Korean Fare Around The Region

Korean restaurants in the Washington area often share the same general steakhouse architecture: lots of wood, gas grills built into the center of some tables and ventilation hoods overhead, complete with sprinkler nozzles. When the hoods are working, the noise can be distracting.

Although barbecue is often the specialty of the house, it's more a reflection of Korean restaurant cuisine than of home cooking. Meat in Korea is expensive -- two or three times U.S. prices -- so dining at a Korean barbecue restaurant is analogous to dining at a premier U.S. steakhouse.

Other Korean dishes aren't always appealing to Americans, so many Korean restaurants offer Japanese dishes to attract more customers. Many of the best Korean restaurants in this area have extensive sushi and sashimi offerings, as well as cooked Japanese dishes such as teriyaki, tempura and katsu (breaded, fried cutlets).

Many Korean restaurants also offer a few Chinese dishes. A few specialize in Chinese-Korean cuisine: Korean versions of Chinese dishes that originated with Koreans who worked in China. Those dishes often bear little resemblance to either well-known Chinese or Korean dishes.

Servers at the Korean restaurants I visited were almost all women. Language is often an impediment to communication. Service is frequently perfunctory. That said, the servers seemed thrilled when I enjoyed their cuisine, and they became more helpful on subsequent visits. Few restaurants have Web sites, and many don't accept reservations. Paper napkins are the norm, even at upscale places.

· Annandale

Koreatown has become the name for downtown Annandale, where Columbia Pike and Little River Turnpike intersect, and for the more than three dozen Korean restaurants along those and other nearby thoroughfares. Some restaurant signs are in Korean only.

Although there are fierce political and regional loyalties among the Korean patrons who frequent Koreatown restaurants, and although some restaurants serve only regional specialties, most places offer a broad range of dishes and have English-language menus.

Annangol doesn't look like much outside, or in. Wedged in a tiny strip shopping center between Little River Turnpike and Columbia Pike, Annangol is a no-frills traditional restaurant specializing in pork. A few tables have built-in grills.

Korean was the only language heard throughout the room, though at least one server spoke fluent English. The restaurant's name is a play on Annandale's name. ( Gol means town in Korean.)

The menu is printed on the place mats, and not everything is translated from Korean, including the hot, spicy pork rib barbecue. The meat is cut from pork ribs, then marinated in a Korean hot pepper sauce before barbecuing. The grills are fired by gas, and traditional wire baskets hold the meat while cooking, creating smoke that flavors the meat.

The dol sot bibim bap is accompanied by what was described as a steamed egg: almost an egg soufflé, presented bubbling in its own stone pot. Annangol is a great place for anyone not afraid of trying new things. 4215 Annandale Center Dr., 703-914-4600.