The Best Noodles and Banchan Are Hidden in the Back of a Korean Grocery Store - Dining on a Dime

In this week’s episode of Dining on a Dime: Chicago Edition, host Lucas Peterson heads to the Avondale neighborhood to visit Joong Boo Market, a Korean grocery store with a secret: in the back of the store is a small restaurant called the Snack Corner, where patrons can buy traditional, homestyle Korean cuisine.
For more episodes of Dining on a Dime, click here: • The Bone-in Pork Chop ...
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[@solidkingcobra]

this is the first Dining on a Dime episode I ever saw. Lucas is a genuinely awesome person to be around with and that's what makes this show successful.

[@BrianMcNay]

Little known fact about Lucas...he speaks so many languages because he used to be in the CIA but was dropped from the program because he would continuously eat at all the street food carts while on assignment.

[@madethat]

+Brian McNay I can totally believe that

[@madethat]

+Fanglin Chen you must be fun at parties -_-

[@eater]

+Brian McNay We'd tell you what Lucas' CIA codename was, but then we'd have to make you... disappear. Thanks for watching!

[@oTwOrDsNe]

+Fanglin Chen Wow! Looking at his linkedin profile, he went to the college I currently go to!

[@sahlay]

+Brian McNay He is also a Jeopardy champion? this guy does it all

[@toukairin354]

I like that Lucas isn't "judgmental". A presenter that eat while saying "aww this is delicious!" with energy and excitement has certain charm into it, but Lucas' way of explaining the food he eats engages my "brain"(so to speak) in addition to my tongue (I'm always salivating seeing great food up close!). And that doesn't include the "fact" (can only look from the screen!) that he is downright humble, never too cheeky to ask anything he doesn't know about the food, and explaining it in a way that everyone would understand. Keep it coming, Eater! I'm a regular!

[@JustSujC]

Lucas is honestly so down to earth, wonderfully intelligent and my favorite food host of all time. He should be on primetime cable with his own show.

[@Dschinghiss]

Lucas is the kindest, chillest dude I´ve ever seen.

[@AceHalford]

People really underestimate these kinds of foods; snack corners, food counter, "food court," in places like these dedicated grocery stores, maybe an IKEA, Costco, and such. Truth is these foods are actually brilliant, but some people have "Standards," nobody knows food unless you're an adventurous person.

[@esaw7067]

deep man

[@tengkumuafiedrin1988]

"nobody knows food unless you're an adventurous person".

[@exgoogler-inteller]

im korean I went there couple times. that place suck and known among korean.

[@Chofrizzy]

Tengku Mu'afi Edrin it’s been two years and I’m still trying to figure out what this means

[@ddacoe0]

@@exgoogler-inteller do you know better korean restaurants in the city?

[@soccerlovin1]

Lucas is the only person I really enjoy watching on Eater. MORE OF HIM!

[@islapanorama]

+Lucas Peterson Youre phenomenal, love your show. Greetings from Uruguay

[@MrOkShin]

You the best Lucas, keep up the great work on Eater! You're one of the main reasons that I'm here!

[@CartyCantDance]

Love when you engaged those other customers Lucas. You're such a beaming personality.

[@asma4333]

love how you use their language when you order the food that was really cute,i love everything about korea food,language, korean drama, kpop ........... no wonder they eat lots of seafood love it

[@FuckingOwnd]

I used to come here like once a week when I still lived in Chicago. The sticky fried chicken wings in the sweet sauce and the spicy tofu soup (not sure what it's called) are an absolute must try. That lady has pumping out delicious food since like 2004 when I first went there.

[@_kimakim]

Angry Beaver if you like those wings, go to great seas off kimball. They’re the same Korean style wings 😀

[@AL__EX]

In fairness, all he really did was say hello in korean, and the korean names for the dishes, all of which are very very popular dishes. but I've seen the episodes where he speaks Spanish, and that was very impressive.

[@greeneyedkat32]

How do these videos not have more likes?!! I just watched so many episodes with Lucas and they are all so good!! Lucas is such a great host!! He describes everything so well, is super friendly and polite and seems like a genuinely fun and sweet person. All the videos deserve way more likes then they have!!

[@andrewtalon9929]

This guys deserves more views, he's like super informative, easy to like and chill AF, I'm a fan

[@hfxhero]

I genuinely love this Lucas guy. I've been binge-watching a bunch of Dining on a Dime and I find Lucas so genuinely kind, and charming.

[@soyabeanmui]

Yes more please! Very enjoyable to watch. Lucas is informative, charming and knowledgable, my new favourite food host so far! Please continue with more of these. Would love to see him explore street food in Asia and Europe.

