For weeks I’d been hearing about Carlo from my friends in Jisan-dong. They said I had to try it and I had to tell others about it. Located on a block down from Dong-a Department Store, Carlo is a new addition to the ever-changing restaurant scene in this area. I was skeptical since there are a lot of sub-par Italian restaurants in Korea. Also, for me, every Italian restaurant has to compete with the superb Napoli and most fall short.
Carlo is a quaint, more affordable addition for those who want a decent Italian meal. Owned and operated by Giovanni Kim (seriously, that was the name he told us), who has spent the previous decade living in Florence, Italy. I really liked the design of the restaurant. It is comfortable and open, a good place to share a bottle of wine with a friend. Giovanni is very friendly and eager to please his customers.
The menu is simple, but compelling. I started with a Mimosa (5,000 won). He also had Bellinis on the aperitif menu. I’m a sucker for champagne cocktails, so that was a nice menu surprise. I paired that with the antipasto platter of cheeses, meats, and olives (25,000 won). I was a little disappointed, since everything was bought from Costco and I would have liked some bread to be served with it. Main courses are all pasta dishes, ranging between 9,000-12,000 won. I ordered the tortellini with meat sauce, off the menu.
My husband asked Giovanni to recommend something. The chef had prepared an off-menu item for those who were feeling adventurous. He had salmon marinated in herbs, lemon, and white wine with fusilli.
I also ordered a house wine. Giovanni asked me whether I’d like a Chilean or an Italian wine. This impressed me, since in most restaurants the house wine usually comes from a box. I let Giovanni choose and he produced a refreshingly dry chardonnay from Italy. Our pasta arrived and it was cooked to perfection. It is a rare and wonderful thing to find someone who can actually cook pasta. I know that boiling dried dough sounds like an easy thing. It isn’t. The meat sauce was flavorful, but not spectacular. My husband loved his dish, but I found the fish a little overpowering. We then splurged and had the tiramisu. It was a lovely finish to the meal, but again can be found at Costco.
Carlo is a good place to have decent Italian with some friends. I’d like for the chef to branch out a little bit and try something new. I’d also like to see his menu include some non-pasta main dishes. However, Giovanni’s friendliness and willingness to share with his customers makes this a place worth checking out. I think with time, this could be a restaurant that shines.
By Michelle Van Balkom
The Square Buffet on the 8th floor of Novotel is the hottest ticket to impress your date (or make peace with your significant other), while overlooking the Daegu skyline. (Please don’t ask for a map, as its arguably the most noticeable building downtown. If not, then walk out of Kyobo, turn right, walk to the park, turn your head left and look up.)
Gobul has a couple of different locations around downtown Daegu, but all are guaranteed to make you squirm and do a head twitch after ingesting your first (well, maybe give it about 4 or 5 for the cumulative effect to set in) mouthful. A cheap lunch and kickass cajun fries, to boot!
Cajun fries
Spicy chicken
Someone once told me that they felt that Pepper Mill was over-rated. However, looking at what Deli France had to eat, makes me wonder if it’s worth another look.
Source: Shaca78
Source: Violet Street
That’s handmade ice cream, cookies, wafers, and a whole lot of fat going straight to your ass. Only at Africa, a national franchise, but I only know off-hand of directions to the one in Siji. (Note: It might be wise to ask them to hold off on adding Pringles to the ice cream mountain, because they also throw that in, too. Unless you like doing the Korean-style ‘rrrrretch!’ sound that your students do when in mock barf.)
PS, they also do a good gorganzolla pizza, too:
Source: tgmetro
About is the latest new entry to ‘Cafe Alley’ located on the north end of Rodeo, right near Cafe Kori, The place is starting to make some blog waves for its pizza and pasta.
Source: Shaca78
Source: Violet Street
Great breakfast at Coffee & Waffle in the heart of Dongseongno. Right next to Bennigan’s. 와!정말 맛있는데요!
Source: Violet Street
*Sarcasm enabled*
If you’re looking for an authentic place to get your donkkas, fried octopus and noodles or bulgogi dosirak, never fear, cuz London Pub is here!!!!
I really don’t know why they do this, re: Koreans and choosing a business name totally misleading to the wares being offered inside. This is actually a local franchise, as I saw another by Debec Plaza before. I’ll save you the trouble of popping your head inside and expecting Guinness on tap. It is a watering hole that may be worth stopping by for cream seafood spaghetti or some of the staple Korean, Chinese, and Japanese dishes, but disregard any expectant associations that the name might give off.
Michelle visits Bulgogi Brothers and shares:
After hearing so much about Bulgogi Brothers, I was eager to try it when it came to Daegu. I was doubtful that the quality would be worth the steep price, but was willing to give it a try. On the eighth floor of Dong-A Department Store in Jisan-dong next to Primus cinema is where Bulgogi Brothers is located. The décor is very comfortable and the staff very accommodating towards foreigners. We were given a hostess who spoke English and was very friendly and kind. We decided to try the Assorted Bulgogi. Three styles of Bulgogi (600g) for 59,900 Won. The side dishes came out. They were typical of a barbeque restaurant: Kimchi, sweet potato mashed potatoes, radish, pickled cabbage. There was no salad but the onion medley was marinated in a plum wine sauce. This gave the onions a nice sweet flavor. The first of the meat was brought out. It is Un-yang style sirloin. Basically chunks of succulent beef placed on a grill. At this point, I started to reconsider that this meal was not worth the price. The meat was tender and flavorful. The sauces that accompanied the meat were not overwhelming, but enhanced the flavor of the beef. There was a spicy chili sauce that reminded me of a mild barbeque sauce, a sweet soy sauce, and then just plain rock salt. I really enjoyed the chili sauce. The next course was the Sliced Beef Bulgogi. This is very thin cut beef with a good interplay of meat and fat. The fat melts into the meat when cooked to give a smooth taste and texture to the beef. Lastly, there was the Seoul Style Bulgogi. This is like miniature hamburger steaks. I was hesitant about this because I thought they’d dry out on the grill. However, I was very wrong as they were juicy. It was a great way to try three styles of beef.
Along with the meat, Bulgogi Brothers is famous for its selection of wine. Glasses of red or white imported wine (from Spain and Argentina mostly) range from 3,800-7,000 won. However, what I really liked is the impressive selection of Korean wines. They had true Andong soju (38,000 own a bottle) as well as 6-8 rice wine. We choose the Kyeongju Bap-ju which is like a mild sake (21,000). I thought its mild taste was refreshing and was a nice change from the usual beer or soju that I usually have barbeque.The Bulgogi Brothers really gives people a chance to see how good Korean barbeque can be.
