Her Name Is Han

Her Name Is Han, which calls itself a Korean “soul food” restaurant, aims to bring home cooking to Koreatown. From its quirky Bedford Avenue aesthetic (a counter comprised of two vintage stoves sits underneath a turntable and a Mason jar filled with pickled vegetables) to its ambitious menu, which is split into six parts (“tapas,” mains, pots, BBQ, rice, and noodle), the restaurant delivers. The pots are excellent, flavored with gochujang and kimchee and served at the table over a small blue flame. But the barbecue is even better: One night, the fire-grilled beef, which comes with a small scallion salad, was fantastically tender and flavorful. For something vegetarian, try the rice cakes, which are crisp, sautéed lightly in yuzu sauce, and plated simply under a fan of kabocha squash. Waiters bring the food as it comes (a mung-bean pancake nearly slipped off the table to make way for a pot of seafood soup), setting a pleasantly chaotic — and definitively homey — tone.