Hankook Taqueria: A Korean Taco Joint
By Tom Maicon at October 22, 2009 | 4:45 pm | Print
The words Korean and tacos seem so far removed one would think the two wouldn’t be mentioned in the same paragraph — let alone the same sentence. Laugh all you want, Korean tacos is a big rage in LA these days, but mostly served out of taco trucks.
Hankook Taqueria (1341 Collier Road. 404-352-8881) isn’t a taco truck, but it’s the first to attempt this wacky west coast concept (Korean tacos) here in Atlanta.
One is asked to order at the counter, but there’s plenty of indoor seating. I’m fully aware this restaurant is only open a week, so I won’t give a definitive review — just a quick first impression.
After eating a little more than half the menu, I’m weary Hankook is playing it too safe. Flavor profiles are very pedestrian, and spice levels are too subtle, lacking all that is good and feisty about Korean food. I’m not sure if the people at Hankook know this, but we here in Atlanta are well versed when it comes to Korean cuisine — we only have about a gazillion real deal Korean restaurants between Doraville and Suwanee.
Tacos (chicken, beef, pork, fish and tofu) are wrapped in flour tortillas with a mixture of Mexican and Korean stuff like soy vinaigrette green cabbage, cilantro, onion, and lime juice and then squirted with barely detectable Korean BBQ sauce. Unfortunately, the beef (Bul Gogi) taco is too lightly marinated to the point of blandness and fish tacos, covered with panko, are smothered in a cloyingly sweet hoisin tartar. Slightly spicy pork is the better of the offerings, though we didn’t try the tofu.
We didn’t fair much better with the “street snack” part of the menu. A vegetable pancake was too doughy, and the fried dumplings — well, think Kroger bag quality from the freezer aisle.
Keep in mind, Hankook is only open a week, so there is plenty of time — and room — for improvement.
Also note, they are only open for lunch weekdays only. No dinner yet.
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