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Owners of The Good Fork Opening Korean BBQ and Karaoke Joint in Gowanus

By Leslie Albrecht | November 21, 2014 8:40am
 Korean-style steak and eggs at The Good Fork. The owners of the Red Hook restaurant are opening a Korean barbecue and karaoke joint in Gowanus.
Korean-style steak and eggs at The Good Fork. The owners of the Red Hook restaurant are opening a Korean barbecue and karaoke joint in Gowanus.
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Facebook/The Good Fork

GOWANUS — Fire up the grill and plug in the microphones — bulgogi and karaoke are coming to south Brooklyn.

The owners of The Good Fork restaurant in Red Hook are opening a Korean barbecue restaurant with karaoke rooms and a bar and lounge in Gowanus, co-owner Ben Schneider told DNAinfo New York.

“We really want to explore traditional Korean food with the fresh ingredients that we use at The Good Fork," Schneider said.

The new restaurant, now under construction in a 4,600-square-foot former warehouse, is expected to open a year from now at 328 Douglass St. off Third Avenue.

Schneider's wife Sohui Kim, the chef at The Good Fork, was born in Seoul and moved to The Bronx when she was 10. The couple has been driving to Flushing, Queens, for Korean food since they met and wanted to bring the dishes of Kim's homeland to their home borough.

“We crave the food, but you really have to drive to get to it, so we thought let’s do this crazy project,” Schneider said.

At the new restaurant, Kim will serve "Flushing-caliber" grilled meats for up to 75 diners at 18 tables, most of which will have built-in grills, Schneider said. The tentative name for the restaurant is K BBQ.

The menu will emphasize traditional side dishes such as kimchee — both fermented and fresh — daikon kimchee, steamed eggs, dried anchovies, "various kinds of mackerel," Asian black beans and shredded daikon, Schneider said.

He called the small servings of eclectic side dishes typically served with Korean barbecue "the original tasting menu."

The new restaurant will serve the Korean-style dumplings found on The Good Fork's menu, as well as a braised short ribs dish that sometimes appears as a special at The Good Fork.

There will also be noodle dishes such as jap chae, or stir-fried noodles with vegetables.

But food is only part of Schneider and Kim's vision for the new establishment. There will be four small karaoke rooms available to rent, as well as a larger karaoke room suitable for private parties and banquets.

There will also be a bar and lounge that Schneider said will combine elements of "old Shanghai swanky" and 1970s Chinese bars and lounges in New York.

“There will be red velvet banquettes, orchid lights and all that cool stuff. The dream scenario is to have a fish tank behind the bar," said Schneider, a carpenter who designed and built The Good Fork.

Community Board 6's permits and licenses committee is scheduled to review the restaurant's liquor license application at its meeting on Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cobble Hill Community Meeting Room, 250 Baltic St.