Hello! from Hannam: Galbi Tacos and Kimchi Fries

Vatos Urban Tacos is now my favorite restaurant here in Seoul. Of course, I am a little partial to the owners being Longhorns from San Antonio and recent U.T. grads but despite this, the food is absolutely fantastic and nearly 100% authentic Tex-Mex but with wonderful nods to staples of Korea. The galbi tacos have wonderfully marinated pieces of beef in them under a bed of red and white cabbage and sesame seeds (galbi is the Korean word for beef), the margaritas and Mexican martini's are wonderfully fresh and spicy, respectively. Even the Makgeolirita, (pronounced mahk-o-lee-rita) which is a margarita made with makgeoli (Korean rice wine), is a wonderful combination of the two drinks. The most creative house specialty (in my opinion) are the kimchi fries. Like a combination of nachos and cheese fries, this Korean variation is a basket of french fries topped with pulled pork, melted cheese, red salsa, onion and sour cream, sitting on top of thinly sliced kimchi. You don't taste kimchi in ever bite, but the spicy and pungent flavor of the kimchi compliments the Mexican flavors so incredibly well you'd never know that two completely different ethnicities are at work in this one dish.

Besides the food, the atmosphere at Vatos is as good (if not better) than the famous Tex-Mex joints back home, the service is wonderfully warm, thoughtful and friendly and overall, it's the best place to warm a Texan's heart. (Oh, and you even get red AND green salsa with your basket of chips....green is my favorite...but who knows where they're getting the tomatillos from.)