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Deliciously simple, Han Woo Ri tastes like home

By Wendy Miller Contributing Restaurant Critic

Han Woo Ri — Korean for ”we are all united as one“ — is a simple dining room, much longer than it is wide, painted in light tones that brighten up further when sunlight shines through the windows. The menu, too, is simplicity itself, ­offering a mere 15 items. Each one of those, however, is done with such a light hand, and in such ­perfect portions, that by a meal's end you happily believe in Han Woo Ri — the concept and the restaurant.

A satisfying cup of soup begins lunch or dinner like an amuse bouche. One day it could be egg drop miso with sliced scallions, the next perhaps a broth of bean sprouts. In any case, both are ­fleeting palate teasers that leave you wanting more.

Civilized serving sizes — small platters, modest helpings of steamed rice, and banchan ­(condiments) of deliciously ­understated kim chee (not dense with chili or garlic) and ­matchsticks of daikon radish — permit one couple to order three items, with enough left over for a light lunch the following day.

Bul go gee ($6.99) is Korea's equivalent of barbecue: salty-sweet beef, marinated with soy sauce and sugar, then grilled and sprinkled lightly with sesame seeds. Han Woo Ri's melts in your mouth.

Another beloved national dish is dol sot bi bim bab ($7.99), as ­attractive as it is delicious. The rice, beef, mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, onions and zucchini are layered and artfully arranged, then topped with a sunny fried egg. You can add spice with a peppery sauce served on the side, and the rustic black stone bowl will keep the food warm throughout the meal.

Pasta here, as at most Korean restaurants, is jap chae ($6.99), a comforting stir-fry of clear, sweet potato noodles with ­shiitake ­mushrooms, bits of beef (but available vegetarian) and julienne of carrots and zucchini. And on the subject of equivalents, pajun ($6.99) is a supple pancake, only instead of being sweet, it is a savory meal in itself, with seafood, onion, scallions and shredded carrots.

More familiar but equally ­delicious entrees include sliced chicken with onion, carrots and ­scallions ($6.99), or healthy tofu and broccoli ($6.99), which is just what it says, finished in oyster sauce.

Han Woo Ri really is like home cooking: nothing fussy. Everything tastes, and is, freshly prepared. As I leave content, I reflect on their motto, wondering with whom I seem to feel united.

Maybe it's the food gods?

A large meal for two, with soft drinks, tax and a take-away box, is about $25.