Bori Korean Kitchen & Bar General Manager Chyna Blu says the reimagined second-floor space above Jolly Pumpkin provides a “very casual, laid-back atmosphere, but the food that you get feels like it’s fine dining.”
It’s a partnership between Mission Restaurant Group and the family of Korean-born chef James Park of Ann Arbor. Blu, who manages both Bori and Jolly Pumpkin, says Park dreamed of featuring his traditional cuisine in his adopted hometown, and Mission’s Jon Carlson “was someone to help make that dream come true.”
The full-service menu is highlighted by dakgangjeong (crispy glazed chicken), japchae (glass noodles with marinated steak and vegetables), dolsot (stone pot) bibimbap, and Korean-styled sushi rolls, sandwiches, and pizza.
“My favorite thing about the menu is I feel like everything comes with a vegetable. Sometimes that’s hard to find when you’re going out to eat,” Blu notes. “Things that I would maybe be intimidated by or I’ve never tried before in life, if you’re willing to experiment and open up your horizons, it’s mind-blowing.”
The restaurant’s name refers to barley, but it’s another grain—rice—that’s intrinsic to such featured drinks as soju and makgeolli.
The fifteen-table dining room has been brightened with natural wood and modern lighting since its time as part of the Jolly Pumpkin brewpub, while the seasonal upper-level deck will be shared by both establishments, Blu says.
For $40 per hour, small groups can reserve the new soundproof karaoke room, or noraebang, “a really cool space with lights and mirrors” that Blu says comfortably accommodates about eight.
Bori Korean Kitchen & Bar, 311 S. Main (second floor). (734) 590–7100. Mon.–Thurs. 4–10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 4 p.m.–midnight; Sun. 4–9 p.m. borikoreankitchen.com
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