Late Night Snacks: 24 Hour Barbecue in Koreatown

Kalbi and Pork Belly are cooked to serve at your table at Kunjip. Photo by Clay Williams

KoreaTown is a nightlife oasis in the midtown landscape made up of staid co-worker bars, tourist traps or fratty faux Mexican holes. The main strip on 32nd Street lights up at night with flashing lights and a crowd that's out to party the night away drinking soju and singing Karaoke.

As such, Koreatown also has some of the best 24 hour eateries in the area. As much as we all love a diner burger at three in the morning, the flavor and spectacle of strips and ribbons of meat grilled at your table beats out anything you're going to get at a greasy spoon.

When polled about the best late night food in midtown the intrepid food seekers on the Midtown Lunch message boards recommended Koreatown as the place to go for "some 24 hr bbq, karaoke, and soju to keep the party going"

What's not to love?

For the uninitiated, the strip can be slightly intimidating, so here's a quick primer on the Korean Barbecue experience.

First, the big signs in the windows with picturs of raw meat may worry the queasy, but rest assured, it'll all be cooked by the time you eat it. Also, you'll want to note that this is a meal you'll want to share with a group of friends. There's lots of food and you get the most of it through variety.

Before you order, you'll find your table full of banchan, plate upon plate of Korean appetizers, typically including many pickled and spicy dishes and always with Kimchi.

When you are ready to order, select which kinds of meat you'd like, typically on offer are pork belly, various beef cuts and occasionally chicken. Your choice of meats are brought raw to your table and cooked up hot in the center of your table on a gas grill or griddle. The staff passes by every few minutes to turn the meat or put another batch on the fire. Among the many plates on the table will be lettuce that you can use to wrap up your meat laden bounty with.

Today's slideshow offers a preview of the meal at Kunjip, one of the classic 24 hour Korean Barbecue restaurants.

Kunjip, 9 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001

Won Jo, 23 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001