I Left Very Warm, and Very Full

Hot pot is an interesting time. The whole concept, all you can eat soup, feels like something that should really be in a sitcom, like Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, or on a sketch show where someone is pretending to be Bernie Sanders and is shouting about, “soup!” And yet, that’s really just my American sensibilities getting in the way because, legitimately, all you can eat soup is awesome. Getting a giant pot of broth put in front of you, with all the stuff you want to throw in, and being allowed to sit there for as long as you need to fill up as hard as you can, it’s an awesome experience.

I’ve had hot pot a few times, back in Indiana as well as in Virginia where I’m now living, and every time has been pretty good. With that said, I had one of the best experiences hot potting recently, at a shop over in Charlottesville, VA. The food was so good, and the service was even better, to the point where I already know I’m going to go back… just as soon as I can afford to slap down the kind of cash required for a really good hot pot experience.

For those that haven’t experienced it before, the basics of hot pot are pretty simple. You go into a hot pot place (usually they’re hot pot and barbeque places as combining the two makes logical sense, as we’ll get to). Once you’re settled in, you’ll have a choice of broths, with each person getting their own pot, or at some places (although not the place we’re discussing today) one big set of pots for the table. You’ll also be given a menu with various items – slices of meat, meatballs, seafood, veggies, and some other cooked options – that you can put into your broth. A cart will roll up after with all your ordered items, you plop what you want into the soup, let it cook, serve and eat. And that’s all it really takes.

Now, there can be some variation to this setup. A lot of places I’ve seen more recently go under the “Korean Barbecue and Hot Pot”, which gives you the options of either doing soup or grill (as there will be a hot grill at your table you can use to cook meat and veggies) or both for a little extra. There will also be a condiment bar you can visit, which generally provides a selection of sauces and pastes, along with some seasoning options, and some sides (like kimchi and fruit) you can grab as well. Take it all back, season up your soup or grill, and you’re good to go.

The place in Charlottesville, Seoul Korean BBQ & Hot Pot, is one of the better establishments I’ve been to for this kind of fare. The meat and veggies were properly fresh and ready, but what I really appreciated were the flavors on offer. The restaurant offers one of the larger selections of broth options I’ve seen, with nine different options to pick from including two basic bone broths, two very spicy options, tomato, tom yum, mushroom, miso, and healthy herbs. One option is vegetarian, three are gluten free, and all are pretty tasty.

Their sauce selection is also pretty solid. Although they don’t show off their sauce bar on their website (although I think they should so people know all their options), it was a really solid selection to choose from. Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, different barbecues and Korean flavors. Pastes of soy other varieties. Lots of peanuts and garlic, onions and spices. Plus the kimchi available was really tasty (if fairly spicy) and, for those looking too cool off, there were a few different fruit selections you could choose from as well. It was a nice bit to have, especially since I love flavor and I put a lot of it into my soup.

As I went on the weekend I had the full selection of the menu to choose from. Lunch is slightly cheaper than dinner, but there are also some special reserved items, like sliced ribeye and meatballs for soup and steaks and salmon for the grill side, that you can only get at dinner time. I sampled the ribeye in my soup, along with lobster balls (essentially lobster meatballs, which were really tasty), and a whole lot of veggies. Normally I’d load up on the meats at a place like this, since I paid for it, but the soup was rich and tasty and the veggies were really bright and fresh. It didn’t feel necessary.

That was something that really struck me about Seoul Korean BBQ & Hot Pot: their stuff was really fresh. You’d expect a certain level of quality for a fresh food place, in fairness, but this restaurant really felt like it was above and beyond that. The veggies were super crisp and the meat, while some portions were lightly frozen (so they could keep) was all really nicely sliced and very flavorful. It added to the soup, instead of just being stuff I was throwing in to try and get my money’s worth, and I really liked all of it.

I will admit that I didn’t try the grill side of things, but that’s primarily because I don’t like Korean barbecue as much as the hot pot soup. I find that being given all these things and having to spend time cooking it in front of me isn’t the experience I really want. It’s a lot of effort, and if I’m gonna put in this much effort cooking my stuff I’d rather just do that at home and not pay out the nose to be given the privilege of doing it. I know you’re paying for variety, to have all these options and you can cook whatever you like, try everything, but still, if I’m gonna cook then I’m gonna cook. I’ll do it at home, where I’m comfortable. Besides, the soup was really great so why would I pass that up.

Also great was the service. My wife had to hit the restaurant beforehand while I was off doing a bit of movie shopping (there’s a swap meet store nearby with an absolutely solid selection of used movies) so she ventured out and found this place, and they let her use the restroom without being a paying customer. They were really nice and kind when she came in, so she immediately wanted to eat there after, and the service continued being excellent the whole time we were in there. They were prompt with everything, getting food to the table faster than we could have possibly expected (especially having eaten at other hot pot places before) and out server was so nice. It was just a great experience.

Of course, you are paying for a fantastic experience. While I’ve eaten more expensive meals (see also: Victoria & Albert's) this is on the pricey side for a place you just stumble into and decide to eat at. Lunch is $19 for hot pot or barbecue, $22 for both, while dinner is $30 for one, $34 for both. You do get to eat all you want (with the caveat that you aren’t allowed to order any more items for your grill and/or soup after 90 minutes) so you can fill up pretty solidly for that price, but all things considered, this is a lot of money when there are cheaper options out there.

With that said, those options are nowhere near as good, in any way, shape or form. This might have been pricey but it was worth it and I would absolutely go back to Seoul Korean BBQ & Hot Pot again and again. Seoul Korean BBQ & Hot Pot had the kind of flavor and quality I’m looking for in a meal, and when I’m back in the Charlottesville area they are high on my list for another visit. There is no doubt in my mind about that at all.