Now, fundraiser Roberta Kjelgaard has cultivated a craving for her pick,
where the menu is playful, but the food is seriously good. She says it's a perfect
introduction to Korean food, thanks to the huge selection and the ample portions. And
the staff is as excited about the food as she is her pick is in Boca Raton and it's called Tacowa.
My name is Eun Mi Kim, I'm this restaurant owner.
I'm Jong Lee, I'm the husband of my wife. And I'm just employee.
I was a sportscaster in my country, South Korea, but in 2019, my older son had a shooting accident
in the Douglas High School. after that my family and my son wanted me to stay with
family. So I quit my job and we started something what to do. So my wife and my mother-in-law was
the restaurant owner in Korea. So we decided to start my business like Korean restaurant.
The most popular item is the bibimbap, because bibimbap means mixed rice or a vegetable,
a very healthy vegetable and some of the meat like beef or pork or chicken, or even tofu.
Tacowa is about tradition, family and good food. Very simple, we are serving good food.
I love the name.
Yeah, I do too. I think street food should be easy, it should be fun. And I think Korean cuisine
is amazing because it's combination of like spicy and savory and sweet and tangy it's just really,
really good. We started with the scallion pancake. It's not on the menu anymore, but you can order
it. And it's full of green onions that are just sort of starting to get a little sweet.
It comes with this dipping sauce, It's soy based It just sends it to a whole new level.
What else?
[Roberta] I love their kimchi fries. It's kind of like a Korean patine. It's
French fries loaded with bulgogi, the beef
[Michelle] Oh wow!
And kimchi on top and cheese and a little cilantro.
Its more than just gravy.
[Roberta] Oh yeah.
Okay.
Better for you I think.
Uh maybe . Darren, this is your first time eating Korean food, right?
Yes.
What'd you think?
I think it was good, I don't know. I've never had Korean food,
I'm not gonna tell a Korean guy, hey, go there, it's--
No, but you know, but if you liked it, that's all that really matters. If you would go back.
I would go back.
You don't have to know any cuisine to like
the cuisine and, and to try it. So tell me what you had.
I had the honey garlic chicken. I feel like the chicken was a little too breaded and fried,
but the rest was great, I had fried rice. So I'm thinking, coz I'm used to just Chinese food right?
You get the Chinese food.
Sure.
They brought this bowl with like rice with this egg on the top. And I was like.
Was that your wife's Bibimbap, or was that?
No, the Bibbidy Bop I thought I was in, I was like, I'm in Disney World.
I'm like Bibbida Blibbida blah blah blah?
[Michelle] Bibimbap
Yeah but she was calling it bibbily bop and the ladies
[Michelle] And chicken.
Were agreeing with her, and she said "Oh yeah, we know we know what you want." But
I tried some of that, that was great. My daughter ordered the, she's a vegan,
my daughter. So she ordered the tacos with the tofu. I ate it and that was amazing. I loved it.
Lillian, what'd you think?
So I've driven past there many, many times. I always thought that the logo is very distinctive.
It's a taco with chopstick in it. So when I had the opportunity to visit, it was great. We had the
steamed dumplings and they were very flavorful. I had the bibimbap and I'd never tried it before.
[Michelle] Did they give you the chili paste. The gojuchang on the side so you can mix it in?
[Lillian] Yes. [Michelle] What'd you think?
[Lillian] I thought it was delicious.
[Michelle] Did you add it all in or little by little ?
No I like a little kick, not..
[Michelle] Understood.
Kicked, kicked under, but it was delicious. And then my husband had his in the stone hotpot and
I liked getting to the bottom of the pot and just having that crispy sizzling rice at the bottom.
That was something I was, the rice was like, like burnt sort of at the bottom, like crispy.
Well [Darren] So I said.
Its supposed to.
Oh, I didn't know that and I asked the lady.
[Michelle] That's the best part.
I was like, I could get that at home, my wife burns everything. So I was Like--
Well, maybe she means to.
[Darren] No.
So the treasure of bibimbap or any of these dishes is that they bring you out a clay pot
and it's very hot. And so whatever gets stuck to the bottom is actually the treasure of the dish
and that texture difference between that and the more cooked rice on the
top that feels softer to your mouth is, is the best part.
So, now instead of complaining, when I'm at home,
I'm like, ooh, I'm getting to the treasure part now.
[Michelle] Yes, treasure.
But yeah, that was, I learned something about Korean food with that.
I worked in, in Seoul for a little while, cooking. And so I learned a
lot about the cuisine there and ever since I brought it back with me that love for
all that beautiful food. You know, you had some entrees you haven't even talked about yet.
We haven't even touched the service with you.
Yeah, so the entrees, we did get a soft corn taco with the spicy pork and the beef, it was good.
And the other entree we had.. I actually tried the Squid, which I had never tried before. Barbecue,
it comes with these little dishes. They give you kimchi, they give you fish cake.
They give you potato salad and then you get to kind of mix and match everything.
[Michelle] Sure. [Roberta] It's fun.
Sure, Lillian, tell me about service.
They have tables outside and they have tables inside. and it was,
I mean, they were turning tables over, service was really great.
Anybody have dessert?
I did, I had green tea cheesecake, it was delicious.
[Darren] I wanted that but they were out.
[Michelle] Ooh!
The whole time I was there I'm like, Ooh, green cheesecake,
green tea cheesecake. So, I got some other thing. It was like some ice cream.
What was your other thing?
[Darren] Mochi, yeah, I was calling them emojis and my daughter's like,
no it's Mochi, but they're these ice cream balls with like dough over 'em.
It's made with Tapioka, It has a fun gummy time texture on the outside and then you find
the ice cream. So Roberta, Tacowa was your choice. Please, give us a little summary.
The food is delicious and it's a great place to explore Korean street food.
Darren?
I loved it, it was easy to get into, great service. It was amazing
and the food, it was great.
Lillian?
I would definitely return next time with more people so that we could sample
more of the menu because the menu is very, very extensive.
Good idea. You can give Korean food a try at Tacowa, located at 159
East Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton. They're open for dinner every day,
but Wednesday and for lunch every day, except Sunday and Wednesday,
reservations are not accepted. The average price for dinner without drinks is about $30.