[@hyuneeEats]

Lucas is my favorite💕best host evarrr👍🏼

[@TheSuaveBOSS]

Love the way Lucas presents this series!

[@ervinmaca4019]

My favorite series here on The Eater, such well made content and Lucas is doing a great job hosting. I'm a Fan!

[@BoyAditya]

this IS why i love dinning on dime episodes! lucas always found hidden gems :-P

[@ladyshkspre]

Just discovered this channel recently and I am enjoying these videos immensely. How many languages do you know? You're my new hero!

[@JoanneLeeLZ]

my fav food video of Lucas's foodie adventures to date! (1) he ate like a man by not blowing the piping hot soup and dumplings, (2) his excitement exuding while waiting for his food to arrive and (3) his inquisitive nature about the food despite halfway eating thru the meal

[@lemons_s]

I look forward to this series every week.

[@kylerscott8522]

Yes we want to see more, thanks Lucas

[@zzccvvbbnnmmaassddff]

I actually do like your content. it's very original and I feel that you guys really research on it's roots about the area, pretty well. I never been to chicago, I am amaze by how your content work with theme. good video

[@wonjooncooks5053]

Lucas! It's wonderful to see some of my hometown food in your show. Keep up the greatness.-from S.Korea :)

[@musingsofajay387]

+Won Joon Chee im in south korea too! :D but im chinese from san francisco

[@keiffactory]

Here is why Lucas is the perfect host for any food related shows. He makes anything he eats very appetizing. I've had plenty of Mandu (korean dumplings he ate at the end) in my life, and I've never been a huge fan of them. But watching Lucas bite into one of those made me want to eat one really badly.

[@woooordtest2874]

Yesssssssss, please keep making more stuff with Lucas!

[@fattymoko]

Those are the stems of the sweet potato plant. They also serve only the leaves sometimes and they tend to be kind of slimy. A lot of Korean markets world wide have shack corners. They are a great deal. The food is prepared to order, hot, fresh, delicious and sometimes a full meal is less than $8.00. Try the traditional mundoo kuk, spicy dehjee pork, chicken wings and bulkogee. They are easy going down and not hard core but very flavorful and delightful for a very fast, private meal with good people and surroundings. You can also ask the vendor what to buy to duplicate the dish at home and voila, you are in the store! Nice share! Thanks!

[@brandonchavez6315]

I love this place. I shop there all the time. Great produce, fish, and meat!!

[@RaviPatel-wi7xk]

Awesome job on the video this week Lucas! I can't wait to check this place out over the weekend! Looking forward to more Chicago videos.

[@sirajzafar4974]

Lucas is great and humble which makes him so loveable. The only reason I watch this channel 👌😂

[@JustOneBitePlease]

Joong Boo Market is one of my favorite stops when visiting Chicago. I especially love the Pork and Kimchi Mandu that is sold at the Mandu Stand just outside the front door of the market. For those of you who haven't been, I highly recommend to check it out!

[@eater]

+Just One Bite, Please? We had them! Check out the end of the video! Thanks for watching!

[@Shokupan982]

This series is wonderful! More Lucas please!

[@katherinezp]

He is very brilliant to introduce the food

[@preventer333]

to answer your question correctly, most restaurants in Korea will ask or offer you rice, or other alternative 'main' meal. You just gotta tell them what you want and they will bring it to you. This is more common in Korean BBQ restaurants, but for those stew/soup based restaurants, they will simply bring rice along at the beginning of the meal.

[@janninchukis]

Just saw this video on Facebook, I've been coming to this place for 3 years now. But, I only go to buy groceries :( now that I've seen this video I will definitely try their food! By the way I've seen your other videos and I love them, I am a new subscriber :) just love your personality and the love that you have for food! Your doing an amazing job!

[@eater]

+BetsyJannin Thanks for subscribing!

[@synocrat601]

I live down the block from this place and probably have shopped here about once or twice a week over the last 12 years. Really good prices on a lot of things that can be hard to find at other places. It really is as good as he says.

[@theyruinedyoutubeagain]

I absolutely love this channel

[@muyc]

Another great video. Well done, Lucas!

[@junnagels]

again, Lucas delivers quality content.

[@RayfilWong]

Lucas actually knows how to describe food!

[@redRAID3R]

Love watching this guy!

