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This place is awesome! I love the fact that I can get a filling and healthy lunch on days when i didn't bring my own to work.
They have several vegetarian rice bowls, that have a great variety of veggies
The "white sauce" that they put it the bowls totally grosses me out...it's kind of like mayonnaise (which I hate), but they say it's tofu-based. I skip the white sauce, and everything else is delicious.
A bowl from here costs about $6 and makes 2 meals for me.
When i went there a while back, i wasn't impressed b/c the rice was extremely sludgy. meaning they used way too much water. Back then they actually used red plastic bowls, hence their name. but now they use white plastic bowls. i am pretty sure the bowl is bigger now. that means more food.
I had #34, The Farm. It's a spicy chicken rice bowl w/ veggies. I was very, very pleasantly surprised. It's not exactly teriyaki. It's resembles teriyaki. when i got the bowl, it looked like they sprayed saracha sauce all over it and called it good, but i'm pretty sure they used their own red spicy sauce blend.
i don't know what radio station or CD they were playing, but there were playing some good dining tunes. we heard Dido, Jason Mraz, Counting Crows and Whitney Houston. They serve pretty quickly and they have a great variety of items.
Gotta love the charming old man manning the cashier. His awesomely-accented voice is a real treat for dine-n-dash dining establishments. Echooo. :)
Got around to my 1st time recently with the bulgogi. Not a good first impression for me, as there was way too much f-f-f-fat on my meat. Fat aside, it tasted good. Although it made me miss my step-dad's mom's bulgogi--omg THAT izzz guuud.
Just the other day I got the veggie tempura. Definitely not the type I was expecting (I'm used to the varied, whole veggies--green bean, broccoli, carrot, zucchini, etc). They were all flat so I guess they were squash slices and something else. Not sure if it's normal, but I did like it.
'Hungry to try the other good stuff.
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I've been to Red Bowls for lunch several times with coworkers, and it's a solid choice for lunch. The line moves quickly, and it's not too pricey. The guy who takes orders is also very nice and a rather adorable older man.
I usually get the tofu bibimbap with brown rice; I like that you can get brown rice at no extra charge. The tofu bibimbap is full of vegetables, and I love the spicy sauce that they drizzle on top. The mushrooms also add a good contrast and flavor.
The only problem with Red Bowls is that I never feel satisfied after eating it. It's good, but an hour later I'm always looking for more to eat. This sentiment is echoed by several of my male coworkers.
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Good, fast, affordable lunch that's relatively healthy, as fast food lunch goes. I got the udon noodles, which were good, and surprisingly not too big a portion to gobble down for lunch. My co-worker got the chicken tonkatsu, and the breaded chicken was amazingly moist and delicious. I may go back and have that, and add another star. They were also very fast and efficient between ordering and getting food.
Wait...why is it called red bowls, but they serve everything in plastic disposable white bowls? Conundrum..
yay for red bowls! I grabbed lunch from here for the first time today, and I was very happy with it. I had the calamari bibimbap bowl, which came with tons of incgredients. in fact, it was so good, I had to stop eating to write down everything that was in my bowl so I can go home and try to recreate it.
.......so here it is: rice, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, woods ear mushrooms, bean sprouts, cucumber, daikon radish, red pepper paste, chili peppers, carrots, bamboo shoots, spinach, sesame oil, calamari (or you can choose tofu, beef, fish, etc), all topped off with a fried egg.
whew. that's a lot. and it was fresh and tasty and decently priced. I can't believe I haven't tried out this place before. I'll most definitely be back again!
I liked it but not really impressed with the food, which is actually my friend's favorite place. I didn't finish my food at all (that's always a bad sign). Place is tiny and busy but it didn't feel crowded at all. I just have this pet peeve with restaurant exhausts. After lunch, the smell of my clothes still smells Red Bowl! Seriously. Everytime my friend invites me to go here, I always make an excuse because of the smell (not bad smell but more of oily/fried smell). But if you like good food, I think you should try this. But if you have a pet peeve like mine, I warned you.
Good food, and good variety, too. You don't have to get raw fish here -- there are veggie and cooked meat options as well. Gets crowded during lunch time.
Great, fresh food for an amazing value! I ordered the spicy tuna sushi bowl and the tuna (and the SPICY) was plentiful! They are quick, but the place is small and popular, so I recommend take-out...there's a nice outdoor sitting area across the street at 3rd and Madison behind the Indian Food place (can't remember the name--sorry:( )
I love loud and abrasive Koreans. I love them so much!
