# Just heard of bibimbap for the first time (foods popular HERE but not THERE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949 "2019-04-23T18:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/41 "2019-04-24T14:35:42Z")
Now I learn that there’s a new Korean place two blocks from my work called [The Bop](https://www.thebopnola.com/). Ironically … babimbap is not listed on their online menu. I am going to have to stop in soon and ask about that – maybe since “babimbap” is not part of the local vocabulary, some Korean restarauteurs are hesitant to list it as such on the menu. I dunno. EDIT: Yelp reviews indicate that this place does have babimbap. Also, it’s not quite as new as I though – maybe 2 years old. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/42 "2019-04-24T14:44:24Z")
Heck, this [New Orleans Korean place](http://littlekoreabbq.flavorplate.com/menu) even calls their appetizers “bibimbites”. Sheesh. Have I been totally out to lunch (not Korean) for a decade? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/43 "2019-04-24T14:49:29Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > 1. Is _bibimbap_ considered a well-known, familiar food dish in the Northeastern U.S. and California? Would it be weird for, say, an adult resident of San Francisco or New York City to have never heard of _bibimbap_? > > 2. Are there other foods out there that are big deals on the coasts right now, in 2019, but haven’t yet made inroads into Middle America? I sometimes get peek at the shadow cast by Ethiopian food – that cuisine has almost no presence here, but it seems as popular as Indian food in some parts of the U.S. (BTW – Indian food is well-liked where I live, but still not ubiquitous). I’d say bibimbap is pretty well known in the Northeast, such that you wouldn’t have to define it. Other foods that might not yet be quite as known in large parts of the country: 1. banh mi sandwiches (French-influenced Vietnamese) 2. ramen - yes, everyone knows about instant ramen (Maruchan, Nissin, etc.), but I mean real ramen that is a treat to enjoy (Japanese) 3. poke - raw fish and other things served over rice and salad (Hawaiian fusion) 4. boba drinks - various flavored soft drinks poured over tapioca balls (Vietnamese) 5. spam musubi - a kind of sushi roll featuring spam (Hawaiian) 6. edamame - steamed soybeans (Japanese) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/44 "2019-04-24T14:50:19Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > **Puly:**. Thanks for the thoughtful response to the hot chicken question. > > Slap Ya Mama is a cupboard staple for me. I buy the large jars in lots of six, and hand it out to friends and relations. I use it as a fried chicken seasoning shortcut rather than doing salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic individually. It will definitely go into the pan next time. [This is a good starting point](https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/hattie-bs-hot-chicken-from-fried-true.html) if you ever want to try your hand at it. Also, read the comments. While what I had in Nashville was bone-in fried chicken, when I make it at home, I do it as a fried chicken sandwich. I fry up a boneless chicken thigh, dress it up with the hot mixture, slap it on a soft, but sturdy bun with some pickle slices and I’m good to go. Be careful with the amount of cayenne you use. It can be devilish. Cayenne doesn’t seem like it should be all that hot, but when used in such quantities the heat builds fast. I was absolutely stunned at how hot my hot chicken sandwich could be just using Pride of Szeged brand hot paprika! Like I’m a death sauce eating kind of guy, but when you lay it on like that, after a few bites, it seriously builds. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/45 "2019-04-24T14:55:52Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Now I learn that there’s a new Korean place two blocks from my work called [The Bop](https://www.thebopnola.com/). Ironically … babimbap is not listed on their online menu. I am going to have to stop in soon and ask about that – maybe since “babimbap” is not part of the local vocabulary, some Korean restarauteurs are hesitant to list it as such on the menu. I dunno. > > EDIT: Yelp reviews indicate that this place does have babimbap. Also, it’s not quite as new as I though – maybe 2 years old. All the “Bop” menu items sound to me like cutesy names for bibimbap. ETA: Although I’m not sure. Most of the pix don’t look like how I’m used to seeing bibimbap served, but I’m not entirely sure how loose the definition is. “Bap” just means rice, and “bibim” means something like “mixed ingredients.” I’m more used to seeing something like [this](https://futuredish.com/bibimbap/), often with raw egg. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/46 "2019-04-24T15:00:59Z")
