PASTORAL KOREAN RESTAURANT
When Messy found herself craving JaJangMyung noodles (noodles in black bean sauce) that Picky used to make for her back when we had a car and access to a Korean grocery store, we decided to try out a restaurant that we've walked past a million times: Pastoral. Why have we walked past it a million times yet never ventured inside? We don't know. When we first stepped into Pastoral, we found that the clientle was ENTIRELY Asian! A promising sign. The interior was very nice, all wood with plenty of tables. There were also tables to accomodate larger parties. But sadly, the service was slooooooowww. We ordered barley tea (boree-cha) and got it for dessert. The noodle dishes Messy craved were only offered at lunch, so we had to pick something else. They don't have any vegetarian options on the menu, but you can ask for no meat or no anything-else-you-please and they'll make it to order.
As for their panchan (complimentary side dishes), Picky enjoyed the kim-chi much more than that at Miran. Messy had the opposite reaction, finding Pastoral's kim-chi pretty much unpalatable. (Note: Messy is not Korean). We had the reverse situation with the oi-kim-chi. Messy found it crisp and delectable, while Picky thought it was not yet ripe and way too sweet.
For our entree, we decided to order the same kind of mixed rice as at Miran, BiBimBap, in a hot stone bowl; at Pastoral, they call the dish kop-dol BiBimBap. We found it on par with Miran. Picky thinks they served their rice slightly underdone as to cook the last bit inside the sizzling bowl. Picky thinks that the kochujang (hot chili sauce) was nicer, a finer tasting blend. When we were almost done with our BiBimBap, our server brought over our boree-cha and apologized, she had completely forgotten we ordered it. Messy thought it was too cold and tasting just like the tea they serve at Chinese restaurants. Picky thinks it was watered down –perhaps a second pot of tea was made using the same barley– but plenty hot for his tastes.
Picky still has yet to try the traditional Korean BBQ dish, kalbi, at a sit down restaurant in Philadelphia.
Messy: ***
Picky: ***1/2
The final word: Good above average Korean food.
Pastoral Korean Restaurant
205 S. 13th Street
215-545-8511
Mon - Sat: 11.30am - 10pm
Sun: Closed
November 21st, 2005 at 3:31 pm
We went here this past weekend– I got the Kop-dol bibimbap. I liked it a lot– the crispy rice has always been my favorite part of this dish. Thought both the kimchi and oi-kimchi were fine. We're definitely going back to this place. Thumbs up.
September 29th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
My fiance and I are both vegetarian, and when we went here last week, we found that they had an entire vegetarian menu, with nearly 20 options! I just wanted to add this as an update, since your original post says that there aren't any "offical" veggie options.
I had their dumpling soup, which was very good but a little too peppery, and my fiance had the kimchi soup, which he really enjoyed. We also both really liked the fresh tofu they set out for us with our panchan. I obviously can't speak for the meat-eaters out there, but I would definitely reccomend this place to my fellow vegetarians and also to vegans.
June 15th, 2007 at 11:50 am
The service here is suspect. I walked in and had to basically walk all the way back to the kitchen and yell at them in my native Korean to have them wake up and actually sit me down.
The "ban-chan" is okay, but again filled with MSG. Miran's ban-chan is absolutely horrible. The kim-chi wasn't even close to being ripe and the kakk-duggi was about a day from being too sour. The odd thing about Miran was that there was no Korean waitstaff. The Koreans who were eating there were all Americanized and couldn't speak a lick of Korean. So all you non-Koreans or really Caucasians using that rule that if you see a bunch of Asians it must be good!! What a joke - The Asians that were eating there wouldn't know good Korean if it fell on their head!
And if you're looking for Jja-jang myun - a Korean restaurant isn't the place to go. It's a dish made by Chinese-born Koreans called Hwa-Gyo. Just like Chinese Food in America is bastardized for our taste buds, they do the same thing in Korea. All the good places have closed or changed owners and now suck. There's one on 5th in the NE and another on Castor past Sam-Won, but they both are horrible now. The one on Castor used to be great as the chef there made his own noodles (myun). The new rumor is that up in North Wales at the Assi Plaza is where the latest and greatest place is. Haven't been up there and really don't trust the taste buds of the peeps who passed along that rumor.
January 21st, 2008 at 3:32 am
As neighbors and past patrons of Pastoral, our heart breaks for the proprietors and occupants of the building that caught fire last night. We are very glad that no one lost their life in the fire.
We hope that Pastoral will once again open its door to customers in 2008.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I was looking at Eddie's comment and wondering what place he's thinking of in the Assi Plaza. Does he mean the restaurants inside it or one in the Assi shopping center? I'm just curious because I haven't been to Assi in quite a while and would do anything to drag my family over there.
And I was sad to hear about Pastoral caught fire, as I was actually hoping to try it soon.