If you’re looking for Korean food at a really good price, then check out Blue Patio. One thing about Blue Patio is, unless you live close to it or someone told you about it, chances are you will never find this place. Fortunately for me, someone told me about this place, and if you’re reading this post now, then I’ve done my part to spread the word.
Blue Patio is a small restaurant with a fairly simple but clean decor. But I didn’t go to enjoy the decor; I went for the special combo deal that I was told would make my day. Normal price for this combo was $9.99, but the day I went they had it on special for $7.99. The combo included a soup, a small fish, and a meat.
Unlike most other cuisines, Korean soups are often treated as a main entree instead of an appetizer. When you order a soup at a Korean restaurant, you will always get a bowl of rice to go with it. The reason being the soup is seasoned on the heavy side so the rice is there to balance it out. Typical ingredients of the soup are miso, tofu, kimchi (pickled nappa cabbage), seafood, or meat in a rich soup base, and it’s usually spicy because of the kimchi. Also, the soup is served in a hot bowl to keep it hot down to the last spoonful.
I like to eat both the rice and the soup with a spoon. Some like to alternate between the soup and the rice, but I like to scoop a small amount of rice in my spoon then the soup so I can eat them together. The reason I can do that is the rice is usually the sticky kind so it doesn’t seperate when you dip it into the soup.
Korean ribs are unique because they are cut across the bone instead of alongside the bones. What you get is about half inch slabs of bone-in meat that cooks really fast on the grill. The ribs are soaked in a soy based marinade and are usually served as is without any other sauces. The result is really juicy and tasty pieces of meat that goes well with rice. At Blue Patio the ribs were served on a bed of raw sweet onions in a sizzling plate. The onions were there more as a buffer between the already cooked ribs and the hot plate, but after a while the heat from the plate and the dripping juices from the ribs made the sweet onions a tasty treat.
Finally, what makes Korean cuisine so unique are the small dishes that come with every entree. These small dishes provide a sampling of various pickled items that the restaurant has to offer among other things. Rice lovers rejoice because these go great with rice. For lunch at Blue Patio we got cucumber, seaweed, white radish, anchovies, bean sprouts, egg, and kimchi.
I’m pretty sure the special price for the combo meal is not available anymore, but even at $9.99 it’s still a good deal. Not only do you get a soup and ribs, usually items sold separately at about $5-$7 elsewhere, you also get a small fish on the side. Let not forget all the sample dishes that come with every entree. The good news? Most of these items are actually quite healthy because aside from the ribs, everything else is vegetables or fish. So eat to your heart’s desire…your body will thank you for it.
Blue Patio
2780 Royal Ln
Dallas, TX 75229
972-247-7110Ambiance: 5
Service: 6
Food: 7
Cleaniness: 7
Value: 8
Overall: 6.6
Tags: Blue Patio, Korean