[@koutsoullis]

Lukas i love all the episodes dining on a dime i hope all the food that you ordering doesn't go to waste ;)

[@anru3296]

So I go to Chicago fairly often and never knew about this place until I watched how Lucas just devoured all my favs. Went there shortly after with a friend just to do some shopping and eat at this place with a train booked to leave that evening. While we were eating we sorta forgot about time and when we finally remembered to check, we had just barely enough time (maybe) to catch the train. Both me and my friend froze for a sec and then looked at each other, be like "oh f*ck the ticket home let's eat!!!!!!"

[@samsports92]

Thanks for the suggestion! Made the trip there yesterday! So good!

[@kcfamilam5109]

Aw yea mainlining that Lucas Peterson str8 to the dome.

[@Ean0107]

Been to this place before on vacation but usually in Korean grocery stores you’ll find restaurants like these very common and very cheap and tasty.

[@brendawilson4995]

me being part korean rice is always served with everything its basicly our staple food we also love to feed people and too have diffrent people try our fiod makes us so happy

[@What-fx5dm]

Always enjoying your show. Absolutely loved this one too. One thing you might wanna know is that the sweet potato banchan you had with the sundubu is not the root (Obviously because the root of sweet potato is sweet potato itself) but rather stalk part of sweet potatoes. Blanched and seasoned. Oh and your Korean accent was really cute :)

[@johnkang2000]

Well a bowl of steamed rice is really the center piece of all Korean meals. In fact, those soups count as "ban-chan" and serve as side dish for your main dish which is rice. After a nice steak dinner with my grandparents, my grandpa would always ask for a bowl of rice... Oh and at 5:30 that's not root of sweet potato, but rather the stem of the plant with the hard cellulose exterior stripped off. It's really quite delicious and serves as main ingredient in the beef stew.

[@willynilly91]

It's always cool to see my culture's food being showcased on an American cooking show/channel.

[@TheTechHelper101]

Besides the fact that you're the best and a marvelous host, I love when the rice cake sucks up the delicious sauce. Yum!

[@sanchopanza2024]

I have been in this place a number of times. I have to drive 30 minutes, but it doesn't really matter. I always come back with a butch of Korean groceries!

[@GODWIN777]

ty for your sacrifice the viewers are happy.

[@hengon93]

Gotta love Lucas!

[@luckyguy71]

I am totally in love with Lucas Peterson.

[@keiffactory]

+Guy Mats but he's my man crush monday.....

[@Nanorisk]

Lucas, as much as I love your videos, I have to correct you a bit on the ordering-rice-in-China-offends-people thing. Ordering rice will not offend anyone, as long as you ask if anybody else on the table wants it and order for them as well. It applies to noodles, steam buns and other "staple" items. It has little to do with dietary differences, just etiquette. But of course if you ask for rice in a noodle-specific place then that's a bit tricky, like asking for a BMW in an Audi dealership. All in all, I absolutely adore your videos, good presentation, very relaxing for viewers.

[@NebPWN]

+Lucas Peterson definitely not true

[@winawina4389]

I'm a bit confused in that part too, I mean, isn't rice one of the main staple in China too besides noodles? Why would they offended and kinda weird about it

[@weenisw]

I've shopped at Joong Boo multiple times but I didn't try the food in the back. I did not see the bun place outside either and that really devastates me. Oh well I guess I'll go now!

[@tangrila4971]

aaand the entertainer that keeps me coming back to Eater, just for him. Good job.

[@lesjohnson9740]

Great stuff Lucas as usual.

[@mayswildman]

When it comes to instant ramen it's all about that Shin Ramen! Thanks for another great video.

[@rigs54321]

The girl in the beanie is 😍😍😍

[@Qubnomil]

Labokki has been around at least for 20 years or so; I don't know how "new" that makes it, but it is amazing.

[@winreacts6528]

Is it just me or does the way he eat is really professional? I mean, look at the way he eats lol. Damn.

[@stellahong5363]

Hi Lucas btw the "sweet potato root" is not the root of the sweet potato. They are the stems of sweet potato. I think the lady got confused. Also, in Korea, rice is extremely common and all soups such as the ones you ordered comes with a side of rice.

[@Ange-ns5be]

Love these videos. Lucas finds the best spots!!!

[@kzgc8y3n]

Lucas has a really great, unpretentious way of describing the food he is eating.

[@catpiano1]

i am no Korean, but my mouth is watering... so good man!!

[@Tetsirou]

actually in Korea, rice is almost like a staple food. Sticky rice in Korea is pretty popular and popular to other Asian cultures because the consistency is so different from that of regular rice you'd taste in a typical Asian restaurant.

[@kkz201]

i love that lucas plays the part of a homeless person in this series. adds authenticity to the features.

