Good to Go

Giwa serves takeout of a different sort.

by Elisa Ludwig

T oo often a takeout experience is like watching the E! Channel: Both promise seductive flashes of comfort, only to leave you feeling dissatisfied, disgusted and vaguely abused. If you've been burned by one too many tabloid-quality dinners then you'll be glad to know that a different sort of takeout meal awaits at Giwa, a new Korean restaurant on Sansom Street.

Serving mostly traditional dishes, Giwa is quick-fix food with a full-service attitude. Though it has the spare, clinical aesthetic usually associated with carry-away containers and Thank You! bags, there's room for about 50 people between a smattering of tables and counter seats. The open kitchen behind the cashier counter is the focal point, with the menu posted overhead. If you decide to sit, the food comes out as it's ready, which is to say you may well end up with an entree before an appetizer.

No matter — everything here tastes good, starting with the duk bok gi. These cylindrical, inch-long rice cakes are boiled to an aptly chewy texture, then sauteed in prodigious amounts of gochujang (red pepper paste) with slivers of scallion.

There is no official panchan, the parade of small dishes that typically precedes a Korean meal. Instead, entrees are served with two daily "side dishes," panchan-sized portions of vegetables like cabbage kimchi or pa jun, a folded wedge of scallion and rice flour pancake.

One of Giwa's specialties is dol sot bi bim bop, a rice dish served in a stone bowl that's available in-house only. Rice is threaded with bright strands of egg, bean sprouts, spinach, carrot and mushrooms, plus a choice of beef, chicken or tofu. At the table you stir all the ingredients together and the bowl conducts enough heat to finish cooking the mixture. (Traditionally the egg is served raw, solidifying as you stir, but here it's already cooked. The rice is also typically sizzled to a crispy crust, though in this version it remains soft.) Still, it's a wholesome, tasty combination that's heat-adjustable, depending on how much of the accompanying red pepper paste you swirl in.

Equally warming to the spirit and digestive tract is the soon du bu, a soupy red stew with silky molten islands of tofu, octopus and squid — a dish I anticipate returning to on chilly nights. Sliced ribeye bulgogi is not grilled tableside, but sauteed in the kitchen. It has a lovely smoky-sweet marinade, though the beef tends to lose some of its macho, fleshy charm without the DIY preparation. It looks demure, healthy even, arranged neatly on a plate and served with steamed broccoli and lettuce leaves for rolling. It's a bulgogi you can feel good about tomorrow, even if you've eaten it in front of a "True Hollywood Story."

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

Giwa1608 Sansom St., 215-557-9830

Appetizers, $4.95-$8.50; entrees, $7.95-$12.95

Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat., 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Visa and Mastercard accepted. Takeout available.