experience in consumer behavior, and maintains a great attitude and smile at work. Basically, he made me question what the hell am I doing with my life. I wanted to hate him and his early onset success, but he was just so damn nice! After scoping out the location and taking shots, Victor and I sat down while we waited for the first dish to arrive. Victor told me everything about gochew and its purpose in Downtown LA.
gochew is bringing Korean street food to Angeleno’s through appetizers and entrees of bowls, plates, udon, and ramen. If you want something really special, I suggest the udon. Victor explained that the udon takes 4 hours to make and is made fresh every day. It’s packed with 15 different veggies, 10 non-veggie ingredients, 1 secret ingredient, and is clear of msg. My eyes widened with excitement because I had to have it! I got the Shrimp Tempura Udon ($7.99). The display of the udon was gorgeous and colorful. It had a large shrimp tempura, flour noodles, carrots, broccoli, radish, mushrooms, dry seweed, kelp, Korean watercress, and so much more. The udon was made in such a way that the broth alone could have been a strong dish and the veggies were compelling as well. The broth was extremely smooth with a hint of spiciness. It’s pretty remarkable how this jam packed bowl is, while being priced so low.
Next up was the Veggie Tempura ($4.99). It was comprised of sweet potatoes, carrots, and string beans made in 100% pure veggie oil. I understood going into this that no meat would come with this dish, but was still a bit skeptical. After the first bite of the sweet potato tempura, I contemplated vegetarianism. It was a short thought, but it did cross my mind. I loved the dish. It was so light and the sauce it was paired with made it easy the devour it all.
The final dish was the Marinated Beef Bowl ($6.49). Thin slices of beef were placed on top of a bowl of rice with a bed of veggies. It was an easy eat, that (despite the size) didn’t leave me feeling weighed down. Thank-you, Jesus!
gochew is an easy choice when you’re hungry because the food is great, the employees are sweet, and the price won’t cause your bank account to go into overdraft. The only thing I would like to change is the location. If it was in the heart of Downtown, or even closer to USC I think the place could be diabolical. But when I take into consideration Victor’s determination and tenacity, I’m optimistic that gochew won’t be hindered by its street address. Hell, I’ll probably go back for more udon next week. I’ll happily eat it as I watch Carrie spend her rent money on shoes, again.
Seriously, how is she not homeless yet?
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Address: 3670 Broadway Place, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Phone: (323) 232-4646
Hours: Monday to Saturday – 11:00am to 3:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm; Closed Sunday.
Social: Yelp
