Miss Gogi puts its own spin on Korean barbecue

Slanted griddles set this spot apart
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A steak on the grill, along with kimchi, vegetables, cheesy corn, and more

Photograph by Jennifer Zyman.

Atlanta has one of the most vibrant Korean food scenes I’ve ever encountered. Numerous sub-genres of Korean cooking are represented here—tofu houses, bibimbap joints, Korean fried chicken, dumplings, Korean shabu shabu—mostly in Duluth, Suwanee, and beyond. And within Korean barbecue, you’ll find all sorts of different cooking styles, from the inverted cast iron griddles at Honey Pig to charcoal barbecue over shiny grates at 9292.

With the exception of CHAR in Inman Park, new ITP Korean barbecue restaurants are pretty rare, but Doraville newcomer Miss Gogi makes the KBBQ craving easier to satiate if you live intown. Miss Gogi is situated just across the parking lot from the also new Kula Revolving Sushi Bar. The restaurant differs from its competition with its cooking surface. Jade-covered metal griddles are installed at an angle, making it easier for the fat to drain off as it’s rendered from the heat. Meats arrive on platters lined with curly leaf lettuce, and the barbecue accouterments here are also a little different. Rather than just banchan (the small plates you get to accompany your meal at most Korean restaurants), a thick slice of pineapple and sliced kielbasa sausage cut are placed down the center of the grill. A plate of cut corn swimming with cream and shredded cheese, sliced onions and other veggies, and mounds of kimchi line the edge. The cooking surface is oiled with a piece of beef fat that’s skated around the grill with a pair of tongs by your server. As the meat cooks, the server places the cooked pieces on a raised wire rack, although sometimes they don’t let the meat stay on the grill long enough to create the charred, caramelized bits that makes something like marinated short ribs totally crave-worthy.

The finale: kimchi rice

Photograph by Jennifer Zyman.

At the end of the meal (after you’re served a spicy soybean soup), an order of kimchi fried rice is made on the griddle, soaking up all the remaining flavors from what was cooked before it—a tradition at many Korean barbecue restaurants. Once fried, the rice is covered with mozzarella cheese and shredded seaweed. If there was any chance you were still hungry, you’ll be full now.

The restaurant’s owners are friendly and very accommodating, although the stool-like chairs can be a little uncomfortable if you like back support. But solid barbecue and avoiding the long drive to Duluth makes such a small annoyance very easy to overlook. 6035 Peachtree Road, 770-220-3003

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