Here at Phoodie, we are no stranger to the ever popular Asian fusion. (Look below!) But don’t just look to Chinatown; instead, turn your head to the slightly overlooked Koreatown, which was the subject of this Rick Nichols piece in the Sunday Inky. Most predominately located at Cheltenham Avenue and Fifth Street, Koreatown is only getting better with age. Not to mention, it’s got more “street cred” than Chinatown with eighty percent of their customers being Korean, compared to Chinatown where only fifty percent of customers are actually Asian. (Who comes up with these figures?) However, Koreatown restaurant owners are looking to change that with their authentic noodle houses and barbeque halls. Several of the restaurants in the area are expanding their menus and jumping in on the locavore trend to bring their customers locally grown greens and meats. So, if you’re craving some gummy Korean pancakes or some tofu lasagna, you now know where to go.
Beyond all of this, though, what of the name Koreatown? The breathless many on Phillyblog seem to think that the moniker itself is offensive, or maybe even just plain wrong. Phoodie looks to heal this one today, so please vote early and vote often. After all, Koreatown, Chinatown, Fishtown, whatever… it’s all Philadelphia.
That area already has a name-0: Olney, Oak Lane, and, perhaps, Near North East on the Philadelphia side and Cheltenham on the Montgomery County side.