Last Sunday, we drove over to Telegraph Ave in Oakland in search of some good Korean BBQ. A whole section of the street on Yelp was lined in little red markers indicating a whole alley of highly-rated Korean food and places named “Casserole House” (also Korean). As much as I sometimes dislike Yelp, I have to say that I use it almost every day, since I’m new to Berkeley and frequently get lost or turn down dead-end streets or another super slow pedestrian crosses the street without looking and I am left in a cesspool of my own rage because I have a very important date with a bagel in the morning before work and oh my God do you need to tie your shoe right now.

We walked into Sahn Maru, which is a homey, brightly-lit establishment that serves Korean stews, BBQ, rice bowls, etc, Google the rest because I don’t know. The atmosphere is a cross between your great-grandmother’s dining room and maybe your dad’s Dude Den (there’s a flat screen TV turned down nice and low). And also some butt sculptures on the wall. Paired next to traditional silk Hanboks.

At first, we thought we were going to have to leave, because the single BBQ dishes started at  $19, which works for a large group but not for two people. “Should we leave?” my boyfriend whispered. “No!” I scrambled desperately, looking for bargain. And then I found it: Dinner for 2, $41.95, Kalbi (Spicy beef BBQ), Chicken BBQ, a soft tofu stew, clear rice noodle dish with chicken of some sort, a huge array of banchan (side dishes), rice, and crisp lettuce leaves. When they brought it out, I got really embarrassed and just kept it to myself because it took up the whole 4-person table and the Korean couple next to us was eating a demure selection of just kimchee stew and bulgogi. I may have imagined this, but I felt a little bit of a side glance. I can’t tell if it was like, “Nice! Look at you two!” or “Haha, look at those two, getting the equivalent of 4 Chili’s Appetizer Sampler platters. I bet you they’re going to stick the anchovy paste on the rice and mix it up and then put the drippings from the beef on it and put it in the rice and then slap the bean sprouts on there for crunch.” Which is exactly what I did, over and over again with many different variations. Dried little fish! Chewy rice cake thing! That thing that I think is sweet potato, maybe. Crunchy chili pickles. At a certain point I made myself stop because I knew that this could be the beginning of a very long week where you just try to recreate filling the bottomless well, and it’s just not a road you want to go down.

Overall, I thought it was good and would go back again. I would definitely ask for extra spicy, since I think they are maybe used to American Tastes (sponsored by Bland, LLC and Foster’s Farm) who come in and request things to not be spicy. Wow, that’s an awkward sentence. Anyway, Sahn Maru is a great deal, you get some sort of toasted rice tea, and it’s a comfortable neighborhood joint. Go now! For lunch. It’s cheaper.

4315 Telegraph Ave., Oakland

Temescal neighborhood

PH: 510.653.3366