Gopchang Story BBQ - Manhattan
Gopchang Story cooks beef intestine at the table and daechang gui, the large one, is the cut to order. It crisps outside and stays light in the middle. The room is up a long stairway off 312 Fifth Avenue, on the second floor above a gastropub.
Why go
The barbecue list runs to tongue, heart, tripe, entrails and both intestines. Casseroles, soups, rice and noodles come out alongside it.1 The room has bare brick walls, hard metal chairs and cases of beverages stacked around the floor.1
A server sets a grooved cast-iron pan on an induction burner. Then a clear plastic shield goes up around it, because offal spits.1 The order goes on under a house spice mix, with potato, tubular rice cake and shredded green chives. A garlicky soy sauce comes for dipping.
Finish with the fried rice. An attendant sops the pan with bread, then fries rice in it with gochujang, hijiki and roe. Egg and cheese close it.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the signature assortment, which is mostly large intestine, small intestine, tripe and heart. A double order ran $62 in September 2023.
- Order: an extra large intestine on top of the assortment.
- Order: the beef tartare, which arrives in nearly frozen tendrils under an egg yolk, with gochujang and Asian pear on the side.
- Avoid: turning up in a hurry. Diners line up for gopchang on many evenings.1
What locals & experts say
- Robert Sietsema, reviewing it for Eater in September 2023:
The large intestine is squishy and a bit crunchy; the small one spongy but yielding; the tripe, rubbery yet firm; and the heart, kind of livery tasting.
1 - Bryan Kim, editorial lead in New York for The Infatuation, in his Korean barbecue guide of March 2023: you can pick tongue, heart, entrails, tripe and both intestines,
or you can do the responsible thing, and get a combo.
2
Good to know
- Getting in: walk up. I have not found a booking route for the Manhattan door.
- Which door: 312 Fifth Avenue. A second Gopchang Story trades on Northern Boulevard in Flushing.
Verdict
should-visit — Two of you is the right number for this, and one of you should be the sort who orders the heart. Skip the room unless offal is a treat to you, because there is nothing on this grill to hide behind.