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Betty Wang
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A BBQ beef koja and Kamikaze fries.
Beloved food truck
KoJa Kitchen has finally anchored down its first restaurant location in San Francisco (they currently have a storefront in Berkeley as well), taking over the spot of a former nondescript coffee shop on Clement Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues.
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Betty Wang
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KoJa's menu on the left side of the wall when you walk in.
For those unfamiliar, KoJa (which stands for
KOrean JApanese) is a fairly established Asian fusion food truck, and a well-sought out option at Off the Grid. Their popular offerings include their signature "
kojas" ("like a burger, but better," according to
the menu) which is made up of your choice of protein (including Korean BBQ short rib, Korean BBQ beef, and miso-coconut braised pork) served between two rice buns — fried garlic rice that's shaped into hamburger buns. The rice that the buns are made up of
are super reminiscent of the cooked rice on the bottom of a pan or rice cooker — crispy-crunchy on the outside with soft and slightly overdone rice on the inside.
This begs the question, though,
are they like burgers, but better? Well, nothing compares to an actual burger (and some may even argue that adding bacon or aioli squelches the purity of it). However, it can also be said that nothing compares to a
koja either. They're different: Every bite goes down like a delicious, meaty rice bowl wherein you saved all the crispy rice bits for the end, except
kojas offer them with every mouthful.
Other menu offerings include the loaded kamikaze fries (
criss-cut waffle fries topped with Korean BBQ beef, spicy red sauce, aioli, green onions) and a selection of rice bowls, a salad, and tacos. Beer on tap was available as well, alongside a strawberry mint lemonade. There's more outdoor seating than indoor seating, with flat screen TVs and a couple of communal tables, likely making it conducive to a more rowdy environment when there's a game on.
It'll be interesting to see how KoJa will fare on a bustling strip crammed with Asian produce markets, Chinese bakeries, and cheap hardware and knickknack shops. (Read: a mecca of more local, non-gentrified shops than anything else.) While their prices are relatively low as far as "cheap eats" in San Francisco go, they still run a little steep for a neighborhood brimming with options for less than $5. While the
kojas are indeed tasty — the marinated short rib and beef ones especially, with that quintessential sweet and savory Korean BBQ marinade — they're on the small side and run around $7-$9 a pop. Tack on an egg and some loaded
fries, and your full meal will likely run you around $12-$15. Not dirt cheap, but not bad. Plus, everything is packed with flavor and conceptually interesting enough that it's definitely worth at least one try.
KoJa Kitchen in the Inner Richmond is open seven days a week and still in their soft opening stage. So, hit them up now before the line gets too crazy.
KoJa Kitchen,
343 Clement St. 415-463-5085.
Betty Wang is an SF-based glutton, writer, and editor. She also tweets @bettywrites and Instagrams @bettyishungry.
