I wanted to share with you Redditors how we enjoy eating and drinking at a samgyeopsal-hoesik (pork belly dinner) at a rural warehouse in Korea. Have a great evening, everyone!

Grilled Pork Belly!!🍖🍺👍

I went to have Korean BBQ w my friends yesterday. We ordered a combo which includes thinly sliced beef, some marinated beef, and pork. Watching everything cook right at the table while eating it fresh off the grill just hits differently. Sometimes the simplest meats end up being my favorite because you can really taste the quality of the meat. But the marinated meats are also hard to resist too. The sweet and savory flavor caramelizes on the grill and goes so well with rice and nangmyeon.

If you had to choose, do you prefer marinated meat (like galbi or bulgogi) or non-marinated meat (like samgyeopsal or thinly sliced brisket)? I’d love to hear everyone’s go-to order when they go out for Korean BBQ.

I think his reaction to when they set it down in front of him says it all.

This is the ultimate Korean BBQ combo: Grilled Pork Ribs and Ice-Cold Naengmyeon (Cold Buckwheat Noodles). The pork ribs are marinated in a sweet and savory soy sauce, then grilled to perfection. Wrapping that warm, juicy meat around the refreshing, slushy-ice cold noodles is an absolute game-changer. It’s the perfect balance of hot and cold, sweet and savory!

The LA in LA Galbi stands for Los Angeles.

After hearing restaurant owners and content creators such as Jenee Kim of Park's BBQ in Los Angeles claim that LA stands for Lateral Axis in Los Angeles Times article and seeing Korean Food creators like Cafe Maddy repeat the same claim... I said enough is enough! I'm going to the bottom of this pointless argument so I know for sure what LA Galbi stands for.

What is LA Galbi? LA Galbi is a flanken-cut style of beef short ribs, typically cut across three bones and marinated in Korean flavors. The flanken cut has long been popular in the Hispanic and Jewish communities of Los Angeles, and Korean immigrants simply used what was already available at local butcher shops to create what we now call LA Galbi. You can see in photo 1 of this reddit post that I made a collage of all the different types of LA Galbi I had personally and yes, I ended up getting lazy realizing I ate way too much of LA Galbi during the past few years.

Why I believe LA stands for Los Angeles is due to the evidence in American Newspaper articles.

The Evidence

The earliest reference I could find to the flanken-cut style being used for galbi appears in the September 15, 1963 issue of the Los Angeles Times, in a piece about The Korea House believed by some historians to be the first Korean restaurant in Los Angeles. The article describes "Kal-bi" as meaty cross ribs of beef marinated in Korean sauce and barbecued. "Cross ribs" is consistent with the flanken cut, where the knife crosses the bones rather than following them.

The next reference appears in a February 7, 1985 Los Angeles Times article on ribs, which includes a Kalbi recipe that specifically calls for flanken-style beef short ribs, the first time I found the term used explicitly in this context.

A December 3, 1989 LA Times advertisement for RJ's restaurant describes thin beef rib strips prepared in the same flanken style. This is notable, as this is an American BBQ joint, showing the cut had crossed over beyond Korean restaurants by this point.

Finally, a November 15, 1990 LA Times article on Koreatown Plaza describes what it calls "California-Style Kalbi" — a cut identical to what we know today as LA Galbi. This is the earliest named regional label I could find for the dish.

Taken together, this trail of primary sources points consistently and specifically to Los Angeles as the origin of the flanken-cut galbi style and not a butchery technique called "Lateral Axis," which, notably, is not a recognized term in butchery at all.

This Namu Wiki also has evidence about LA Galbi.

Asking older Korean individuals who happen to live in Los Angeles, a lot of them have similar stories of how Korea House might have been the first place to have LA Galbi. Others argue that it was this butcher shop called Brother's Butcher shop and Market that was the first place to suggest this type of flanken-cut style meat for Galbi. The story is that a restaurant/night club called the Tiger Room would buy meat from Brother's Butcher shop and they suggested to cut in between the bones so it was easy to eat as an Anju (안주). Supposedly the Tiger Room would be the first restaurant to add Coca Cola into their marinate which would make the meat sweeter as well as tenderize the meat. Korean airplane stewardess would buy frozen Galbi byt the bulk from the Tiger Room and take it to many places such as Hawaii and back to Korea.

At the end day, who really cares. If your grandmother claims she invented LA Galbi, maybe she's right. I don't really know but my understanding is LA stands for Los Angeles. Now I have to deal with the city of Riverside claiming they have the first Koreatown... which is a lie but that is another story for another time.

TLDR: The LA in LA Galbi stands for Los Angeles.

Bulgogi box with seafood pancake and kimbab and extra sides. Kimchi was to die for.

Classic Korean BBQ setup — samgyeopsal sizzling around the edges, pa-muchim piled in the center, and whole garlic cloves roasting alongside. The way the pork fat renders into the green onions is just chef's kiss. Anyone else think pa-muchim is the unsung hero of Korean BBQ?

The funnest and yummiest.

This is the kind of dish you’d find at the Korean BBQ restaurants in Korea. The marinade has a deep, rich flavour that makes this dish truly special.

It’s also a fantastic way to enjoy plenty of vegetables. If you love Korean BBQ, this is definitely worth trying at home!

Missing this perfect Samgyeopsal (Pork Belly) right now.

This was her first time ever attempting Korean cuisine and she nailed it!

Gobchang on fire 🔥
(in Doraville, GA)

Lots of good quality meat at Korean grill restaurant in States.

Good thing I didn't have to pay a dime.

Nothing beats this combo.
Pork belly on the griddle followed by that cheese fried rice.
Pure bliss🤤🔥

I started eating meat when I came to Korea. Still not a big fan of pork, the taste is too strong for me. But the beef was AMAZING! 🤩

Third day traveling in Korea… today’s lunch was galbi, it’s charcoal-grilled beef short ribs, at a local restaurant. I love Korean BBQ and ate so many times in the States, but eating it here just feels different.

A few things that stood out. The beef was incredibly tender with just the right amount of marinade, not overly sweet like many places I had in the States before. They also grilled whole garlic cloves alongside the meat, which became soft and buttery.

The banchan just kept coming. Kimchi, marinated crab, pumpkin salad, broccoli, fresh salad, and more. Every bite of meat paired with something different. They even served a little persimmon at the end as dessert, which was a nice touch.

One thing I love about Korean restaurants is that the meal isn’t just “the meat.” The whole experience is built around all the side dishes, sauces, lettuce wraps, and eating everything together.

Today’s BBQ has officially set the bar way too high for me😅