Joong Boo Market

 If you've ever gone down Kimball north of Belmont, or been on I-94, you've undoubtedly seen the large green sign written with English and Hangul characters. This is Joong Boo Market; a mid-sized grocery store located in Avondale. They are located right off the Belmont exit of I-94, and a block north of Belmont and Kimball, which is easily accessible via Blue Line (Belmont stop), and the Belmont and Kimball buses.

Despite its distinguished billboard advertisement which may make you think otherwise, this is an authentic little hole in the wall which I'm sure has been passed over by many people. It is such a shame too. The grocery store sells fresh, dried and frozen goods which are imported straight from Korea, as well as other parts of Asia. If you can think of some obscure Asian goods typically unavailable in the US, odds are, Joong Boo has it. This isn't limited to food items either. They also include cookware, appliances, bath and body products, and even various spirits, like Makgaeoli (including one which is brewed in Chicagoland, so get sloshed and support local businesses!).

My main love here are their prepared foods (and their frozen potstickers... but don't tell anyone since a few people have threatened to send me to potsticker rehab since I eat way too much of this shit). They have a salad bar which includes fish cakes, namul (seasoned cooked vegetables), seafood, and assorted locally made kimchis; the latter of which also sold in large jars. In fact, George Zimmerman and some other famous and not so famous foodies have called Joong Boo's kimchi among the best, if not the best, kimchi available in the US. The butcher sells fresh sashimi in single servings and full party platters.. which are also single servings if you truly believe in yourself as much as you should.

The real little gem, however, is their snack court, which is a very small, cramped, congested and inexpensive restaurant in the back of the store. Their menu features authentic Korean dishes, ranging from popular street food items to the typical soups and stews. Everything is fresh and made with the same ingredients they sell to the shoppers. After all, you know an ethnic restaurant is good when 90% of the patrons are natives of that country and you hear very little English in the area.

Oh, and as an aside, my dear Americans, for the love of God, stop hogging the tables. This place gets packed, and if there are available seats at your table, you bet your ass you're going to be sharing it. Everyone else who eats there understands this unwritten rule, so get with it or just order the food as takeout.

Anyway...

The restaurant features a large billboard as their menu. It includes a number, name (both in Hangul characters and English transliteration), picture and description. For us 'Muricans, we should basically just order by the dish number, not by name. It keeps things simple, and we won't look like patronizing asshats by butchering the employees' native tongue, so everyone is happy. Sure, they'll tolerate it, but the world hates us enough as it is. No need to fan the flames.

Some of their stews are served piping hot, as they are heated in a small cauldron which is then directly served to the customer while it is still boiling. The most popular is #4 (Soon Doo Boo); a light tofu and seafood soup with slight hints of Korean red pepper powder, which has a very unique and distinct flavor. My favorite that I've tried of the stews is #11 (Al-Tang); a pollack roe sack soup flavored with assorted vegetables and lots of mushrooms. Some of their other soups, like #16 (Yook-Gae-Jang; a beef soup) and #5 (Dae-Gu-Tang; a cod soup), are not served quite as hot, since they are a bit more rich and include more fillings. Actually, I just made that up. I don't know why they're not served while still bubbling. They're really delicious, nonetheless.

Other really popular (and my most commonly ordered) dishes include #17 (beebimbop); rice and namul with an egg-over-easy on top; #6 (Bool-go-kee), marinated stir fried beef; and #8 (Ra-Bok-Kee), an immensely popular street food dish of fish cakes, rice cakes and ra myun noodles served in a thick sweet sauce. They also have a few dishes which are not typically palatable for Americans, which includes blood sausage, honey comb, soybean paste, tripe, but the counter includes a disclaimer with a warning.

Most dishes include a rice and banchan (side dishes), such as kimchi, namul and fish cakes. The non-soup dishes also include a side of a light broth. An average meal costs around 7 bucks, so this is also one of the best deals you're going to come across in this city.

I highly recommend making a trip to Avondale to check out Joong Boo Market. You'll try some new foods and buy some groceries (the money you'll save if you typically buy these items at a Whole Foods or a boutique grocery store will even pay for a cab ride). You'll also discover why this little grocery store is the subject of praise from foodies across Chicago and has been featured on the Travel Channel.