I was on San Francisco for a work trip, and was not about to let the grueling conference schedule interfere with my penchant for finding random weird people at a happy hour someplace not a hotel bar. As usual, some obliging randoms (hi Juan, Mai, and JJ, if you’re reading this!) entertained me at a recommended bar (Vesuvio) one evening during my stay. Sadly, they’d been drinking all day and were ready for bed by about 10PM, leaving me to realize that I had not had anything but bar snacks for dinner, and was actually pretty hungry.

So I wandered back towards my hotel, keeping an eye out for food. Being slightly tipsy and more than a little indecisive, I ended up steps from my hotel before realizing that I was still, in fact, hungry (and slightly tipsy). There I came across Cocobang. It’s near the hotel (a bad sign), but was full of people, including ones speaking Korean, drinking and eating and looking like they were having a good time (a good sign); anyways San Francisco is known for great food of the Asian variety, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

I went in to the dark restaurant and was greeted by cheesy techno and a friendly host, who sat me in a corner where I could observe the whole scene. May I mention how much I love California’s smoking ban? In Atlanta, this place would have been full of cheap cigarette smoke. My server brought me tea (in a plastic cup), a menu, and asked if I’d been there before. I told him no, but that I loved Korean food and wanted to try his favorite dish on the menu. I don’t think he believed me, and tried to steer me towards the fried chicken wings which, on the next table, looked OK, but not at all like what I wanted.

Again emphasizing that I wanted the regular version (as opposed to the for-whiteys version), I ordered the spicy beef short rib BBQ plate, because it smelled really good from the table on the other side of me from the chicken. I was loving the hilarious music videos being played on the giant TV over a bar that looks more like someone’s office than a place to set drinks (papers are piled high on top), and only nearly stopped myself from adding a soju cocktail to my order. But, I had to be up for work in the morning!

My food came out: slices of beef in a neon red sauce. My server again looked incredulous when I told him that I didn’t need a fork and knife (I’d been glancing now and again at my neighbors, ensuring I had the proper technique in mind). Since the ribs were bone-in, and you really just had to gnaw the meat off the bones, it was messy and a bit of a challenge, but food’s more fun when you earn it!

It was tasty, but not the best I’ve ever had. The sauce was nice – not much oil in it, letting the fat from the beef take care of that texture – and while not as spicy as I’d have liked (mine was clearly not as spicy (by smell alone) as the one next to me), it was not too sweet and still had good flavors. The accompanying kimchee, pickled soybeans, and radish were good too. I finished my meal, happily sated but not stuffed at all (the portion was really just right for me). I sipped tea and water, watched the really drunk patrons (most of the others there) and giggled at the videos.

All told, Cocobang is not the kind of place I’d go out of my way for, but as far as tourist-district restaurants go, it was tasty, pretty cheap ($15 plus tax etc.), and open very late. If I was in town on vacation and staying near Union Square (OK, that’s not likely, but whatever), I’d probably end up there for end-of-night munchies.

Cocobang
550 Taylor St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 292-5144

-MAW