Danji

Been hearing a lot of good press (re: NYT) recently about this relatively new Korean joint, Danji, in midtown west (re: gross theater district area). Last week a friend and I decided to scope out the scene. We ventured to the restaurant around 8pm Thursday and it was packed. Albeit the place was miniature; is that because Korean people are tiny? Also, I'm not trying to be prejudiced but more than half the customers were Korean which I take to mean the place is damn good. Same goes for any type of food. While picking out a sushi place, if the place is filled with Japanese eaters it must be good! But the funny thing about Danj was none of the waitstaff were Korean, they were all white...

Anyway, we post up at the bar for a beer and wait about twenty minutes for a table. The turnover rate is very fast. They might as well have given us our check as we ordered. This was a very special restaurant experience for me because it was the first time I ever ordered tofu (my sister is probably smiling reading this) at a restaurant (the waiter recommendation but still very impressive by me). And it was damn good. It's fried in a tempura batter and served with sliced red pepper. Also, what's not good fried? NOTHING!

Danji is a tapas style restaurant which I usually don't like but somehow it works here. We also ordered whelk salad with buckwheat noodles, korean style beef sliders, potato and pepper pancake, and the short ribs. I thought I was really cool ordering whelk salad before I knew exactly what whelks were. Yeah, kind of gross. But I must say the beef sliders might be the best dish I've had in New York in a long time. Everything about the sliders were amazing, from the buttered potato bun to the spiced pickles to the lean beef. This is a great restaurant in a bad location. If you are going to see a broadway show then this is a perfect place. And if anyone wants to take me again for the sliders, I'm always around. "Hey, I'm Retired at 29!"