Tozi Korean Barbecue


Go Ki-Mandoo Pan fried beef dumplings, served with seasoned soy sauce.


Dolsot BibimBop Steamed white rice served in hot stoneware bowl with assorted vegetables & ground beef, topped with fried egg, served with red chili paste.


Not a great photo, but you get an idea of the modern decor.


Tons of banchan (side dishes)


Tessa trying out the chopsticks.


Wang Kalbi Beef prime short ribs with bone marinated in Tozi’s special sauce.


Dwe Ji Mok Sal Pork shoulder meat marinated in toi’s special sauce.


Tozi Korean Barbecue

For dinner, Misty and Kelly wanted something different, something they couldn’t get in Green Bay, which has limited ethnic cuisines available. They said they have Indian food and Japanese, Chinese, of course. So, I tried to rack my brain to figure out where to bring them and what they might like.

While they were off shopping, I went to get a manicure and pedicure. The owner of the shop I went to was this little short Korean lady who reminded me a little of Dallas’s mom. Her eyes, her accent. And then it hit me! We could go out for Korean food! I realized that Cho Sun Ok would probably be slammed on a Saturday night, so I quick texted Christine, who is Korean and knows the good places. She reminded me that a new place called Tozi had opened on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park. She visited once and liked it. I looked on Yelp and it seemed big and open, not too crazy busy and it even said it was good for kids. Plus, it was on the not too far from where I live and would even be on the way home if our shopping ran late, which it did. Done and done, I booked an Open Table reservation right there from the nail salon.

Luckily Kelly and Misty were both totally up for trying it, so I didn’t have to go back to the drawing board. We took a cab to Tozi from downtown and it was not too busy at all (it was early – around 6:30 p.m.). We ordered mandoo for an appetizer and it was very good. Tessa liked it so much she snatched up the last one before anyone could even make a move for it! We also tried the bibimbap, which I had high hopes for since my last few bibimbaps have been terrible letdowns. I’m happy to report that Tozi’s bibimbap was fantastic. The egg was runny, the stone bowl was hot, you could hear everything sizzling as you stirred it up. We all shared this dish and everyone loved it. Tessa kept asking for more and more. She is a great eater and very open to new things, I found.

We also decided to do some barbecuing. We took our waitresses’s advice and got some kalbi beef and a spicier pork. I loved the beef. It had a great marinade and the grill gave it a good char. I didn’t love the pork, but Kelly and Misty liked it. I think we all agreed that the beef was better, though!

Tessa, my bathroom buddy, would also like me to mention that the bathrooms had very pretty sinks and mirrors! The sinks were deep glass bowls and the mirrors were framed with pretty mosaic tiles. She was very impressed!

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