Also, pho (Hanoi-style beef noodle soup) is so thoroughly mainstream on the coasts that I am not sure whether it’s still unknown in the rest of the country. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/47 "2019-04-24T15:04:05Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’d say bibimbap is pretty well known in the Northeast, such that you wouldn’t have to define it. > > Other foods that might not yet be quite as known in large parts of the country: > > 1. banh mi sandwiches (French-influenced Vietnamese) > > 2. poke - raw fish and other things served over rice and salad (Hawaiian fusion) > > 3. boba drinks - various flavored soft drinks poured over tapioca balls (Vietnamese) > > 4. edamame - steamed soybeans (Japanese) The flip side, at least in the New Orleans area, is that Vietnamese food is gigantic locally and has been since the 1980s. Though banh mi and “boba tea” took a while to get mainstream. Japanese is also popular here, so edamame is familiar. Also sold in grocery stores as of the last few years. As far as I’m concerned … poke was invented circa 2010 or something. I mean, how many 70s & 80s sitcoms had special episodes in which the cast travelled to Hawaii? A bunch. Was poke ever mentioned once? No 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/48 "2019-04-24T15:05:07Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Also, pho (Hanoi-style beef noodle soup) is so thoroughly mainstream on the coasts that I am not sure whether it’s still unknown in the rest of the country. Mainstream here, as well. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/49 "2019-04-24T15:07:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > All the “Bop” menu items sound to me like cutesy names for bibimbap. > > ETA: Although I’m not sure. Most of the pix don’t look like how I’m used to seeing bibimbap served, but I’m not entirely sure how loose the definition is. “Bap” just means rice, and “bibim” means something like “mixed ingredients.” I’m more used to seeing something like [this](https://futuredish.com/bibimbap/), often with raw egg. Yeah, going over that places offerings … it looks like they’re trying to ease sideways into a sort of deconstructed bibimbap menu. Fused with the trendy poke. Not an egg to be found. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/50 "2019-04-24T15:08:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > All the “Bop” menu items sound to me like cutesy names for bibimbap. > > ETA: Although I’m not sure. Most of the pix don’t look like how I’m used to seeing bibimbap served, but I’m not entirely sure how loose the definition is. “Bap” just means rice, and “bibim” means something like “mixed ingredients.” I’m more used to seeing something like [this](https://futuredish.com/bibimbap/), often with raw egg. Yeah, looking throughout the pix, scratch my initial thought. The “Bop” named ones are just cutesy names for their Korean-influenced casual dishes served with rice, not just bibimbop. I did find a few pix that show they do indeed (or at least did) serve bibimbap, but it didn’t look like a particular good rendition of it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/51 "2019-04-24T15:09:14Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Are you asking whether bibimbap has recently become extraordinarily trendy where it wasn’t before, as in a fad? Yes, pretty much asking this. I kind of wonder if a Blue Apron-type service existed in the 1990s, if bibimbap would’ve been offered. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/52 "2019-04-24T15:18:41Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I don’t know how you could address the familiarity of the dish in California without recognizing that right in the center of Los Angeles is this huge place called [Koreatown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreatown,_Los_Angeles). Because of its location–encompassing so much of the Wilshire corridor–few people spend much time in L.A. without eventually eating in a Korean restaurant or trying Korean food, and getting to know bibimbap. It’s fairly common lunchtime meal for people at work, even over in downtown. I go to Jeon Ju at Olympic and Vermont a lot if I’m looking specifically for that, but BCD has more variety. > > It’s much more likely for people in San Francisco or San Diego to not know about this dish. Koreatown, I do know about – both from the Rodney King outfall in the 1990s and from various references in media. For better or worse … from here, all of “California” kind of gets lumped together. I have heard of the NoCal/SoCal divide, but still thought there was more of a commonality of culture than a sharply-defined schism. But then, I’m sure from outside of Louisiana, New Orleans is seen to be in the heart of “Cajun country” – around here, those are difference universes (largely a rural vs. urban divide). