| Kim Jong Grillin' | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Owner(s) | Han Ly Hwang |
| Chef | Han Ly Hwang |
| Food type | Korean |
| Street address | 4606 Southeast Division Street |
| City | Portland |
| State | Oregon |
| Country | United States |
| Website | kjgpdx |
Kim Jong Grillin' is a Korean restaurant in Portland, Oregon. [1] The business operates from southeast Portland's Richmond neighborhood as of 2022, [2] and plans to expand with a stall in the food hall at Block 216.
Kim Jong Grillin' serves Korean cuisine, including bulgogi, galbi, and japchae. [3]
Kim Jong Grillin' is owned by chef Han Ly Hwang. [3] The food cart caught fire in 2011. [4] The business began operating again in 2014. [5]
According to Chad Walsh of Eater Portland , the restaurant sold 60–80 pounds of short ribs, 130 pounds of bulgogi, 470–500 pounds of meat, and 250 pounds of kimchi per week as of mid 2016. [6] In June 2016, the business confirmed plans to close on Alberta and collaborate with Matt's BBQ. [7] The restaurant was burglarized in December 2016. [8]
In 2017, Hwang confirmed plans to open Kim Jong Grillin' Ssam at Cartopia, a food cart pod in southeast Portland. [9] [10]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant served free meals to unemployed restaurant workers. [11] The business planned to operate a stall in the food hall at Block 216, as of 2023. [12] However, the project did not come to fruition. Kim Jon Grillin' moved to the Cart Blocks in downtown Portland and has also announced plans to operate an outpost in Happy Valley. [13] [14]
In 2016, Eater Portland described the restaurant as "enormously popular". [15] The restaurant was named in multiple Eater Portland lists in 2021, including Nick Townsend's "15 Restaurants Worth Visiting on SE Division", [16] Nick Woo and Brooke Jackson-Glidden's "15 Outstanding Portland Food Carts", [17] and Jackson-Glidden's "The 38 Essential Restaurants and Food Carts in Portland". [18] The website's Nathan Williams included Kim Jon Grillin' in a 2023 list of the city's "snappiest, juiciest" hot dogs. [19] Brooke Jackson-Glidden included the KJG Hot Dog in a 2024 overview of "iconic" Portland dishes. [20]
Katherine Chew Hamilton and Nick Campigli included the restaurant in Portland Monthly 's 2021 list of 7 "must-try hot dog hotspots", writing: "The KJG hot dog is a must-have if you're looking for mild heat and Korean American flair. The spicy daikon, kimchi mayo, and pickled mango are excellent additions to the longstanding American tradition of putting meat (in this case, Zenner's sausage) inside a bun." [5]
In their book Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, journalist, TV writer and comedian Jamie Loftus included Kim Jong Grillin's hot dog in their top five favorite hot dogs in the United States. [21]
Block 216 is a high-rise building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The 35-story building replaced the Alder Street food cart pod and parking lot between 9th and 10th avenues and Alder and Washington streets. At 460 feet (140 m) tall, it is Portland's fifth-tallest structure. Block 216 houses the Ritz-Carlton, Portland, a food hall, and other retailers.
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