New Wonjo

Upon entering New Wonjo, you're given two choices: upstairs, for barbecue, or downstairs, for everything else. We went with the downstairs option and, unlike seemingly everyone else, did not place our order in Korean. Oh, we tried to say "budae jjigae" (top photo) and "nakji bibim bop" (bottom photo), but we stumbled some. It was easier to simply say "kimchi, sausage, tofu, and noodle stew" and "spicy octopus with rice."

"Dumplings" we have down pat, but so does everyone else, and nothing on that plate moved us. The other two dishes, in contrast, we've been practicing. Since we fell in love with their spicy, salty depths, their hearty, warming properties, their seemingly bottomless bowls of goodness, we need to know how to identify them beyond just "more of this delicious thing, ma-nyo."