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/53 "2019-04-24T15:28:11Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > … > > 1. Is _bibimbap_ considered a well-known, familiar food dish in the Northeastern U.S. and California? Would it be weird for, say, an adult resident of San Francisco or New York City to have never heard of _bibimbap_? > > 2. Are there other foods out there that are big deals on the coasts right now, in 2019, but haven’t yet made inroads into Middle America? I sometimes get peek at the shadow cast by Ethiopian food – that cuisine has almost no presence here, but it seems as popular as Indian food in some parts of the U.S. (BTW – Indian food is well-liked where I live, but still not ubiquitous). Native Californian, never heard of bibimbap. Perhaps _Pho_? Vietnamese soup. Gourmet Ramen? _Poke_? Started in the Hawaiian Islands Pronounced “poh-keh,” these cubes of raw fish are seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, and onion. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/54 "2019-04-24T15:29:11Z")
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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/55 "2019-04-24T15:33:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > … > > 1. banh mi sandwiches (French-influenced Vietnamese) > > 2. ramen - yes, everyone knows about instant ramen (Maruchan, Nissin, etc.), but I mean real ramen that is a treat to enjoy (Japanese) > > 3. poke - raw fish and other things served over rice and salad (Hawaiian fusion) > > 4. boba drinks - various flavored soft drinks poured over tapioca balls (Vietnamese) > > 5. spam musubi - a kind of sushi roll featuring spam (Hawaiian) > > 6. edamame - steamed soybeans (Japanese) Yes to all of those things. Edamame is commonly served as a free appetizer in sushi places. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/56 "2019-04-24T15:36:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Perhaps _Pho_? Vietnamese soup. > > Gourmet Ramen? > > _Poke_? Started in the Hawaiian Islands Pronounced “poh-keh,” these cubes of raw fish are seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, and onion. Pho is big here – many Vietnamese folks settled here (SE Louisiana) in the 1970s. Poke went from “nothing” to “a dozen places or so” between, say, summer 2017 and summer 2018. Poke, locally, was very sudden. Never saw a reference to poke in any kind of media … it just showed up in numbers out of the blue. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/57 "2019-04-24T15:39:50Z")
One that I learned relatively recently is chilaquiles, which seems to be loaded nachos eaten as a meal instead of a snack or appetizer. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/58 "2019-04-24T15:43:11Z")
Oh, how about twice-fried Korean fried chicken (chikin)? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/59 "2019-04-24T15:44:06Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > [Poke bowls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poke_(Hawaiian_dish)) are a similar example. They went from “unknown” to “all over the place” about a year-and-a-half ago in the New Orleans area. Even some grocery stores sell them. Here in rural western PA we seem to be the last place that food trends catch on. Last summer I was at [SummerSounds](http://www.summersounds.com/band_calendar.php), a free concert series on Friday nights in Greensburg. The “trendy” food stand had Poke Bowls and I was so happy! I ordered two, and the woman was thrilled when I pronounced it correctly. I was the first person to order it, and when I told other people how great it was their sales jumped. By the end of the season they were selling out fast. Likewise, I’ve made spam musubi as an appetizer for get-togethers, and everyone loves it but has never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949/60 "2019-04-24T15:46:19Z")
As for gourmet ramen: Japanese food is popular here, and had been for a while. When I started eating it in earnest (early 1990s), I cannot recall ever seeing the word “ramen” on a menu. “Soba”, yes. “Udon”, yes. But never “Ramen”. Fast forward to around 2008-10. “Ramen” started showing up on newer Japanese restaurant menus. And our very first local Japanese restaurant – [Shogun in suburban Metairie](https://foursquare.com/v/shogun/4b315e4ff964a520910525e3/menu) – is still open 40+ years later and now has a “ramen noodle” selection next to the “udon”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-heard-of-bibimbap-for-the-first-time-foods-popular-here-but-not-there/832949.md?page=4)