Beef comes out of the basement at Woochon

Short-rib soup at Woochon Restaurant in Palisades Park.

Moist, rich mackerel comes with a small bowl of bean-paste or soft-tofu soup.

I love Woochon in Palisades Park for the quality and variety of the free side dishes that come with every Korean meal, and for the beautifully grilled mackerel on the menu. 

The restaurant offers sushi, tofu and barbecue -- beef grilled on your table top.

On our visit last weekend, there was something new in the dining room, a refrigerated case filled with what was described as premium Angus beef. 

The refrigerated case of beef, left, was brought up from the basement and placed near tanks of live fish, saving employees repeated trips down and up stairs.

I don't go to Woochon or any other Korean restaurant for beef, which I no longer eat, and my wife wanted soft-tofu stew.

But Woochon is one of the few Korean restaurants in Palisades Park that offers grilled fish, and its mackerel is one of my favorite dishes.

Free side dishes include cabbage kimchi, gelatin and salad with a creamy dressing.

Other side dishes were radish kimchi, potatoes and greens.

Seaweed with gochujang or red-pepper paste, right front, and bean sprouts.

Instead of the usual fillet, my grilled mackerel was a whole fish about a foot long, served without the head, and it came with a small bowl of bean-paste soup and brown rice ($16).

Lemon wedges and pickled ginger also were provided. 

Korean 7 grains combines brown rices and beans.

Soft-tofu soup.

My wife's spicy soft-tofu soup ($10) and my mother-in-law's non-spicy short-rib soup ($13) each came with a metal bowl of steamed white rice.

After we finished the first 8 side dishes, called panchan, the server gladly brought more, including cucumber kimchi.




Woochon, 280 Broad Ave., Palisades Park; 201-242-9999. Open 7 days for lunch and dinner until midnight.