An American in Apgujeong / April 5, 2015 by Tyler Wood

I have been living in Apgujeong for 3 years now and I realized that many people don't know much about it. I'm not talking about the huddled masses shopping at the over-hyped outdoor shopping mall of Gangnam, but the area of Apgujeong Rodeo and Sinsa's Garusugil. These places are famous for shopping and being posh, but many foreigners only know about Monkey Beach. One of the best burger places in this country was here and shut down because people weren't coming, so that's partly why I decided to write this blog, to show that there is good food and things to do outside Itaewon. This blog is for those interested in the area but not interested in going to the same places over and over again because you are worried about dropping too much cash on a mistake. I got your back.

Pizza Wars: Rodeo / April 4, 2015 by Tyler Wood

There are literally billions of pizza places in Apgujeong (too much hyperbole?) Ok, but there are too many pizza places to eat at them all without going broke and having cheese fatally block my arteries and choke the life out of me, so I have narrowed it down to the best two in the Rodeo area - The Kitchen and Grano. They are within a block of each other and both owned by Italian chefs. Which one is better? Much like any good dish, pizza was born of poverty and has risen to the ranks of gourmet. These two places are of the latter sort, the wonderful pinnacle of what is possible.

Best Bowling Alleys / March 15, 2015 by Tyler Wood

One of the charms of growing up in America was on special occasions your parents would cram the family into the sedan and head to the noisy, smoke-filled cesspool of awesomeness that was the local bowling alley. Maybe yours was slightly different, but I’m sure it smelt of Marlboro smoke and 70’s carpeting. It had an old lady in rags shoving her last 50 cents into the pull tab machine, a VIP second floor with blacked out windows that who-knows-what was happening in, and bright, hot lights aimed squarely at smooth, wood lanes with three-holed balls sliding their way home to knock down those weak, white guards with their red collars and fat bellies with that unmistakable crack and bounce sound that echoed into your ears while you impatiently waited for the drop-out kid to grab you those disgusting, germ infested shoes we all stole a pair of when they were in style in the 90’s. Am I right? Maybe. Not so much? Whatever. Bowling was fun, and still can be on those dreary Seoul winter nights when your bones are telling you to stay inside. There are not too many options in the Apgujeong area, so I went ahead and checked all of them out for you. All two of them.

Best Movie Theater / February 12, 2015 by Tyler Wood

There seems to be a good one-upsmanship in Apgujeong when it comes to movie theaters. CGV renovates the Cinecity tower and now COEX has just renovated the Megabox housed there. This means the theaters are offering better choices and more screens to see that movie you have been wanting to see. With the winters so cold, it’s nice to have indoor activities to enjoy. So where is the best place to catch a flick in Apgujeong? Keep reading and find out my picks.

Best French Fries / June 6, 2014 by Tyler Wood

Invariably, when asked what is an “American food” around the world, this ‘dish’ will be in the top 5 on everyone’s lists. Don’t let the name fool you, fries have historically ambiguous beginnings that are still being debated. Was it the Belgians or the French that first started frying up thin slices of potatoes? I don’t know, but what can’t be argued is that since coming to America and, subsequently, being spread around the world by American fast-food chains and expats, this dish is now firmly deep-fried into the minds of most of the non-European world as uniquely American. In Korea, this is the first thing my students come up with when I ask them what is an American food. These days, Seoul is inundated with fries in many forms, mostly of the fast-food soggy sadness variety, however. So where do we get those greasy morsels of heart-stopping goodness we grew up clogging our arteries with? Keep reading to find out my picks for the top six fries in the neighborhood.

Best Burger Joint / May 9, 2014 by Tyler Wood

Being an American in Apgujeong means I eat a lot of burgers. Apgujeong is like a magnet for good food. If a place becomes known in another part of Seoul, the second location will most likely be in this area. Of all the types of food out there, it seems burger places are pulled in the strongest as well. I have eaten a lot of burgers to compile this list and my waistline isn’t pleased, but I gotta do what I gotta do for that review.