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Nowon debuted last week at 507 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. This is the first restaurant for Chef Jae Lee, who is serving non-traditional Korean fare here in the 34-seat space.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by before the grand opening, and watched Lee create, plate, taste and share his royal kimchi rice dish (dry aged ground beef, egg, bean sprout and seaweed) ...
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Lee previously helmed the kitchen — a pop up called Him — at Black Emperor on Second Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street, where he was responsible for the popular guest menu. His dry aged double cheeseburger with kimchi mayo and dill pickles, which Gothamist called "one of NYC's greatest burgers" when served at Black Emperor, is available here too, though only from 5-7 p.m.
He also served as the executive chef of Rice & Gold at Hotel 50 Bowery.
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Nowon, named for the residential district of Seoul where Lee is from, pays tribute to the culture of Korea as well as his family.
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Nowon is currently serving dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and until 11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. A weekend brunch service is in the works in the months ahead. (Also coming soon: the liquor license, with beer, wine and soju cocktails.) Find more details at the Nowon website ... and Instagram account. And here's a copy of the menu.