I AM CARNIVORE. HEAR ME ROAR!

My wife and I were in a carnivorous mood this weekend. We were in the mood to eat a lot of meat and our dining choices this weekend reflected that.

Coriya Hot Pot City

On Friday night, we decided on hot pot to satiate our carnivorous urges at Coriya Hot Pot City in Richmond, CA. For those who are not familiar with hot pot, it is served as a jamboree of uncooked foods (thinly sliced meats, seafood, tofu, and vegetables) with a pot of hot broth as the centerpiece. You put whatever you want in the pot at the time you want to eat it - cook times are at most a couple of minutes. Coriya is a hot pot buffet. Every table has a pot of broth. There is a burner underneath each table to keep the broth hot. There is also a grill which gives you the option of grilling instead of cooking in broth. The buffet counter is a limitless supply of pretty much all types of raw meats, seafood, and vegetables. As I said earlier, we are in the mood for meat, so we just went straight for the lamb. We just loaded up on thinly sliced lamb and for about an hour we practiced the same repetitive motion: drop the lamb in the hot broth, take it out when it's ready, and pop it in the mouth. I think I ate the equivalent of a whole lamb. It's a lot of fun to eat here because there are so many things to try, but this place is a buffet - quantity still rings louder than quality. I liken Coriya to a fun summer movie - not too much substance, but still very enjoyable.

Sam Won Kal Bi

On Saturday night, we realized are carnivorous urges were still burning strong so we decided to have some Korean BBQ at Sam Won Kal Bi in Oakland, CA. This place gives you a charcoal grill to grill your own meats. We ordered Spicy Marinated Pork (Daeji Bulgogi) and Salted Beef Tongue. They bring it to you raw so that you can barbecue it yourself. The Spicy Marinated Pork is one of my favorite Korean dish. I always enjoy eating it, but on Saturday the Salted Beef Tongue took center stage. I was initially quite skeptical about beef tongue, but I went with it anyway. I've never had it before, but I really enjoyed it. Beef tongue tastes a lot like "normal" beef (who would have known?). It actually tastes like really flavorful beef with a tad more jerky texture than "normal" beef. I'd definitely recommend this dish to anyone who enjoys beef. Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing; all those little Kim Chi dishes that comes with the meals. Sam Won Kal Bi did an excellent job with those dishes - that's always a good sign for a Korean BBQ.

Here are the restaurants I talked about:

• Coriya Hot Pot City: 3288 Pierce St Ste A105, Richmond, CA 94804, (510) 524-8081
• Sam Won Kal Bi: 2600 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 834-5757