DONG BANG GRILL REALLY COOKS!
If you live in Bergen County, then you've probably seen their commercials on TV. When we first came to the area I scoped out the area for local Korean and Japanese restaurants on Main St., Lemoine Ave., and Palisade Ave. The property for Dong Bang Grill is pretty impressive and looks like its a house on sticks with parking underneath. Because parking is limited and requires expert driving to avoid hitting the poles, there is a valet parking staff on duty for both lunch and dinner everyday. I walked inside and took a look at the menus and was shocked by the prices. Both the Sushi and Korean BBQ seemed to be outrageously overpriced. It was not until I had gotten to know the area that I would give them another look
In Fort Lee, it seems like you can get good Korean or good Sushi, but you just can't get the both together. After two years of being convinced that to have both we would have to go back to Westchester or into Manhattan, we finally decided to give Dong Bang Grill a try. When you walk into the restaurant and go up the stairs, the place is immediately visually impressive. If you look to your left, you can see a sit down sushi bar staffed with sushi chefs. As we were seated I opened the menu to see if the prices were as high as I last seen and they were not ... they were even HIGHER. We decided to suck it up and order a few things as this was a special night. We ended up ordering both the DB Galbi and the Assorted Mushroom BBQ. We also ordered an order of Shrimp Tempura as an appetizer.
Before we knew it, we were served with some of the freshest and most varied banchan that I've seen in Koreantown, NYC or Palisades Park. The waitress starting grilling our Mushroom Platter. This included Oyster, Cremini, Shitake, and Portobello mushrooms. Also included were slices of sweet potato and pumpkin, although I suspect that the last two were part of a seasonal selection.
As a midcourse we enjoyed the Shrimp Tempura roll. Now we've had shrimp tempura rolls at just about every sushi bars that we've ever been to,but these were fantastic. First of all, there were twelve pieces of sushi for the roll. So when you do a double take on the price, take into account that you are getting a lot of sushi for your money. This also means that you don't have to order as many rolls if you are sharing them with a group.
After we finished the shrimp tempura, the waitress changed out the grilling pan for a grilling rack. Again, in all the times I've had Korean food, I've never seen them change out the grilling pan. All too often what I've seen instead is that they crowd out the same dish by shoving the cooked food to the sides and pour on the raw. The DB Galbi was so tender we could not believe our buds. The was a perfect blend of meat lightly interlaced with fat. The result brought out a texture in the meat that was as soft as butter. Without a doubt, this was the best flavored Galbi that I have ever had.
After clearing the table of empty banchan dishes, our waitress served us a complimentary cinnamon ginger tea which was served cold. Again, while this was something which I've seen at other places, the balance on this drink was perfect as it was not overly sweetened.
Looks like I found our new favorite place for Korean Barbeque. Costs cannot be ignored, so I'm sure that this place will be saved for special occasions. Although looking ahead to the future, I have a feeling that I'll be finding reasons to get us back there as quickly as possible. With great Korean BBQ, great Sushi, and great service, Dong Bang Grill serves up a hat trick for a perfect score.
This review was featured in the Weekly Yelp Jersey:
http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=Q_lJVA_gVMYEjz-8l17NFw&wy_s=M&wy_r=9gdZ6Sz-cUji659thvvF5Q read more