The Emergency Holographic Korean Restaurant

For the second time in a row, we found ourselves in Fairborn, OH, looking forlornly at the empty dining room of our favorite restaurant. We'd learned when we tried to take friends there a while back that they were closed on Sundays, but a Saturday? Fortunately, a sign on the door assured us that this was not the end, they were merely taking a vacation on, appropriately enough, Labor Day Weekend.

So we climbed back in the car and discussed options. I knew there was another Korean restaurant nearby, and that's what we wanted, so we found the address, the GPS told us it was less than a mile away... and as we pulled up, we realized that this place, too, was closed. Only there was a For Sale sign out front and a general weediness that indicated it was gone for good. How about that place we passed on the way in with the cool vintage-looking sign? the First Reader suggested. We were hungry, and giving up on Korean... only the place with the sign turned out to be a bar. Nothing against a bar, but not for dinner-type food. Now, the First Reader has lived in this area for a long time. He remembered a place up the road, and as I drove through the construction madness in front of Wright State University, he mused that it had been so long since he'd been to this place, I wouldn't have been in school yet. Not even Kindergarten. I may have made a rude noise at him.

But when we pulled into the parking lot, it was apparent that his fond memories of an Italian place had been supplanted by... a bar. We looked at each other. "The Vietnamese place." And by mutual consent, just kept going. Now, one of the reasons we will occasionally drive up to Fairborn is that the Air Force base is there, with the satellite of restaurants you would expect. We'd been to the Vietnamese place with our friends on our last visit. We pulled into the strip mall and I was reminded that there is another restaurant at the end, so we pulled down to see what was there. And voila, a Japanese/Korean restaurant!

As the sun dipped ever closer to the horizon, we found what we wanted. Song's Sushi, a Japanese/Korean restaurant.

By now, quite hungry, and excited to see the possibilities of stone pots and barbecue beef in our new future, we had high hopes. Song's is obviously not a new establishment on the outside, but inside it has a nice ambiance with comfortable seating. Our server was obviously new, and she told me shyly that it was her first day on the job, but as I told her, we didn't mind helping her learn. With Cokes ordered and menus in hand, we turned to the pleasant task of ordering dinner. I decided against attempting sushi - the First Reader doesn't like it, but that wouldn't stop me - on the basis that I wanted more protein and knew that a couple of rolls would fill me up.

Miso Soup is the good stuff

The First Reader opted to get the Bulgogi so he could do a comparison to Yung's Cafe, our favorite place. Attracted by the Japanese part of the menu, I ordered Unagi Don. He also chose a wasabi shrimp appetizer. They started us off with Miso soup, which was very nice. It's hard to get it wrong, and the richly savory and slightly smoky broth is one of my favorite things.

The spread, and First Reader's bulgogi

When our meal arrived, I realized that there was a difference. The First Reader's portion was about half the size that we'd come to expect. There were more fillers (mostly onion) in with the beef. But the rice was perfectly done, and he assured me the flavor was still there. My barbecued eel was delicious. The appetizer was mostly forgettable. I'm not terribly fond of the wasabi flavor, but this at least wasn't spicy... the First Reader was disappointed.

Sort of wasabi-flavored shrimp balls. You couldn't taste the shrimp in the filling.

Which reminds me to note that at Yung's they always ask us about heat level. At Song's they just brought us the food and I know from my taste that his bulgogi was not at all spicy. The side dishes were ok, but we missed some of the familiar favorites, and didn't care for the wilted green something which took the place of the seaweed we like. I discovered that not all kimchee is tasty, to my disappointment.

Unagi Don: Japanese barbecued eel on a bed of sticky rice. Noms...

In the long run, we decided that although Song's Sushi was perfectly acceptable as an Emergency Holographic Korean Restaurant, we paid the same price and did not have a go-box full of lovely leftovers to enjoy the next day. We'll go back, but it won't be our first choice when we are visiting Fairborn.

The First Reader in his Strong Female Character shirt, practicing delicious cultural appropriation.