By LILLIAN GLAROS
PHOTO CREDIT Lillian Glarose
Walk into either of College Park’s Korean barbeque joints and you’ll be greeted by the sizzling sounds of grilling and the hum of families and students chatting over their meals. Then, you’ll sit down and start cooking.
In the Korean barbecue style of cooking, diners grill their own meat or seafood right at their tables.
“It’s more fun, informal, the customers get involved,” said Annie Ni, the shift lead and a server at Honey Pig Korean BBQ, one of two Korean barbeque restaurants in College Park.
Honey Pig opened in January, and the city’s other Korean barbeque, MeatUp Korean Barbeque & Bar, started up a year ago. A third, Iron Pig, opened in nearby Berwyn Heights in 2021.
Korean barbecue has been a growing trend for years. Market research and technology company Circana reported in September that the number of Korean restaurants, including barbecue places, increased by 10% over the past year.
Ni said the number of restaurants is growing because of how customizable the dining experience can be, with cooking times and sauces up to the consumer.
Honey Pig Korean BBQ, at 7326 Baltimore Avenue, is part of a chain with other locations in Maryland, Virginia and Texas.
Food-delivering robots and K-pop music fill the large dining area, which Ni said is “full-house packed” every weekend.
The restaurant offers both á la-carte and all-you-can-eat options, and the menu includes beef, chicken, pork, lamb, seafood and shellfish, along with side dishes like steamed eggs and seafood pancakes.
The all-you-can-eat option has two separate menus. Menu A is less than $30 and features meats like beef bulgogi and pork belly, while Menu B, priced less than $40, offers the same meats plus seafood and other meats like LA Galbi–a style of short ribs. Some meats on the B menu are limited to one order per person.
The business attracts a lot of University of Maryland students, but the clientele isn’t solely college kids.
“It’s a really easy-going environment, and it’s … it’s a fun place to be for anyone, any age,” said Ni, who pointed to beef brisket and beef bulgogi as two of the most popular dishes.
Hyattsville resident Monique Van Blaricom, a Korean barbecue fan, said she likes Honey Pig’s side dishes, as well as the atmosphere and attentive servers.
“I love Korean barbecue,” Van Blaricom said. “I also really love foods where you get to kind of make it at the table, whether it’s Korean barbecue or hot pot or, really, fondue, anything like that.”
Her husband, Justin Van Blaricom, said the couple was excited to have a Korean barbeque place close to home. He also said he enjoys the do-it-yourself aspect of Korean barbeque.
“It’s like all the fun of cooking yourself, but you don’t have to clean anything up, and you don’t have to prepare anything,” Van Blaricom said.
MeatUp Korean Barbeque & Bar, located at 8503 Baltimore Ave., replaced Kangnam BBQ Sports Bar & Grill after the owner retired, according to MeatUp’s owner, Lawrence Chen. The interior features neon lights in a kaleidoscope of colors.
His restaurant offers not only a Korean barbeque experience, but also serves ramen and other dishes, such as bibimbap, a Korean rice dish.
The business offers an all-you-can-eat lunch option for less than $25 on weekdays, and an all-day, all-you-can eat choice on weekends for less than $35. Kids younger than 5 eat for free, and kids from 5 to 12 eat for half price. In addition, smaller-portioned dishes from the ramen bar can be added to the all-you-can-eat option for $3.50.
Chen said some of the most popular dishes at the restaurant are beef bulgogi, beef brisket and shrimp, although the barbeque also offers other meats, like chicken and pork belly.
To Chen, Korean barbeque restaurants aren’t just for grilling meat, but offer a place for people to gather together and for friends to learn more about each other while preparing a meal.
Odenton resident Cierra Woods, a customer of MeatUp, said she loves Korean barbeque, especially bulgogi and the “fun vibe” of the restaurants.
She said she likes the K-pop music and creativity MeatUp offers for her dining experience.
Woods’ friend, UMD student Jeneh Perry, said she decided to visit the restaurant because she saw it on TikTok and was intrigued by all the drinks and lights.
Her favorite dish is the spicy pork belly, and like Woods, she is a Korean barbeque fan.