Restaurant Review: Dan Moo Ji
Prioritizing time for a date, getting a sitter, and finding just the right outfit to wear (yes, I still work on that) is easy compared with deciding where to go and what to eat. That was until we discovered The List from Creative Loafing. Now we just have to decide how adventurous we want to be and what area of town we want to explore. Oh wait - we also have to find the place! One recent date night out took us to Dan Moo Ji out in Duluth. Duluth is an area of town that's so far escaped my exploration. Therefore, I was relegated to staring at my phone's GPS for intelligence while Billy drove just under the speed limit (don't flash you're brights people - we're lost!!) looking for the appropriate strip mall. After a couple of u turns, the GPS got us there, but that was only half the battle.
Billy and I have one good set of eyes between us. He can't see at a distance very well, and I'm useless reading things up close. Both of us lack any ability to interpret Korean. This was a bad mix. Thank goodness people had posted pictures of the restaurant on yelp. We would have wandered for hours.
Thankfully, we survived the search with our nerves and stomach intact. We were excited to see that it was obviously authentic Korean fare. The second sentence out of the waitresses mouth was to ask us how we found the place. Clearly, we don't fit the typical demos. I'd like to think that's because we're not Korean, but it's just as likely it's because we don't look like the other college co-eds that were eating there. We were at least 10 years over the age range.* We told her about The List. As usual, she knew nothing about it.
Upon explaining that the recommended dish was Duk Bok Gi, she said "Oh -- that's VERY hot." I had noticed that there was a heat scale for the dish on the menu that was: Mild - 1-2-3-4. "I don't mind ordering it mild," I explained. She nodded and Billy quickly decided on something else.
What I tasted of the food was delicious. However, I'm pretty sure that my tongue was numb sometime after the fourth bite. I've never had a meal make my upper lip sweat and make my nose run like this dish. I confirmed with our server that I had the mild version...
"Oh yes, the regulars eat it much hotter."
It was a huge dish and I took home the leftovers in hopes of desensitizing my tongue's heat sensors. Maybe some day I'll be strong enough to order something ON the scale. In the meantime, I've got another reason to be grateful for my sensible husband, who not only encourages these adventures, he shares his food with me.
*Please don't call me out on being within 10 years of the college demo. That would be mean.