Great staple place for lunch. I am addicted to bulgogi but have tried the spicy chicken teriyaki as well.
I would go in and get yelled at by the owner anytime. Will update after I try different menu items but I can't stop eating bulgogi... the food of my people
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Nothing earth-shattering about their food. But the service is fast and the old Asian guy who works the register is sooooo adorable!
I recommend the bulgogi or the tempura udon.
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Mainly due to convenience I eat at Red Bowl approximately twice a month. While that may not sound like I enjoy eating here that much, you must understand that I only eat out for lunch maybe five times a month.
The bibimbap is consistently good...a small serving of rice topped with a myriad of veggies and beef. There is a spicy sauce drizzled on top which is most likely Sriracha sauce, which I don't mind because I love that sauce. The only other thing I have tried here is the udon. Being the noodle snob that I am I have to say that it tastes like it came from a package. This is sole reason why I have only eaten it once and vow never again to pay $7.00 for something I can buy at the store for $3.00.
Come for the bibimbap and leave feeling satisfied. It is warm, yummy, filling, and worth every penny.
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Red bowls has become one of my default lunch spots and I eat here at least once a week. It took me a while to figure out what I like, not a fan of the baby carrots with rice but the Veggie (tofu or mushroom) bibimbap is where its at. I always order with brown rice.
The mushrooms are marinated in something sweet, salty and yummy. Order the mushroom bibimbap and get a lot or the tofu version and get some. I also like the spicy tuna bowl when Im in the mood.
The man at the counter is completely adorable and efficient. The line can be long but it moves fast.
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Working downtown, tired of the typical downtown eats, and craving for something "Asian" that's actually affordable?
I don't usually leave my cubical for lunch. But today I stepped out of the office in hopes to discover a new place to have lunch that's close by my work with a budget of $10 bill in my jacket. I walk by Red Bowls everyday and decided to walk in and see a menu since there wasn't one posted on the windows or doorway to be seen from the outside passers. I checked out the menu and said the prices look affordable, portions look filling, and the pictures of the dishes looks good.
As I entered the space, it was to my expectation. The size of an apartment livingroom encompassed with small tables and chairs. Two nice women behind the counter working and greeting customers. Few people trickling in and out of the place. Just a typical small eatery in downtown for the business busy people on the go. As I was greeted, no hello came out of MY mouth in return to the friendly women in the back of the counter cooking, only "OOH BIBIMBAP BOWL!!! BEEF!!!" The order was made within minutes and I actually enjoyed my eats. Whatever kind of mushroom they put with the spinich, sprouts, steamed rice, and beef hit the spot.
I should have read the reviews before coming to the place. I'm eagerly awaiting to try the tempura bowl. Next stop in!
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This is a good place to pick up some grub around the lunch break. I'm not a specialist of this kind of food, but, I always like the spiciness that this place has when you order their food... I usually do pretty well with spicy food, and this place packs a pretty serious punch. I can't imagine the dish called TNT... It must be kind of ballistic. Good stuff...yes. Authentic? I'm not sure... You might have to read more reviews to find your answer to that one.
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Red Bowl is reasonably priced and reliable. Their bulgoogi has a ton of beef. You can get it with brown rice or white. If you can tolerate spice at all, just go with the bibimbap. The mushrooms are delicious (and salty!). Next time I'll ask for more spinach.
The staff is also quite helpful. Since they only have a limited amount of tables (2 large tables, 3-4 smaller tables, and counter seating facing the window), I called ahead to ask them to save the large table for our party of 10. We got there just as the lunch rush was picking up so we were happy to see our table reserved for us.
Free hot tea near the window, bottles of water for 50 cents with a meal! How I wish that I came here before I went to Pasta Ya Gotcha!
update:
To answer Tony G's question, no they do not have noodles (other than udon).
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Just got back from here, and I thought it was pretty good. The teriyaki chicken bowl had tasty tender pieces of chicken and very good steamed vegetables. They give you a lot of chicken, which is good because I got full and didn't finish the rice (bad carbs!).
If I could change anything, there would be a little less chicken, more steamed vegetables and have a noodle option instead of rice. I dont know if they have noodles or not, but it would be pretty cool if they did.
BTW, the bowls were white, not red.
