« [E]ven if you’ve never had Korean food, everything here is relatable.”
The glasses were raised high at last week’s opening of Jamie Bissonnette’s Korean restaurant Somaek 소맥 in Downtown Crossing – and the combination of what they were toasting with wasn’t lost on the chef.
There’s the namesake somaek, made with a shot of distilled rice liquor ($15) in a lager-style beer ($8). And then there’s creative cocktails like rum-based, lime-tinged jjinppang ($14). The glass is lined with red bean paste and black sesame, inspired by the ubiquitous fluffy steamed buns of the same name that are found at just about every Korean home and street corner.
At Somaek, classic meets contemporary in the best possible ways, said Bissonnette. “The somaek is like your dad’s boilermaker, it’s a Korean classic that’s just really refreshing. And then the cocktails are creative but approachable. We had a guest from Seoul tell us that the jjinppang evoked the essence of his absolute favorite street food, and that’s a really big point of pride. But even if you’ve never had Korean food, everything here is relatable.”
In the heart of Boston’s transportation nexus where all neighborhoods come together, there’s something for everyone from the most well-heeled traveler to homebodies to those who rarely leave Southie, says Bissonnette.
