Happy 1 year anniversary to Left Coast!!!
A long overdue post, but in celebration of it's one year opening, I present to you burgers and baos from Left Coast Artisan Burgers. The owners and chef all being from the best coast - the west coast. I love the creative name of this artisan style burger joint. Some of the burgers and other menu items have an Asian fusion take, while other have great combinations of perfectly paired ingredients that make for a very flavourful burger. This is similar to some Vancouver style food (your friendly north west neighbour) and this is one of my favourite burger joints in Seoul. To give a difference in taste, I'm not a huge fan of Brooklyn Burger in Suraemael and other simple burgers with plain ingredients (think sliced tomato, lettuce and raw onions) that I feel like you can make yourself when you are BBQ-ing at home in the backyard. My favourite burger of all-time in the states is the Father's Office burger - you can enjoy this when you are in Culver City or Santa Monica in LA, California. Ahhh...I just love everything about the west coast. Thanks to Left Coast for bringing a piece of it to Seoul!
An array of all 3 BAO BUNS and all 3 MINI ME burgers!
BAO BUNS
Each of the BAO BUNS. Bao means dumpling in Chinese, so these are renditions of a Chinese steamed dumpling bun peels filled to make little bun sandwiches. There are 3 kinds: Little Piggy, Kalbi Jjim and Chicken.
Little Piggy: "Seared pork belly, cucumber, scallion, cilantro and citrus soy glaze"
Kalbi Jjim: "Kalbi jjim, sesame leaf, pickled cabbage, carrot and pepper aioli"
Chicken: "Grilled chicken, chicken chicharone, napa cabbage, daikon, carrot and sweet chili glaze"
The best pork bao bun I've even had was at Ippudo in NYC. Nothing has come close since, but I really enjoyed the Little Piggy here with the citrus soy glaze. This is also one you need to eat when it comes out hot to enjoy the taste to the max. The kalbi jjim was good, but I find that all kalbi fusion items in Korea are too sweet for me - same goes for all the galbi tacos everywhere in Seoul for this same reason too. The chicken bao was okay, but I recommend this in a Mini Me (see below) or in a full chicken burger.
MINI ME Burgers
One of each MINI ME, aka: SLIDERS. I love sliders - you get to have a variety of tastes instead of just one burger! Three kinds of these as well: Fried Chicken, Pulled Pork and All American.
All American: "beef patty, american cheese, lettuce, grilled onion, LC sauce"
Fried Chicken: "Creamy apple slaw, lettuce, house ranch"
Pulled Pork: "pulled pork, roasted pepper, crispy pepper jack cheese, and BBQ sauce"
In order of preference, I liked the All American, Fried Chicken and then Pulled Pork. I would go to Linus if I wanted a pulled pork dish though. The chicken slider was good but make sure to eat it while it's still hot and crispy. Overall, for burgers in a hamburger bun, I prefer having a beef burger, so the All American was my favourite - but I enjoy some of the other ingredient combinations better that they offer in their full burger selections. American burgers are just too plain for me - but I like how they have grilled onions and a special LC sauce. Love the sauces here!
My fav burger here so far...the Kalefornia burger: swiss cheese, shitake mushroom, kale chip, shallot, fruit balsamic jam (which was persimmon at the time). I thought the sweetness of the fruit balsamic jam would be too sweet, but it went along perfect with the savoury flavours and saltiness of the burger.
The Kale chip was oven toasted to a crisp and added such a nice crunchy texture to the burger.
Great combination of flavours in the Kalefornia burger! Love the name of it too!!!
Starters and Sides
Kalbi Fries: Kalbi jjim, pickled peppers and onions, scallions and sour cream on hand-cut fries.
It was good if you don't like as flavourful and spicy things but these were a bit too bland for me. For the fry itself, I prefer the crispiness of the classic crispy and golden fry. You need to make sure you eat this right away or it will get too soggy. Anything fried goes great with beer - especially craft draft beer. I love this seasonal winter or summer solstice. Tastes like Korean "yut" to me!
Deep Fried Pickles: Battered and deep fried house made pickles.
LOVE THESE! Salty, vinegary, the batter was crispy and crunchy and was served piping hot. Loved the homemade ranch sauce that has a bit of kick to it as well. Goes along so well washed down with a nice cold summer solstice draft brew!
Handmade tater tots: Minced and hand rolled, handmade and fried to a crisp. Served with another kind of sauce too which was also amazing - but I can't remember what it was called! The LC sauces are amazing!
Dessert
The Left Coast Cookie aka. Pizookie - a pizza sized cookie! "Soft chocolate chip cookie baked to order and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream."
It comes in a small, medium and large size - think giant fresh baked chocolate chip cookie with ice-cream on top...this is the best pizookie I've had. It hands down is WAY better than the one at Coreanos Kitchen. The chocolate chip cookie is the perfect thickness, slightly doughy on the inside with crispy/chewy edges...SO good.
This is SO good here. Soft chocolate chip cookie but the edges are crispy and slightly chewy.
The contrasts between the hot cookie and the cool vanilla ice-cream is perfect!
The full menu - drinks are on a separate menu but they have craft beers, ades and other drinks available as well!
Can be hard to find if you're not looking for it...but if you are walking away from Hamilton Hotel straight down the 3 way, it's on your right hand side upstairs! Right across from Bulldogs British Pub!
Chill non-pretentious atmosphere...just like the best west coast~
Check out my friend's video blog on Left Coast for more menu item footage!
What? Burgers, specialty burgers, sliders, baos, late night munchies...artisan style burgers and food.
Who? Any age, anyone who likes burgers and different sides.
When?
Sunday -Thursday 11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Friday - Saturday 11:30 am - 11:00 pm
Parking? No, there is a parking lot nearby though.
Cards Accepted? Yes
Where? 130-43 Itaewondong, Yongsangu, Seoul, Korea
서울특별시 용산구 이태원동 130-43 2층
Call: 02-6223-5338
Directions: Closest subway station: Itaewon station, exit 4. Walk out, turn around and walk down the street where Taco Bell will be on your left. Keep walking straight for about 75 metres and you will see it on the 2nd floor on your right.