*Update: I just noticed something that doesn't make sense. The first paragraph I said I like all the chicken they gave, but the second paragraph says I wish they had less chicken. To clarify, I like the fact that they gave a decent amount, but would trade some pieces for other things. There.
Zipzap Zubidy Bop!
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I ventured down there yesterday as I was having an asian craving for lunch. There was a line when I walked in but it went fast. There's a lot of choices and this place is very veggie-friendly. Everything comes on a rice with carrots, radish sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage in a bowl. I ordered the chicken katsu, which was very fresh and crispy.
But where this place lost a star with me was the obvious pre-pared rice and veggie part of the bowl. I don't work far from here at all and so I was a bit confused why the rice had congealed a bit. I surmised that the early prep work has them assembling the bowl part and then just throwing on whatever entree topping you want, hence why the line moved so fast. And the carrots were a bit too under-cooked for me, still very firm and crunchy.
However, the lady working at the register, taking the orders was very nice which leads to me consider going here one more time but earlier then when I went, just to see if I can get the rice and veggie portion of the bowl a bit more fresh.
And who doesn't like fresh?
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Red Bowl's a downtown worker's dream lunch spot. Or at least it's mine!
The food is incredible, cheap and dangerously filling and the service is quick.
Afternoon bout with drowsiness after a Red Bowls lunch? Check.
Basically it's a donburi joint where you choose from tens of different toppings for your rice bowl. I typically go with a mixed chicken terriyaki and bulgogi bowl. The bim bop is delicious and the veggie meals are quite tasty and refreshing. I still have not managed to try any of the sushi bowls though.
NOTICE: If you're concerned about the plastic bowls they serve their meals in, I recommend just bringing your own. They will serve you with your own bowl.
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This is a little rice bowl shop in downtown. Good news is that there was a line. Which means that it's cleary popular and tasty. So I followed suit and got in line!
Despite the line, it was fast service and a great price. $6 for my "Farm" which was a spicy chicken bowl. (That's right, I bought the Farm there.) A few of us from work went and we all loved our food. And most of us had trouble finishing it, because there was plenty! They have a wide variety of selections, even organic.
Definately good, definately filling. And yes, they did serve the food, to go or stay, in a red bowl.
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Great quick lunch, despite the line! The #35 HaeDobBap, chef's choice of raw fish and fresh veggies was great, although at $8.59 not cheap. I ordered the chicken Bibimbap ($5.95) last time and although I prefer Dolsot Bibimbap, this was good. I wish they would put a squeeze bottle of gochujang (korean hot sauce) on the table. I asked for extra and I got extra Siracha sauce.
Lunched here yesterday and today and have to say I love this place.
Yesterday I had the bowl w/ the chopped raw tuna and it was the best "sushi" meal I've had for $7 anywhere. Like getting a huge magura sashimi order on top of veggies and rice.
Today I had the chinese bbq which was a pork sliced up w/ the hot chinese mustard. Again very tasty.
Its easy, quick, tasty. Not a fancy restaurant, just a good place to grab lunch and head back to the office
-LW
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Hmm, I have no idea what one of the reviewers means by the "congealed" rice. Every time I've been, it's been fresh, regular, short grain sticky rice, typical of what Koreans use (this place is Korean owned). Anyway, on w/my review.
I've ordered their bibimbap twice now. The beef version is really good. Their "calamari" version is not. I was expecting fresh, tender pieces of sauteed or steamed squid. What I got was a skimpy helping of DRIED, shriveled up squid. Who eats dried squid with rice? No one! The type of dried squid I was served is typically consumed as a snack and is never part of a meal (unless it's the kind that's covered in spicy red sauce, which this wasn't). Basically, don't order the calamari bibimbap! Like I said, the beef bibimbap is really good. You might want to order extra sauce though, as I found my dish a little bit on the dry side (they charge you for it though).
I also tried their udon/California roll combo. The roll was good (hard to screw up a California roll, you know?) and the udon was so-so. Bland. No doubt made w/liquid or powdered soup base, rather than homemade broth.
I'll probably be back here for the beef bibimbap (w/extra sauce of course). This place gets really busy during lunch rush though and often has a line out the door.
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I love this place. How can I not when it is 3 blocks away from my office. and CHEAP? :) It makes me a happy fucking camper when noon rolls around.
