Gogi Go-ing for gold
New Korean fast-casual concept born and raised locally
Some day, chef Kevin Lee may joke “Gogi Go” is Korean for “golden goose,” but until then, he’s going to use the new fast-casual concept he opened with two friends to introduce you to his culture.
You’ve probably heard of kimchi, but the odds you’ve heard of bulgogi, banchan and gochujang have increased tenfold in the past five years thanks to the current momentum behind Korean cuisine.
Armed with their childhood flavors and his reputation as one of the city’s hottest young chefs, Lee partnered with friends Jason Chang and John Lee to inject themselves into the trend by opening Gogi Go, 1325 N Walker, in January.
Strong response has the partners already thinking expansion.
“We’re currently looking at properties,” chef Lee said. “We’re looking toward Edmond and the
north part of Oklahoma City, but Yukon could also be a possibility.”
If you live in neither of those places, take heart in the ambitions of Chang and the two Lees. If they get their way, Gogi Go will come to roost far and wide.
Local culture
Thanks to the enthusiasm of prominent chefs like David Chang and the popularity of Korean taco trucks from Los Angeles to New York, Korean cuisine has enjoyed an uptick in interest, but tradition in Oklahoma City is richer than you might think.
Korean House in Del City has been open for close to 30 years, serving the local Korean community the partners grew up in together.
But chef Lee said there were times growing up he was ashamed of the food in his family refrigerator.
“When my friends would ask if there was anything to eat, I would get embarrassed by what we had,” Lee said. “But now I’m so happy to share my culture, and to see the look on people’s faces when they get those flavors.”
Those flavors are a varying combination of heat, acid and umami commiserating on, and within, a bed of rice. In Korean homes, they’re served smorgasbord style and eaten leisurely.
At Gogi Go, you’ll find Korean flavors served a distinctively modern style, which includes the influence Lee has taken from years learning both classic French and Japanese techniques.
The result is a postmodern expression of Korean food as told by kids born and raised with Oklahoma sensibilities.
Multicultural approach
After you stroll past the striking Kris Kanaly original mural inside Gogi Go, the menu is posted on the west wall as you turn toward the counter.
There’s plenty on the menu, but on further inspection you’ll realize it is simply variations on the same theme.
Traditional Korean food is usually served with a selection of distinctive pickled vegetables, known generically as banchan, which sit at the table with you until the meal is complete. That style didn’t fit the model for Gogi Go so Kevin Lee moved it behind the counter.
“What makes Korean food unique is the banchan,” he said. “You have an option where every bite can be different. Order your main menu item and how you eat it with different sides makes it different.”
So after you’ve chosen between steamed rice, kimchi fried rice or japchae (glass noodles), added a protein and sauce, banchan awaits.
Whether it’s general manager Danh Do, assistant GM Dan Johnson or another crew member building your bowl or burrito, they will then invite you to choose from the banchan. Gogi Go offers a broad mix of authentic choices and others including avocado, Monterrey Jack cheese, butter corn and black beans that are good additions to any food regardless of cultural origin.
Besides those options, Gogi Go also offers traditional kimchi, cucumber kimchi, cabbage, picked red onions, pickled daikon radish, pickled hot peppers, green onions, fried shallots, soy bean powder, and crushed peanuts.
“We’re just introducing people to Korean food,” Lee said. “So the only crazy stuff, is really familiar to most people.”
For a final flourish, Gogi Go offers an optional soft-cooked egg. You want to opt in, trust me.
For those new to Korean cuisine, Gogi Go offers signature bowls to remove the guess work.
I’ve yet to have anything at Gogi Go I wouldn’t enthusiastically recommend, but I have to give the nod to the Spicy Pork signature bowl as my favorite. Both chef Lee and Johnson expressed a belief that pork best represents the soul of Korean cuisine.
That signature dish includes spicy pork, kimchi, pickled daikon, gogi pesto, toasted peanuts, cabbage and gogi sauce. Chef Lee also recommends the kimchi fried rice for the undercarriage, and I concur.
Signature bowls range $9 to $12. You can also build your own bowl starting at $9. In a show of assimilation, Gogi Go also offers burrito versions of everything.
“I know it’s not Korean, but they’re so easy,” Kevin Lee said. “And they’re really good, too.”
Lee’s attitude is refreshing and should be the beginning of the end of any heated discussion about the cultural appropriation of food.
If Gogi Go inspires you to further examination of it, find Taste of Korea, 5 S Western, or the newly rebuilt and reopened Korean House, 4716 SE 29.
And let Kevin Lee know, he’d be proud to hear it.