17 February 9-15, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Big K-Pop Energy Moodaepo is an all- you-can-eat Korean barbecue in Carrollton. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS B ack in 2012 Food Republic pub- lished an article about Brian Chong, in which he was dubbed the unofficial mayor of Kore- atown in Los Angeles. We hope someone alerted Carrollton, because he’s brought his K-Pop flare for dinner and a show to town. Chong moved to Los Angeles from rural Korea in 1982. He got into the restaurant and entertainment business, and in 2008 opened his first Moodaepo Korean barbecue in Cali- fornia. When the pandemic struck and all restaurants took a big hit, Chong, now 60, saw it as a good time to relocate to Texas for the same reason so many Californians do: money. Doing business and living here is simply more affordable. Moodaepo Texas opened in Carrolton in 2022. If K-pop power-anthem energy could get a verified checkmark, Moodaepo would. Walking in, especially for the first time, there’s a lot to take in. Robots stacked with meats whir past. Big silver contraptions hover over rows and rows of tables. These vent hoods, it turns out, are for grills embed- ded in each table. In the evenings, things can get busy with a line of folks waiting for a table. We ar- rived a little before the big dinner rush on a Saturday evening and waited only a few minutes. During dinner, the full all-you-can-eat experience is $39 (lunch is $25, and kids eat for less). Order whatever meats you want to start with, but be mindful of grill space; you can always order more, so instead of having a plate of raw meat sitting on the table, wait until you’re ready to cook it before ordering. That’s what the robots are for. There are 39 protein options, from bris- ket to head-on shrimp, marinated or just plain. The meat is thinly sliced — a butcher counter lines one side of the restaurant, where the meat is cut and plated before be- ing sent to tables on robot servers. Or a hu- man server brings it out. You want the ’bots, though. In addition to the meats, there are 10 sides on the menu, including a fresh green mix (good with steak). Be sure to order the steamed egg, which is like a personal souf- fle topped with a little corn and cheese. It’s magically fluffy and cooked absolutely perfectly all the way to the bottom. Kim- chi soup, corn cheese and kimchi fried rice are some of the other sides. Premium cuts of meat like black angus, wagyu and Kobe A5 are on offer as well, for an upcharge; the most expensive item on the menu is 8 ounces of Kobe A5 for $168. A quick-serve ramen station is a fun ame- nity and kind of like a salad bar at a steak- house; doesn’t cost extra and with all the food you’re about to get you certainly don’t need it, but it’s fun. There’s a salad bar next to the line of ramen cookers with egg, cheese and green onion if you want to zhuzh up your soup. Then there’s the two-page cocktail and beer menu to take care of everything else. We missed the Watermelon Soju ($40), half of a watermelon filled with slushie booze. Most tables had a pitcher ($25) or tower ($40) of beer. K-Pop plays over everything at night; TVs are everywhere as well, so lots of dis- tractions. Families pack tables with kids of all ages, although in the evening the clien- tele skews toward adults. If you need some- thing, don’t be shy. Service was fast and attentive during our visit, but you may have to wave someone down. There are waiters and servers (and robots) everywhere. Make reservations to avoid a wait on the week- ends. Chong has two other concepts in Car- rollton; Chicken Warriors is a lively K-pop- inspired Korean-fried chicken spot. His third restaurant, which will open later this year with brunch early in the day and sushi in the evening, is one we’ll follow up on. Moodaepo, 3044 Old Denton Road, Car- rollton. 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday – Saturday; 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sunday. ▼ BURGERS MOST UNDERRATED BURGER IN DALLAS? BLACKJACK PIZZA IN SOUTH DALLAS SHOULD BE IN YOUR BURGER ROTATION. BY DOYLE RADER D allas is a city defined by burgers. Ask any North Texan for a burger recom- mendation and they’ll likely rattle off five or six places they swear by unequivocally. A few staple joints usually make people’s lists, guided by personal experience or influ- enced by publications like this one. Google the best burgers in Dallas and recent lists from all the major outlets rarely include any spot south of Interstate 30, and none include Blackjack Pizza. Not yet, anyway. Blackjack Pizza might have one of the most slept-on burgers in Dallas. The nonde- script location at the corner of Martin Lu- ther King Jr. Boulevard and Atlanta Street in South Dallas is serving up a hefty, high-qual- ity burger that deserves consideration as an entry on everyone’s go-to list. The burgers here are legit. Unwrapping the burger from its white paper wrapper requires at least one napkin. That’s a good thing. The thick, homemade patties are topped with fresh vegetables — lettuce, onions and pickles — with a choice of mayonnaise, mustard or both. None of the burgers runs more than $8.95. The Blackjack cheeseburger is $6.50. There’s an option with double meat, but the single size should be enough to satisfy al- most any appetite. Sides of french fries ($2.85) and onion rings (small $3.50, large $4) are available. Still, it’s the burger, with its glistening bun, ample beef patty, American cheese and per- fectly crunchy vegetables, that’s the star of the show. Blackjack has two locations: one in South Dallas and another in Pleasant Grove. It’s worth the trip no matter where you live in the city. Word to the wise if you’re heading to the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard location: there is no exterior signage other than a pa- per sign taped to the door. The restaurant is still in the midst of repairs after teenagers crashed a stolen car into Blackjack in Sep- tember 2022. Because of the repairs, there’s currently no indoor dining. Roll in, place your order, watch some NBA basketball on the TV in the corner while you wait for your food and take it somewhere where you can really enjoy it. The banks of the Leonhardt Lagoon at Fair Park or a table at your favorite watering hole will never let you down. Dallasites are particular about every- thing, especially when it comes to their all- beef patties cradled in a warm bun. Blackjack Pizza’s burger is worthy of atten- tion, and it’s long past due for this restaurant to enter the pantheon of go-to, recom- mended burger destinations in Dallas. One thing to note: Blackjack Pizza is cash only. 2536 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (South Dallas). Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon – 10 p.m. Closed Sunday. Lauren Drewes Daniels Moodaepo brings K-pop energy to Korean barbeque in Carrollton. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish >> p18
