Gyenari -- or, "Gee, let's go to Cold Stone"

Gyenari Korean BBQ & Lounge
9540 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232-2631
(310) 838-3131

Hours of Happy: 3:00-8:00 M-F

Food - 3
Prices - 6
Service - 4
Bonus +2 for two hours of free parking across the street
Total - 15

Let's just start with the big stuff -- the food was bad. I am not prepared to sugarcoat it -- this was not a good eating experience.

We had:
Breaded Meatballs ($4) - inedible. No lie. I took one bite and couldn't finish. Mine was dry and tasteless. Three of our seven dishes were served with the same chili dipping sauce and it was okay, but not terribly flavorful, either. But seriously, the meatballs had no flavor at all.

Pork Slider ($4) - also dry, but worse, it was pink in the center, and we couldn't tell whether it was seasoned that way, or just not cooked enough. One in our party thought it tasted "turned," so she refused to eat more than a bite.

Garlic Wings ($4) - overcooked, and covered with the same oddly bland chili sauce.

Bulgogi slider ($4) - so dry my husband didn't finish his. if you knew him, you'd know that this is not trivial.

Beef & Pork Mandoo ($4) - the waitress guided us away from the seafood mandoo, saying they were too salty and we should go with the beef and pork. Perhaps in her world, having flavor makes something too salty, but these had no taste whatsoever.

Korean Tartare ($5) - we got two orders after being told there were only two small rice cakes of tartare per order, and that would have been good advice, if they were good enough to want more than a bite. The rice patties were simultaneously dry and soggy. I know, it sounds crazy, but that's the best way to describe them. Limp, play-dough like, no flavor, and the tartare had too much heat to be a good tartare.

Crispy Garlic Ribs ($4) - the saving dish of the night. The food score would have been a one if it weren't for these ribs, which were exceptionally delicious -- however -- I thought the dish was great because my rib was juicy and meaty and very tasty. I discovered that my two companions agreed on the very tasty part, but their ribs were quite anemic.

Drinks were fine, with good prices for well drinks and beer ($3) and wine ($4), but not a big discount on the froofy drinks, which were also quite small and almost all ice. The service was mediocre, and for about half an hour, we were the only party in the bar. It started to fill up later, but this would not be a place to meet people, and given the quality, not a place to meet up with people. If you're in the area, head across the street to UGO. You'll be much happier for your happy hour outing.

And yes, we left and went to Cold Stone, which was great (mine was a Like It, 1/2 sweet cream, 1/2 chocolate plus macadamia nuts, for those who might be curious).