Cheap Eats - Honey Pig: Good gluttony

Korean barbecue in Duluth

Given the South’s love affair with any meat kissed by fire, Atlanta’s abundance of Korean barbecue restaurants is no surprise. Until recently, our Korean ‘cue options were limited to the grate suspended over charcoal or gas flames. Honey Pig (3473 Old Norcross Road, Duluth, 770-476-9292), however, has introduced our fair city to samgyeopsal jip, a pork-belly barbecue house where your meal is cooked on a cast-iron lid resembling an inverted wok.

The surprisingly stylish space has contemporary touches: black granite tables and sleek leather chairs for added comfort. The grilling choices are naturally meat-heavy – the chewy baby pork belly ($17.95) and buttery prime beef ($22.95) are standouts – but there are other options, such as an abundant platter of assorted mushrooms ($16.95). The meal starts, innocently enough, with chilled bowls of piquant daikon soup and condiment trays of raw garlic, chili sauce and salty bean paste. Then the gluttony ensues. Mounds of chili-laced bean sprouts and baechu kimchi (fermented cabbage) hit the hot lid. A pat of butter sizzles across the surface followed by the meat, which begins to emit a seductive aroma as it caramelizes. In addition to the standard lettuce leaves, gelatinous rice-paper slices and pickled daikon rounds are also provided for an endless combination of wrapping flavors and textures.

Just as your buttons are about to pop, the waiter spins a long strand of octopus around the knob of the grill, where it wriggles from the heat as if alive, before snipping it into tender pieces. The next course, the fried rice, is the undisputed highlight of the meal. A bowl of seasoned rice is spread across the grill, where it begins to toast while being mixed with the leftover bits from your meal – nothing gets wasted here. As the waiter returns with one last gift, a steaming bowl of soup dotted with slices of zucchini, you begin to realize that the restaurant’s name might not have anything to do with the menu at all.