Honey Pig (The Restaurant)

I've been married to this man for 11 years, as of yesterday.

And nothing says I love you like a visit to "Honey Pig." No, really! Honey Pig used to be Dooriban Restaurant, one of the better Korean spots along South Tacoma Way. I don't know if they've changed ownership or just changed their concept a little to focus more on BBQ, but their menu is all about grilling meat, at the table, with someone you love or 9 carnivorous friends.

We both opted for the 16.95 special, which came with beef, pork, pork belly, and tripe, (easy enough to skip the tripe) alongside 4 plates of banchan each, thinly sliced daikon wraps, rice wraps, fresh greens, bean paste soup, and egg custard. The meat arrives mostly raw (the pork is browned) and is grilled at the table. Our server came over to get the grill started and put a few things on, then we were on our own.

In a few minutes, we were wrapping delicious daikon micro-tacos filled with meat, greens, and sweet chili paste. We quickly started to see the logic behind the name "Honey Pig" - the grilled pork definitely stood out. We were expecting the pork belly to taste more like bacon, and probably overcooked it. Mostly, it picked up the taste of the grill and wasn't that great. I tried to have an Anthony Bourdain moment and check out the tripe, which reminded me that I really didn't want to go there. Still, with all of the amazing sides and the huge portion of beef and pork we were very, very happy.

Honey Pig offers many different grill combinations, sure to please anyone not presently suffering from vegetarianism. Try it out with a group of friends some time, their big wooden tables easily seat large parties.

My husband still thinks it was the cool apartment that won me over 14 years ago this week, but truth be told it probably had more to do with my first introduction to banchan and red bean paste. It's nice to see that after all these years, we're still on the same wave length.

Honey Pig Restaurant

9104 S Tacoma Way # H (to the right of Boohan grocery)

Lakewood, WA 98499

(253) 581-1200

Korean