Shin Chon

Featured on Bizarre Foods America. "When Andrew Zimmern, the host of the long-running Travel Channel show "Bizarre Foods," came to Shin Chon Garden last summer, he told the world, via Twitter, that Shin Chon "is one of top ten Korean BBQ experiences in America. A must for anyone who loves food. Major discovery." The Baltimore episode of "Bizarre Foods" airs Monday night, and if America sees him carrying on about Shin Chon Garden like he did last summer, look out. For its part, Shin Chon Garden seems comfortable with crowds. And the crowds that come to Shin Chon seem comfortable with what can be a frantically paced meal. Not only are the tables overflowing with customers, the tables are overflowing with food. Order one thing at Shin Chon Garden, and the table fills up with bowls, plates and condiments. Within minutes of placing your order, small bowls of shared appetizers known as panchan arrive. These are variations of kimchi, pickled radish or cabbage, and vinegary vegetables. And if you order a barbecue combination — which is the way to go, especially on a first visit — your table really starts to fill up. Shin Chon has barbecuing down to a science, more so than Baltimore's downtown Korean restaurants, where the tabletop barbecuing can be, charmingly, a little improvisational. Food comes and goes. This is old-fashioned Korean food. Flavors are strong and pungent, clean and stimulating. You wish you could slow down. You want to have ordered less and still have more. Dining at Shin Chon means either restraining yourself or accepting that you've overdone it. Either way, it's worth it.