Dragonlady Lounge

Dragonlady Lounge is a heady mix of dive-bar, Korean food, long-time old folks, newbie hipsters and indie rock. It's a strange place, but one that merits at least one visit, if just for the vegan buffet on Thursdays.

I came on a Saturday around 9 p.m. and was the only person in the joint at least initially. It's a long, narrow bar with sparse walls and lots of red and black vinyl. It's about as divey as it gets. As the night wore on, a group of 20-somethings showed up and then two old guys (probably hold-overs from the sports-bar previous incarnation of the place) came and played video blackjack while sipping PBRs.

The place is run entirely by one friendly Korean woman who shuffles around and is part bartender, part cook, and part social counselor.

I had a dish of fried tofu covered in scallions which was pretty tasty and came with three different sides of pickled Korean vegetables. There's no menu, just pictures of different dishes on the wall. I wish I'd come for the buffet on Thursdays which is supposed to be popular. The menu also offers vegetarian (vegan?) pancakes, dumplings and a couple other dishes that looked to be vegan.

I'm not sure how much the dish cost, though I think it was in the $7-9 range; I also had two Coronas and the total bill was $14.25. The beer selection is limited to mainstream bottles, though the place seems to also do its own mixed drinks.

Street parking is readily available in the area, which is a plus. One major drawback: Dragonlady is cash-only which is always a hassle.

Come to Dragonlady to start out your night or to end your night. This isn't a place to be the main course, but it's worth a visit and does pretty decent vegan Korean food. There are not many joints that like that around.