Koreatown is one of the only L.A. neighborhoods that house a herd of culinary specialists. Sure beef gets a lot of love in K-Town, especially now that AYCE BBQ spots have proliferated, and pork is more than just a passing interest, but chicken is the animal that 3rd Street Restaurant holds in the highest regard. Kyung Ho Min’s a cluck-focused Koreatown establishment has a 30-year track record along a low-key stretch of 3rd Street. There’s no English menu, so either bring somebody who reads Hangul lettering or be prepared to pull up photos of dishes on your phone to get what you want.
The simple setting includes yellow and Christmas-colored signs, worn tile flooring, framed rooster paintings, eight well-lit linoleum tables, and a wall-mounted Hangul menu. Chicken choices are limited, but reliably good.
3rd Street Restaurant keeps banchan simple, serving only three bottomless dishes: crunchy chile’d radish cubes, pungent kimchi, and omelet slabs studded with carrot and scallions.
Hand-cut noodles had good bite and helped to contribute to what might be the best chicken noodle soup in L.A. County. I loved how the thick, viscous, well-seasoned broth coated pulled chicken, zucchini strips, and scallions. Nori completed the picture.
Spicy chicken stew is best enjoyed in two steps. A tabletop grill hosts a pot that includes bony neck meat, crunchy gizzards, potatoes, scallions, carrots, onions, and a sizable chile kick.
Once you reach the dregs of the stew, residual broth is used for fried rice, which removes chicken and incorporates scallions and nori. The cooking process forms a crust at the base.
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