[@jag1436]

Went here yesterday after seeing this video. Long line & only a few places to sit but food was great and grocery is really good. Next time I'll bring something to wipe the sweat off my face they only have tiny little napkins and I had spicy squid and it had me lit up. Sat with a young and beautiful Korean couple who just moved to Chicago from Hawaii and happened in

[@jr13227]

I drive by this place all the time and never thought much of it. Maybe I should visit.

[@Mintpepperoni]

4:30 - Hmm, I think 'silken tofu' is the fancy way of saying uncurdled tofu, and not the other way around. Lucas, amazing job as usual. Is a TV show in the works? A book perhaps? We need more Lucas!

[@MonsieurDecent]

4:10 True! ~50 years ago in Taiwan, a general's well-educated and very pleasant wife, who's a family friend, needed to eat rice in every meal. Because of their social-and-political-professional position, they had to attend various functions that entailed banquets often. The chefs in charge of the banquets always asked beforehand: "Is the lady who eats rice coming? (『哪個吃飯的太太來嗎？』)", so they knew if the needed to prepare plain steam rice just for her.

[@Grace-tz2rc]

We need a show like this in australia!!

[@xevie37x]

Love Joong Boo. Used to live 5 minutes away from the market when I lived in Chicago!

[@uncthehost]

Lucas is legit dope. I'd rage it up in Seattle with him. More Lucas!

[@sebastianh7936]

That is right Lucas, we need to have rice to make our tummy full! 🤗☺😋

[@dudeitsbilly6295]

I need more Lucas

[@iamjimmy1991]

I'm subbing just because this guy is so chilled/entertaining to watch. Need more videos from him!

[@angelazhuo8727]

The Love Life Of An Asian Guy brought me here and now I can't stop watching Lucas' videos

[@protocolofficer2629]

Just excellent. I live close to Toronto's Korea Town and while I enjoy looking at the food in the stores, do not know what it is or how to cook it. Your video is a great help and I look forward to your next video and my next sortie to KT. Thanks very much!

[@ruifreitas3145]

This guy is great!

[@jwkpov734]

Glad, I subscribed. Various food, and countries! Great perspective!

[@Tetsirou]

Also i love how you're not afraid to ask questions. Some food bloggers like to pretend they know what's going on, when they really don't lol.

[@eater]

+Big Boss Thanks for watching!

[@swish1onu]

by the way... I don't think its the sweet potato root... since the root of the sweet potato plant is the sweet potato itself... its gogoma-julgi... the portion of the plant above ground that is very "vine" like extension that run along the ground... "julgi"

[@average_pedestrian]

best one yet! luckily close to many korean joints so i'm not jealous like most episodes

[@marcosgonzalez7607]

Loving that SKA in the beginning. HEY HEY HEY

[@Rbrezay]

Gotta love Korean food. Ended the video with one of my favorites

[@shua-park]

I totally went to this grocery store growing up... I also remember running straight to the seafood section and fighting with the live crabs with tongs.

[@iwong1]

great show Lucas keep it up!

[@timberwolfe338]

+Eater The kimchi served is a variant called gak-doughee which is usually cubed daikon or radish in standard kimchi seasonings. It's generally less fermented and fresher tasting, as well as being crisp and having a differing eating experience from your better-known bok choy style leaf kimchi.

[@ZyklonB95]

Some of the best food I've eaten have been from these hidden, back room places in markets. We have one locally here in Birmingham, AL, in the back of an Asian food market. They have the best authentic Chinese food I've had, by far. It's become more well known in the last few years, and they have added on a new beautiful dining room, but back in the day it was just a few simple tables, and never more than 2 or 3 people there at any given time. Prices are reasonable too. It's definitely not the American Chinese food people are used to here.

[@1yusaku896]

yeah most big-supermarket chains have snack corners just like that in korea. and labokki is really popular to young people like students. interesting video

[@beepo52]

Lucas, you give me life. I recently got stationed at the naval base in Great Lakes. I'm tired of people suggesting pizza and hot dog places. If you know of any good curry/ kurma places make a video!

[@Buhle93]

Yaay, delaying my sleep by 8 mins (and probably inducing munchies) for Lucas :)

[@CJFUNKHOUSE]

nice video and those dumplings look reeeeaaaallll nice

[@aarav3890]

Damn Lucas, I study at the University of Illinois and I've been super curious about Chicago food, because it's my favorite American city so far. Thanks for the great insight into the Chitown culinary scene!

[@JernauMoratGurgeh]

those dumplings look amazing