Smooth Sailing at Seikoen - Torrance

Boys have come a long way since high school. Gone are the days of who-can-grow-the-longest-patches-of-incomplete-facial-hair, JNCO jeans that sag to the knees and cargo pants let you sneak a 2-liter bottle of coke into the movie theater. Enter a new generation of boys-become-men who can be just as much of a man with clean, unbitten nails and designer jeans.

Korean barbecue has undergone a similar evolution. Enter Seikoen, the metro-sexual alternative to beefy slabs dropping with sweet-salty-savory sauce.

Good meat tastes like good meat no matter how you slice it, and a good man is a good man regardless of what he wears. But if we said we don't prefer clean-shaven or neatly-trimmed over scruff we'd be lying, so be sure to both savor AND admire the immaculate marbling of the flavorful Prime Rib.

There is something to be said about a flattering dress shirt, but it's nothing without the tie. This is why the Ox-Tongue is getting some serious lip service. The tongue itself is tender and thin, but it's the layer of finely-ground salt and pepper rub that seals the deal.

Thin slices of buzz-cut Beef Heart make chunky bulgogi look like the bowl cuts off yesteryear.

Even the thicker chunks of chewy Squid turn tender on the grill. Like a squid steak...if squid could be a steak. No tentacular fly-aways here - these slices are as clean as a set of cuticles status post MAN-icure.

I love my bulgogi, and nothing will take galbi's place, but I can't help falling for Seikoen's smoother, more delicate approach. The ingredients are subtle, but there are no sauces to cover up the imperfections, and believe me, Seikoen's stuff has none.