GUI

Ken had a birthday. About a month ago, he he had one. But as is customary with all my friends, finding a date when more than one person can make it to specific place at a specific time took about a month.

We decided to give newbie GUI a try.

GUI, pronounced "goooey", meaning barbecue, is the lone Korean on McKinney Avenue. In fact, outside of the more gritty Harry Hines & Royal Ave. Korean neighborhood, its about the last stop for Korean fare until you hit the burbs.

That GUI is residing in the exact same spot that has killed many, many other restaurants like Watel's and Yellow, is a little scary. Add to that a $25 plate of Bul Go Gi (which is $8 in the Korean hood) and it's almost Jamie Lee Curtis hiding in a closet with a maniac on the loose kinda scary.

But, I liked GUI. Its a typical uptown, 20-something, loud party music kinda experience but the food is quite good and the service is incredible. While there are other items on the menu aside from Korean, I'd recommend sticking to the Korean. The sushi rolls we ordered as appetizers were good, but there are better places for sushi.

The Bul Go Gi (BBQ beef) here is amazing, highly recommended! I found out a while back from a nice Korean lady that the secret to making Bul Go Gi beef so tender is to grate a whole pear into the marinade. Apparently the pear is the only fruit containing some enzyme that specifically breaks down beef. Who knew!

The sake list is nice for such a small place and they even had the wicked, evil Soju, which is like Korean firewater. Desserts are not the strong suit here, so you might as well make it a progressive evening and walk on to another spot if you are wanting a sweeter ending.

GUI
2719 McKinney Ave
Dallas, TX 75204

(214) 720-9229