B-Won serves up perfect Korean food
For foodies, a destination city is usually one that has a Chinatown. For ultra-foodies, it's now a city that has a Koreatown. New York's Koreatown is on 32nd Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway. In Chicago, it's the Albany Park neighborhood on the north side. Does Champaign have a Koreatown? Well, not exactly. Perhaps if they moved all the Korean groceries (Green Onion, Lee's, Am-ko) and all the Korean restaurants (Miko, Kofusion, Woori Jib, Good Fella, B-Won, A-Ri-Rang, Sushi Avenue) into one neighborhood, then we might qualify.
But is Korean the new Chinese? In Champaign, it sure seems like it.
Of all the local Korean restaurants, the one that has impressed me the most is B-Won. This elegantly decorated and airy restaurant located on a strip mall has the most diverse menu and what seems to me, the most authentic food. On any given day, the dining room is always full of happy Korean diners, which should tell you something.
B-Won has all the popular Korean dishes — Bul Go Gui (marinated steak), Chap Chae (sweet potato noodles), Soon Doo Boo (tofu soup) — each dish has enough variations on the menu to please just about any palette. But when I see octopus, tripe, tongue and beef tail on the menu, my foodie antenna instantly goes up.
On a recent visit, we ordered the Stir-fried Octopus which was stir fried with their delicious spicy house sauce, cabbage, carrots, mushroom, onion, pepper, scallion and squash. The octopus was tender and the flavors of the sauce blended perfectly all the other ingredients.
Many of B-Won's stirred-fried dishes are cooked tables-side, which makes for great entertainment and mouth-watering anticipation. One night, we ordered the Stone Pan Grill which came with a side salad and a ton of Korean side dishes. This is one reason Korean cuisine is so much fun. You get at least half-a-dozen side dishes with most entrees and they're usually brought to your table right away. As you nibble on these tasty morsels, the waiter cooks your dinner for you at your table while you watch. If one of those side dishes becomes your favorite, they'll gladly bring more just by asking. 
Other favorites, especially during the summer is the Naeng Myun, a cold noodle dish made with a sticky-and-chewy buckwheat noodles mixed with a sweet-and-spicy sauce, then topped with raw veggies and slices of chilled cooked beef. It's a refreshing dish that's also fun to eat because the noodles ares so elastic.
Our favorite appetizer is the Pa Jun, a Korean-style scallion pancake that looks more like an omelette. We ordered the seafood version which was served like a pizza, sliced into triangles ready for dipping into a nicely balanced sweet-and-sour soy-based sauce.
We've been to B-Won probably five or six times and it's on the top of our restaurant list to take out-of-town visitors to. So far we've been lucky with their service, which has always been good. Maybe that's because we try to avoid those peak dinner times on Friday or Saturday night. I'll be back soon to try their "drinker's menu" (which seems to have some very strange meat dishes on it). I've tried to order from that page before, but since I don't look Korean, the waiter has always talked me out of it. Which makes me want it even more...
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I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
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As a teenager too broke to actually buy anything, I indulged in many a free cup of Kopi water.
Excellent additions, LY.
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The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
Actually, it’s kind of nice, the quiet. John Heoffleur’s engaging commentary/dialogue is sorely missed, however. In lieu of someone intelligent saying something, I’ve compiled a list of Honourable Mentions: BEST ROCK BAND: Take Care ::these gentlemen have four completely different sets at their disposal right now (which…
What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
And without bloodshed. Sounds like the Savoy trustees aren’t as narrow-minded as some of their whiny pants constituents. Do you think quack Snell is already planning an asinine counterattack or is he still laying low after those “threats” against his person?
hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Excellent. I am glad sometimes American dreams are encouraged, rather than stifled.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
@Dan - Wow. Unfortunately, I have to refrain from further comment due to a previous employment relationship. But with that brief context you might be able to imagine possible comments or responses I could have.
Oh, by the way, the “Champaign County YMCA” no longer exists. The official name is now the “Stephens Family YMCA” (the website has not been updated, but check out the latest program guide). And no, it’s not just the name of the building. It’s the name of the organization.
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Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…