I love the tofu/and veggie bowls here. I can't stop ordering the "Earth bowl." It is LOADED with Tofu, baby carrots, broccoli, cabbage, marinated spicy tomatoes, and avacado. It is fucking good. The Veggie bowls also come with Brown rice so it's awesome. If you like it spicy they also load it your bowl up with hot sauce.
This place is just a great lunch spot. Esp. if you work the crazy streets of downtown! The line goes fast, its cheap and its good. What better can you ask for.
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draws the little worker bees from their desks to get some grub. I've only been here during the workweek and it's always packed around the lunch hour. the food is decent and will have you coming back if you work within a 2 block radius.
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Red Bowls was packed full of people - the line nearly went out the door. Like everyone else, I waited it out. But not a problem, as the line was moving pretty quickly. So far so good. But this was not a sign of things to come...
Menu was varied, mostly Japanese-style entrees. Sushi, sashimi, tempura, teriyaki -- it was all there, with a good variety. Wanting something safe, I went with the spicy chicken veggie bowl (aka, "The Farm" - every bowl has it's own ridiculous name). Total was $6.51 after tax - a good price for lunch.
Nice packaging. The bowl was heavy, signaling that it was packed full and that they didn't skimp on the portion. Styrofoam bowl for everyone, whether you're eating there or taking it to go - I'm not a fan of that - not very "green", but for my to-go order I could cope. Bowl came with a nice lid, and everything was in a nice plastic baggy with handles. So at least the packaging was clean and tidy...
Soon I was back at my desk. Unload the bowl and pop off the lid. First thing I notice is a marinated bug, fairly good size, a few millimeters in diameter I'd say. This was no gnat. He met his fate in the cabbage bin, and was smooshed up against a leafy piece right on top of my lunch. It made me wonder what else was smooshed in there, but I continued to eat because I was starving. From there, I saw no other bugs, but other nasty things. The chicken just didn't look right - it reminded me of eating chicken in Mexico, where I was wondering if it was really chicken. Except that I've had chicken in Mexico, and this was far worse. It had clearly been pre-cooked long ago, and was sitting in some lukewarm bin until being served. The chicken was warm, yet the cabbage was cold and rubbery. There was also the occasional baby carrot in there, which seemed odd and out of place. The rice was smooshed way at the bottom - nearly impossible to eat with the chicken, and left to get soggy. Squirted on top was the "spicy" component -- looked to be a Sriracha-type sauce with some vinegar added to it. It wasn't tasty.
Normally I'm not too picky when it comes to ingredients I already like. I tend to like places that are generally regarded as "sub par" by others. The right ingredients mixed together and cooked OK, and I'm usually a fan. But Red Bowls was nasty.
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Lots of options (the ONLY bibimbap downtown, fresh fish, fried stuff, vegetarian, soups) prepared fast and cheap. I'm only a little sad they don't have hot stone pots in which to serve the bibimbap. I'll also add that it's consistently good as hell.
I agree that the rice was congealed - I don't know how to explain it but the texture was just wrong. I also didn't like that the default serving container was styrofoam. I shudder to think how many they throw into the landfill on a daily basis. The tofu bibimbap was just OK. Plus there is no tap water option - you can buy a bottle of water for 50 cents with the purchase of a meal. In short, I found no real reason to go back.
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For a cheap healthy on the go lunch this place is great. There is often a line, but it moves quickly. It's healthy - mostly rice and veg - and fast and not too oily or overcooked. It's not the best korean style food I've ever had, but for six bucks and a few minutes of my time it works great. I always get the sauce on the side because I think they put too much and it is spicy!
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So. Red Bowls. I'm trying to figure out how to give it 3.5 stars, so forgive me if only 3 show up.
I like Red Bowls. I don't love it, but I like it and it's only a block away from my office so my fat ass can roll up there in less than 3 minutes flat (I have short legs).
Their vegetarian rice bowls are pretty good - although occasionally overloaded w/ cabbage, which I'm not a huge fan of, but I eat it b/c rumour has it cabbage is good for you.
Last week I had their tempura udon bowl thinking it was going to be veggie tempura. I was wrong. There were pieces of shrimp in there. Now I loves me the shrimp just as much as the next person, but that day I was not in the mood for it and it showed up in my meal. The menu doesn't state whether or not it's fish or veggie, but we just assumed it was veggie b/c all of the meat options were listed above it.
sigh...
I'm not saying I spit it out b/c I didn't...I ate it.
And I'll go back and eat again.
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Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Vietnamese
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