Del Seoul has soul…
Del Seoul is an interesting little restaurant. According to their website, Del Seoul is inspired by, “Korean street foods of California, Asia and Korea.”
The Lincoln Park, Chicago location seemingly blends into the natural architecture of the neighboring buildings. It would be easy for a passerby to unknowingly stroll past the Korean restaurant, unless directed.
This would surely be a downside if a foodie has a hankering for a little California mix of Korean street food. Contrary to the street food in Korea, none of the food served at Del Seoul is alive! More importantly, the dishes will likely lack any of the potential negative toilet adventures of indulging in southeast Asian street cuisine.
The menu offers a variety of Korean staples such as kimchi, bulgogi, and bibimbap. However, the Restaurant uses Korean dishes as a foundation, with a bit of a southern California twist. The entire left-hand side of the menu is ordained with a variety of Korean BBQ tacos.
Personally, I went with the bibimbap, a rice bowl topped with vegetables, meat, and an egg. I was not disappointed, and my stomach was devout of any anxiety, normally experienced after eating “real” street food.
Del Seoul does not take reservations and there is usually a small line of 20-somethings at the order counter. The only real “street” aspect about the restaurant is you’ll be able to get your food quickly, while posting up at one of the two-dozen small tables.
Also contrary to a street food adventure, it is likely you’ll remember what you ate the next day. The restaurant only stays open until 9:00pm on the weekends. So, this is by no means a late-night pitstop after a drunken evening at one of the neighboring bars.
Eating street food has many perks and potential disadvantages for the bowels. One of the primary perks of street food is the cost. Del Seoul is not going to break the bank. However, it is a far cry from a $3 dollar cup of sannakji in Busan, South Korea.
When a restaurant markets itself as a “street food” destination, the imagination would potentially conceive of a bathroom in the back alley. Luckily, the family-run business decided that a “street-inspired” bathroom was not needed.
The Bathroom Situation
There are two bathrooms at Del Seoul. They are single serving and are near the silverware station in the restaurant. I was able to check out one of the water closets during the dinner hour on a Friday. The bathrooms are clean enough. They also lack the stench that brews from a plate of street cuisine.
Even though the restaurant is relatively small, the bathrooms have plenty of space for one person. There are no hand dryers, but there was enough toilet paper, plenty of soap, and enough paper towels to avoid wet pants handprints.
It is hard to think of street vibes without a little street art. The bathroom at Del Seoul had two random pictures of Millennium Park and the Chicago River. The images were the seemingly random, easily frameable stock art pictures that cheap tourist traps seem to sell.
The eye-catching aspect of the bathroom is the somewhat “phoned-in” graffiti scratched onto the picture frames. Personally, if you are going to graffiti something, go big, bright and use a bit of neon colors to pay homage to the 80’s.
The bathrooms are by no means soundproof. So, you’ll hear everything that’s going on in the outside, which may include some inpatient DePaul University students wanting to relieve themselves of rice wine or some badly digested bulgogi.
Is Del Seoul Poopable?
Depending on the occupancy of the restaurant or the timing of the dump, it may be ill-advised. During peak hours, the restaurant is likely to be crowded. A line can form easily and everyone in the line will know if an occupant is warming up the seat while evacuating some personal pan-fried dumplings.
Despite some of the not so ideal characteristics of the restaurant, the staff at Poopable still give Del Seoul a pass of poopability. It is plenty possible to relieve oneself of a Kalbi Poutine infused poop at Del Seoul.
Jeff G