In other Gwangju news, the Kimchi Festival (한국어링크 . . . click here for English link) starts next week . . ..

Tonight only, Zen Kimchi’s brother, Chef Ben, will be dishing up delights at Fatman (and everbody else’s) favorite, Star Chef. 02.529.8248 for reservations.

merci, chosun!

Even in North Korea you can still get your burger fix . . .

South China Post’s Kristine Kwok wrote about her beefy find here (subscription required, 영어링크) and you can read more about your northern fries and fizz here and here (영어 링크.  한국어 여기 . . . 여기 . . . 그리고 여기)

and courtesy cbs, we have video!  bon appetit!

and a tip of the fat hat to serious eats

image from newsday

Fatman has always loved the beautiful Gourmet Magazine.  We grew up eating recipes from its pages and reading the essays and articles.  It was the gold standard in food writing, and published work by an astounding array of writers and gourmands.   The photography was always wonderful, and trends in the way food was plated and photographed often began in the pages of Gourmet.   And the grande dame has been around since 1941 ~ this is a magazine with a real history and relationship with readers.   Sister publication Bon Appetite has survived Conde Evil’s cuts, but that won’t appease us.

They must suffer for this outrage!  Bring Fatman the head of Conde Nitwit on a silver platter, garnished with a sprig of parsley and a wedge of lemon!

we took this from visionsteen.com - it just awaits the head of conde nast and some garnish.

Read more about it in the New York Times, the National Post, and at the Telegraph, and the Guardian,  and Newsday, if you can choke back the bile.  You can write to the editors of Gourmet here, and as for those those *&#$^@ at Conde Nast, Fatman suggests that you tell them what idiots they are write a strongly worded communication of your dissapointment in their decision here.

UPDATE:  You can find a lovely article here at Slate.com on the history of Gourmet and another here and here at their sister magazine, Double X.  We’ll add more coverage as more responses roll in.

The Chosun Ilbo reminds you how to set your 차례상 (영어링크) and tells us that while wine’s on the wane, ginseng is the gift to have given.

The Korea Herald profiles one of Fatman’s favorite 막걸리집 and talks about new takes on traditional drinks.

For those of you feeling like ordering in, Kiss My Kimchi is compiling a master list of food delivery numbers, including all your favorite pizza, chicken, and fast food places.

Italian food is very hit or miss in Seoul. While there’s lots of competant pasta and pizza places, there are few that strive for any real authenticity.

Giacomo in Gambyeon is a true treasure. An absolutely authentic Italian restaurant, run by CIA-trained Chef Lee Bong-shik, the food here stands head and shoulders above the typical Italian place found in Seoul. Although well off the beaten path in terms of location, Lee has turned this unconventional location into a lovely, well appointed space for casual dining. Everyone from business people at dinner meetings to families with children to couples on a romantic date can be found there, enjoying the delicious food, tasteful décor, and the entertainment of the open kitchen and projection-screen showing opera.

The decoration has been kept low key and minimal, with just a few touches like wine bottles, opera, and a few pictures as a nod towards the more cluttered style more typical of Italian places here in Seoul.

The menu is fairly short, running only a few pages and sticking to basics: Pizza, pasta, risotto, salads, and a few steaks. Chef Lee has committed himself to only using the best ingredients, and so keeps the menu similarly narrow, ensuring that what is on offer is always of high quality. Pastas here are presented nicely al dente, and a great deal of care has obviously gone into their preparation and presentation. The seafood pastas in particular deserve credit for the obvious care that has gone into obtaining and properly preparing the ingredients.

Additionally, the sauces are nicely balanced, with the bracing qualities of tomato, wine, and herbs shine through without being drowned out by too much sweetness. For those looking for a more vegetal aspect, the small salad menu is excellent, particularly the caprese, loaded with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Steaks are generous enough to please the most carnivorous (although there’s certainly enough vegetarian-friendly dishes to please those of other persuasions), and come richly seasoned.

Pizza, however, is the undoubted star at Giacomo. Miles away from the too-sweet sauces and over-laden breads of most pizzerias in Seoul, these harken back to a much more authentic Italian style. Thin crusts balance out with just enough chewiness and a needed touch of char to make for a delightfully toothy bite. Indeed, it’s rare to find this degree of respect for a crust in Korea, where it’s more often regarded as simply the most convenient way to get an excess of random toppings to the diner’s mouth. Here it is the centerpiece. Ingredients and combinations show a classical approach, from pizza marguerite to others, less familiar to Korean diners. The standout, and most popular according to the house, is a wonderful gorgonzola pizza. Here the kitchen shows off their pitch-perfect sense of balance, with the aforementioned crust being matched with the rich tang of gorgonzola, the pleasant slight bitterness of dandelion leaves, and honey for drizzling or dipping to round it out.

Giacomo serves a small selection of coffees, teas, sodas, and juices in addition to their alcoholic offerings of wine and beer. The dessert menu is similarly small, but encompasses classics like crème brule and tiramisu.

Meals are very reasonably priced between around 15-30,000 per entree.

To get to Giacomo, take a left from Exit 1 from Gambyeon Station (line 2) Cross at the first crosswalk, and continue walking in the same direction until the end of the block. Turn left, and keep walking until you reach a 3-way intersection. Giacomo will be across the street on the second floor of the CS Plaza. Tel : 02-453-1417

This review also appears in the October issue of Groove Magazine. As such, it follows slightly different format than our usual reviews, and we were invited by the restaurant to conduct the review (id est they knew we were coming and we didn’t shell out our own cash for multiple visits.)  Regardless, we have no qualms recommending this place to anyone, and can happily suggest Giacomo as one of the best places in Seoul for Italian food.