Sake Bomb; Erlanger, KY

Like the Drunken Bento, Sake Bomb was quite the intimate affair. Though, I would say it was more of a square as opposed to the Drunken Bento's rectangular shape. Each seat is separated by traditional hanging canvas dividers, creating little private rooms within the otherwise open space. There's an emphasis on traditional Korean decoration. Euisuk Park, our owner, calls the dining room his showroom. The restaurant is his retirement business and he's striving to make it something special.

Towards the back of the restaurant is the sushi bar, a reminder of another similarity between Sake Bomb and the Drunken Bento. Sake itself is a traditional Japanese fermented rice alcohol. Not Korean. Sake Bomb sells ramen as well, marking it as another Korean-Japanese fusion restaurant. Park's reasoning behind selling sushi is a little different from the Drunken Bento. He believes that sushi is a little easier to market and sell than Korean traditional raw fish dishes. He still wanted to capture that aspect of Korean culture but sushi was the happy medium in achieving that.

However, sushi and ramen don't make a Korean restaurant. That's the job of the rest of Sake Bomb's menu. The menu has gone through multiple changes over the years to get to where it is. Always being monitored on what people are the most receptive to. Park states that all of his Korean dishes do well, especially their bibimbap and KBBQ. That being said, he was particularly surprised by how popular their more traditional Korean soups were among his customers. As a fan of Korean soups myself, I'm not surprised his selection of Yukgaejang (육개장), Kimchi Jjigae (김치찌개), and Sun Du Bu Jjigae are doing well. Park's Korean food is sourced from Chicago, as well as having local and overseas distributers for other ingredients. By far, one of the most impressive and unique aspects of the Sake Bomb menu is how accommodating it is. Park brought me out a selection of different menus with options for diabetic, vegetarian, gluten free, and even keto diets. Assuring that regardless of what you can or can't eat, you have a good chance of finding something at Sake Bomb. If asked if there was anything else Park would like to add to the menu, he said he would like to add Korean chicken and "Kpop-food."

Diabetic/Vegetarian

Keto-Friendly

Gluten Free

Park himself is quite the eccentric man. The day that I held the interview was originally just supposed to be a scheduling day. However, as soon as I walked into the restaurant and told him what I want, he sat me down and told me to ask away. It was both jarring and hilarious. Though he might be the owner, he still very much works there. Throughout the duration of the interview, he was bouncing back and forth between helping customers and answering questions. Once again, my experience was a dynamic one. I hardly minded though. I'm just happy that these restaurants are lending me their time. Park was a joy to interview because he always had something to say about whatever question I was asking. Originally a first-generation immigrant, Park opened this restaurant after serving time in the US Army. The single father was looking to support his son and himself and came across the idea to open up a restaurant. His reasoning behind doing so? At a restaurant "you can eat and make money." What a perfect combination. Speaking of his time in the military, Park continues to give back to the service by offering veteran and service member discounts at his restaurant.

Sake Bomb's motto is "We live here. We work here. We're here for you." There is a strong sense of community within and around the restaurant. Park says that though he does get newcomers, he runs on his regulars. Regulars that tend to be multigenerational families that he gets to see grow over time. Kentuckians seem to love Sake Bomb, even those you wouldn't expect to. Park says the majority of people that populate his restaurant are "middle-aged white men." Not your first choice frequenters of a Korean restaurant. However, Park seems to have embraced his Kentuckian fanbase. Pictured to the right is another one of Sake Bomb's specialty menus. However, this one isn't for dietary restrictions. This is the "Kentucky menu." It's fairly easy to read and contains only their staple dishes. It even comes equipped with non-spicy options for those with a more delicate palate (yes, Phil is a real person). The menu is the most Americanized thing in the restaurant.

As you can see, not-so-rural Kentucky has been quite receptive to Sake Bomb. Park believes it might even have something to do with the similar weather between Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati and Seoul.

"Kentucky is a little weird," says Park but he also believes that the longer you live here the more you come to love it. "They accept me here," he says.

As much as he has come to love the area, he doesn't ever want to conform to it. Though the "Kentucky menu" is an option, he doesn't really alter his dishes for the people. He believes that people should fit them, not the other way around. He doesn't even offer forks, forcing the customers to "deal with it" and learn.

Park was also able to give us insight into the Korean community within the area. He says that they typically fall into a few different categories. The first are the older ladies, women who married military men and followed them to America. Over the years they have adopted American culture to the point that their grandchildren are disconnected from Korean culture and go to places like Sake Bomb to reconnect. Then you have the middle-aged Koreans, like Park, who went to school/immigrated to America in their younger years and have settled down here. Lastly, there are the younger foreign exchange students, who occasionally end up eating at Sake Bomb. All of these different people tend to be connect through the Korean churches in the area, in places like Florence. With even more settling in Westchester, OH. The community might not be big, but it does exist.

There is a part of Park that feels responsible towards the growth of Korean culture within the area. Especially this new found interest in Korean pop culture. He sees Korean food as the last Asian cuisine to really make it big and understands his role in it's success as someone who sells Korean food. Park has done a lot to bring Korean culture in the area, even outside of his restaurant. He told the story of the time he helped put together a traditional Korean concert with one of the local schools. The students themselves even participated by singing a song completely in Korean. He wants to continue doing things like this, in order to keep Korean culture alive and thriving within Northern Kentucky.

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