Yechon

Within minutes of ordering, my table is crowded with a dozen little plates: fiery kimchi, cool radishes, dark green seaweed, mellow potato salad, coppery and crinkly dried fish. These are complimentary panchan that traditionally round out a Korean meal, and they are among the reasons I seek out Yechon more often than its competitors. The panchan here seem more varied, and they're constantly replenished. But that's not the only draw. Yechon is also open round-the-clock, and the service is tops. "We have our own cook!" a friend exclaims as he watches a waitress turn pieces of spicy pork and sweet beef on a small barbecue in the center of our table. The crisp-edged meat is added to crisp leaves of lettuce, along with rice and chile paste, then rolled into a cool-hot bundle of pleasure. A bubbling casserole of soft tofu, seafood and chili-ignited broth follows; it looks like a volcano and explodes on the tongue. Low ceilings, pretty wood accents and flowery carpet create a handsome place to indulge in the feast, which includes a dish of small white rolls that blend in with the banchan and look good enough to eat, but turn out to be another nice gesture: cool washcloths.