14 Feb 8th–Feb 14th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | A nyone who follows restaurant influ- encers knows that they tend to move in unison. Like a school of fish. Or a flock of birds. Or a herd of stampeding rhinos. If you’re plugged into the Phoenix food scene on social media, you’ve most likely noticed a sudden barrage of posts heralding the discovery of Ban Chan Korean Cuisine, a fantastic “hidden” gem in Mesa. To quote the inimitable Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Ban Chan’s owner and head chef, Irene Woo, has been running Korean restaurants that have garnered press and accolades both in Arizona and elsewhere for 50 years. She’s been “discovered” multiple times over, and her food has graced the pages of the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Magazine, not to mention hundreds of posts on local food discussion sites. The newfound attention is entirely welcome. And there’s always some ink to spare for a humble, delicious homestyle Korean joint that deserves the love. But for those who might be late to the party, perhaps we can do better than to post a few glamor shots and move on to the next hotspot du jour. There’s a lot here to learn, and a lot to like — including the owner herself. Before K-Town was K-Town The city of Los Angeles officially recog- nized Koreatown in 1982. Woo opened her first restaurant, Myeongdong, near the corner of Hobart and Olympic Boulevards in 1975, a year after moving to the U.S. She immigrated from a rural part of Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea’s only landlocked province, and she found a local audience for the food she grew up with. “At that time, that street had only two, three restaurants,” Woo explains. “Now, there are so many there.” In Korea, she’d studied literature and poetry and she’s an accomplished, published author. But like so many others, after waiting tables to make ends meet, she fell into the restaurant industry. Woo moved to Hawaii in 1979 and ran a series of restaurants on Oahu. After three decades, she retired to Phoenix in 2012 so she could be close to her family. Her retire- ment didn’t last long. “So boring,” Woo says. “So I opened again.” Woo launched her retirement project, Ban Chan, in 2014, and praise from Phoenix media followed. She handed the reins over to a friend during the pandemic. But Woo recently returned to the kitchen, adding a laid-back Irene Woo launched her Mesa restaurant Ban Chan in 2014 after finding retirement “so boring.” A recent burst of social media attention has brought new crowds to her homestyle Korean eatery. (Photos by Dominic Armato and Mary Berkstresser) A school of fish. Or a flock of birds. Or a herd of stampeding rhinos. If you’re plugged into the Phoenix food scene on social media, you’ve most likely noticed a sudden barrage of posts heralding the discovery of Ban Chan Korean Cuisine, a fantastic “hidden” gem in Mesa. To quote the inimitable Inigo Montoya, “You keep and head chef, Irene elsewhere for 50 years. pages of the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Magazine, not to mention hundreds of posts on local food discussion sites. The newfound attention is entirely welcome. And there’s always some ink to spare for a >> p 17 Grandma’s on the ’Gram At Ban Chan Korean Cuisine, an old favorite fi nds new life on social media. By Dominic Armato Ban Chan’s owner and head chef, Irene Woo, has been running Korean restaurants for 50 years. (Photo by Mary Berkstresser)
