Before I begin today's review, I want to apologize for the lack of pictures in this post! I usually get pretty camera shy when I'm with a group of 10+ friends, so I managed to snap what I could. Sorry again! I dine at Iron Age often, so I'm sure I can get more pictures up in no time if you'd like.
Recently, within the past 3-5 years or so, there's been an influx of Korean businesses offering AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat) Korean BBQ in the Gwinnett area. If I remember correctly, Cho Won was the first and only restaurant to offer this type of service in Duluth. Slowly, businesses such as Gobawoo, Star Daepo, Sun & Moon, Iron Age, Honey Pig and many others began offering similar services, some only offering unlimited pork belly + beef brisket and others offering various "sets." Whichever the case may be, I'm blessed I live rather closely to the Gwinnett area where there's always an ample amount of places like this to dine at. My family and I used to always dine at the Korean BBQ restaurants where you had to order each plate of meat individually, and growing up in a family of carnivores, the bill was always high (around $200 for five people). But thanks to all these other restaurants where you can eat to your heart's desires and eat various types of meats for less than $100 for 5 people, you bet it's the best bargain around.
Let's get started:
♔Iron Age Exterior
♔Kimchi & fresh bean sprouts, with beef brisket to the left and garlic marinated pork belly to the right
♔FOOD (5/5): GARLIC/WINE/SPICY PORK BELLY. While the beef brisket itself isn't too fatty, I come to Iron Age mainly for the pork belly, since beef brisket is 1. tasteless and 2. inexpensive. If I'm gonna pay $15 to eat at an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) restaurant, you better bet I'm going to eat the best and most expensive thing they offer. Well, that's not really my train of thought, but here-it's because of the three flavors of marinated pork belly they offer. The garlic pork belly-OMG. The garlic flavor is so strong and yummy and is my absolute favorite! I even grill the extra garlic cloves they provide, and wrap them inside the pork belly to give it that extra kick. Next is the wine pork belly. As soon as it hits the grill, the sensuous red wine smell hits your nose as if you're in Napa Valley picking out the grapes yourself. Don't worry, you won't feel hungover afterwards since the alcohol becomes more subtle as the pork belly continues to cook on the heated plate. And lastly, the spicy pork belly is also one of my favorites. While it's not too spicy, even given the bright red appearance, it's a unique combination of pork belly marinated in Korean hot pepper sauce, gochujang. At Iron Age, you're offered three kinds of sauces (sesame oil/salt&pepper, hot pepper sauce, and soybean (ddwaenjjang) sauce). My favorite is the last one-it's rich and tasty, and really sets off the flavors of the meat, especially the beef brisket. You're also given pickled radish & squares of dduk (rice cakes) to wrap your meats in, a mixed salad, raw jalapenos/garlic cloves (to throw on the grill) and a spicy jalapeno pepper banchan (side dish). The banchans here aren't as plentiful as some other AYCE restaurants I've been to, but the dduk and pickled radishes here make up for it, as other places don't offer those. It doesn't bother me though, because like I said, that mouthwatering pork belly makes up for it a hundred-folds. Also, at the end of your meal, you can ask your waiter to make you fried rice, or bokkeumbap, with the leftover meats, kimchi, and bean sprouts, with the addition of rice and seaweed. It's fun watching them cook it in front of you-sort of like at a hibachi restaurant. It's pleasing & lets you end the meal the right way.
♔SERVICE (5/5): I think I've been pretty lucky the past handful of times I've dined at Iron Age. While my friends have complained about how lousy the service has been, I've never experienced bad service of all the times I've eaten here. Because I usually come with a large group of friends, there are 2-3 waiters serving us. Being a waiter here seems like a pretty demanding job-they bring and help cook your meats, get you drink refills, banchan refills, more sauces, etc...When it's busy and they're helping a ton of other customers, they always remember to come back and ask if you need anything else or how your meal is going. While we've had to flag down our waiters a couple of times, they were quick to apologize and bring whatever else we needed. Also, at the end of the meal, they split my party's check without any problem or hesitation (some restaurants get really annoyed and sometimes will not let you do that). Very friendly and efficient service-quite rare among other AYCE restaurants in this area! 5 STARS!
♔DECOR (5/5): As soon as you walk into Iron Age, you can't help but notice the enormous 20-foot or so projector playing Korean pop music videos ranging from Girl's Generation, T-ARA and the ever so trendy "Gangnam Style" by PSY. For those who have never heard of the last artist, watch this video: Gangnam Style MV. This song has been stuck in my head for the past month, even more so than Carly Jepson's "Call Me Maybe." It's addicting, yet catchy, and rather hilarious all at once. Anyways, back to the decor. Iron Age is definitely a trendy spot amongst teens and college students. Great food, great atmosphere, and a club-like environment, no wonder why it's always packed here. Of the handful of times I've dined here, I can honestly only recount seeing maybe 3-4 tables of older adults actually eating here. What I really like about Iron Age that sets them apart from other Korean BBQ restaurants, especially all-you-can-eat places is the fact that they have semi-private tables, good for groups of 4-8 people. While they aren't completely blocked off, the area we usually sit at (next to the ice cream machine) has a little fence-like blockade and a wall that separates us from the party eating next door, which is pretty awesome, in my opinion! The interior of Iron Age has somewhat of an industrial-like build to it with high ceilings and metal as one of its main designs. The inside of the restaurant can get pretty dark as the lights are rather dim, but it's light enough so that you can still see everyone in your party. Lastly, I can say this because I'm a young adult, but the eye candy here also adds to Iron Age's appeal! All of the waiters wear the same uniforms (button up dark blue/black shirt with black pants with an Iron Age badge and a South Korean flag patch), mostly speak English, and are rather cute I might add. It's easy to distinguish between the waiters and other customers by their uniform, which is great.
Overall, I love Iron Age and will continue to dine here whenever I'm really craving some good Korean BBQ. The service, the environment, and the tantalizing smell and sizzling sounds of pork belly and beef brisket hitting the heated plate makes my heart beat faster and faster. For $14.99 (2+ more people) or $16.99 (for 1-2 people), it's quite a bargain compared to Honey Pig and others. If you've never tried Iron Age, get over here now! I promise-you're going to eat your heart out and thank me for it later.
Have a great day,
-Sandy
FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review. All reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an email at bellavivere@gmail.com-Thanks!
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