I’m dreaming of a pork Christmas. Porkfolio in Arcadia took me there, a hot Korean BBQ experience just in time for winter.
They obviously have a focus, but their specialty are these pork flights, which are beautifully presented on a wood block before being incinerated before your very eyes. Me and my smoking hot date tried Combo A, which included eight pretty-damn-good varieties
Black Sesame knocked me on my ass. It’s a crowd pleaser, packs a punch and is familiar in a ‘mom’s pork chops’ kind of way. I would eat this until I was dragged out of the restaurant.
Garlic got me good, too. Another bold yet easy-to-love option, it’ll make folks real happy.
The wine flavor was the most challenging. It was good, certainly, but it might challenge mall-going Korean BBQ customers. It’s pungent and warm and in some ways doesn’t taste like meat. Tasted like edible Cabernet, I’m into it.
Curry was a big old highlight for me, possibly my favorite. It’s a very direct interpretation: it tastes like curry. But it was perfectly cooked and was just aggressive enough to make an impression. It sort of brought all the meats together, the centerpiece of a beautiful assortment.
Herb, or yung herb as I prefer to call it, was distinct and packed so much flavor in every bite. It tasted like bratwurst, peppery and smoky and satisfying as hell.
Big credit to Porkfolio for the carefully curated program. There’s real thought put into which meats come out when, a mix of classic and more inventive tastes.
The Banchan – appetizers, essentially – was strong and good and I was tempted to eat them all on repeat before the meats arrived.
The fish cake was my favorite. It was light and simultaneously recognizable and bizarre. I was thrilled by it.
Kim Chi is a classic; kinda tough to mess it up. Porkfolio didn’t let me down, this was divine. Simple and hot and just, mwah.
Later we tried pork chops and applesauce skewers. Hello, fantastic. Kinda mad I never thought to make these myself.
The seafood soup was diverse and hearty. Big old shrimps, mussels, clams, crab legs – when I tell you was living, please believe me.
I was sad the night had to end, but I’d had so much tremendous food that I couldn’t really feel bad. Imma remember this.
/Photos by Ron Clark