Home Plate

by David Hagedorn

Seoul Satisfaction

Eric Shin wasn’t fully content being the principal percussionist for the National Symphony Orchestra, a position he landed in 2012. So he looked for a side hustle.

“Once I made it professionally, I thought, Is there anything else I want to do? Wherever I lived, I was always the tour guide for Korean restaurants, so I thought to do a fast-casual place for Korean food to show my culture,” says Shin, 41. “There were many types of fast-casual places, but not Korean.”

He had some experience. In Atlanta, where he was born and raised, his parents had owned a Korean restaurant called Garam in the early 1990s.

Shin put together a business plan and began experimenting with recipes, testing them out at dinner parties he hosted with his wife, Malorie Blake Shin (she’s a violinist for the NSO).

In 2016, he opened the first Seoulspice in D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood. In February he opened his sixth eatery—the first in Virginia— at 1735 N. Lynn St. in Rosslyn.

“Virginia has always been our most requested location, ever since we opened in NoMa,” Shin says. “Rosslyn is perfectly situated…so close to Georgetown. There is a great mix of businesses and a lot of residential around there, so it seemed like the natural place.”

The 985-square-foot storefront is small, so there is no on-site dining, although Shin says he may add a nook with four or five seats. D.C.- based DesignCase outfitted the interior with bold colors and neon signs—a nod to Seoul street life.

The DIY menu, which is completely gluten-free, follows a familiar formula: Choose a base (rice, greens or sweet-potato noodles); a protein (beef bulgogi; soy-garlic chicken; spicy pork; or caramelized tofu); veggies (such as corn, kimchi, Korean radish, carrots); sauces (Korean hot sauce; creamy sriracha; ginger-carrot; cilantro-lime ranch); and various toppings and extras, such as scallions, avocado, soft-boiled egg and crispy garlic.

Alternately, you can go with a “kurrito”—a Korean burrito (nori replaces the tortilla) stuffed with rice and the fillings of your choosing. A bowl or kurrito with a protein and extras costs about $14.

Shin has no plans to switch to a commissary kitchen, despite the expansion. He likes that food is made on the premises from scratch, and he is a stickler for consistency, quality and good service.

“In Korea, you always use two hands to hand something to someone. It’s a sign of respect in our culture,” he says. “We train our employees to do that.” seoulspice.com

Fresh pasta from Pasta Ilgatto

Pasta for Dinner

I recently opened the freezer and found a fortuitous purchase I had forgotten about: four-cheese ravioli and spicy arrabiata sauce from chef Leonardo Rebollo’s Pasta Ilgatto stand at the Westover Farmers Market. Less than 30 minutes later, I had dinner on the table.

Rebollo, 46, came to the U.S. in 2003 from his native Uruguay, settling in Falls Church and continuing his culinary career in various DMV restaurants (including 2941, Café Milano and the now-closed Galileo) and later, as executive chef of To Your Taste Catering in Alexandria from 2012 to 2020.

Laid off during the pandemic, he decided to finally fulfill his dream of opening his own pasta business, putting to use a skill he had learned from his Italian grandmother. He named it Pasta Ilgatto (the cat) after a nickname his childhood friends had given him because of his catlike brown eyes and his swift, feline movements on the soccer field.

Rebollo co-owns the enterprise with his wife, Alejandra Ovalles. “Our idea was to open a homemade pasta shop, which we hope to do in Arlington or Falls Church one day,” Ovalles says, “but we put that on hold because of Covid-19 and concentrated on online sales.” (Pasta orders can be picked up at their shared kitchen facility in Lorton, or delivered if the total exceeds $75.)

In November, Rebollo started selling at the Westover Farmers Market on Sundays (summer hours are 8 a.m. to noon, starting in May). On Saturdays, he sells at markets in Reston and on Monroe Street NE (Brookland) in D.C.

Pasta Ilgatto offers 24-oz. boxes ($16) of various egg pastas (tagliatelle, bucatini, pappardelle, fettuccine) in three flavors (basil, spinach or roasted red pepper), as well as pasta sheets. Filled pastas (round sorrentinos or square ravioli) are sold in 1-kilo (2.2 lb.) boxes ($27$33). Sample fillings include smoked

Gouda and sun-dried tomato; smoked mozzarella and ham; spinach and roasted onion; butternut squash; roasted salmon and caramelized onions; lemon ricotta; and smoked brisket and cheese. Frozen sauces (24 oz., $14-$20) include pesto; pomodoro (tomato); beef Bolognese; and creamy Caruso, a Uruguayan white wine and cream sauce with mushrooms and ham. pastailgattochef.com

Order this now!

Avocado Toast

at Green Pig Bistro

Feeling brunchy? Chef Tracy O’Grady satisfies multiple cravings in one great dish at this chatty Clarendon bistro. The colorful ensemble ($19) finds toasted sourdough bread draped with smoked salmon, fanned avocado slices, cherry tomatoes and pickled red onions dressed in red-wine vinaigrette. On top goes a sunny-side up egg, with hash brown potatoes on the side. It’s midday meal perfection. greenpigbistro.com