Oz

Oz

3343 Bradshaw Rd, Sacramento, CA 95827, (916) 362-9292

It was a dark and stormy night, when... Ok, ok, maybe it wasn't stormy but it sure as heck was dark (and cold) tonight; when my buddy J., my hapa partner in crime M. and I decided to get together for some tasty Korean cuisine and catch up on our lives. J. brilliantly suggested a Korean BBQ restaurant by his home. As I turned off of Hwy 50 on Bradshaw and was preparing myself to drive at a granny's pace and squint through my windshield to find this Korean eatery, I was surprised to find myself suddenly confronted by a mammoth of a building (perhaps a Ho-Jo's in another life?), bedecked in miles of twinkle lights ... welcome to Oz , folks. Like a beacon in the dark, it's hard to miss.

As you walk up to the behemoth structure, you're enveloped in a wonderful heady aroma of garlic, sesame and soy. Just follow this delicious scent to the foyer. You'll find yourself in a spacious lobby decorated in muted earth tones with walls that are inscribed with short poems about the glory of Tahoe. There's plenty of benches and even a large table to wait at in the lobby but there was no need to tonight. My resourceful friends had already secured a table up front. I was the last to show, but within milliseconds of me sitting our server David materialized to take my drink order and drop off some tasty banchan (small side dishes) to be shared. Yelp Tip: During the week (Monday -Thursday nights), Oz offers an all you can grill and eat special for $16.99 per person, served family-style. This is a great deal! Seriously, I love meat as much as the next person and can tear it up like a T-Rex but I ate ridiculous amounts of meat tonight (although I think my dinner companions still out ate me). The food just never stopped coming. The first platter of raw meat that was brought out is a carnivore's dream- a potpourri of marinated galbi (beef short ribs), brisket, pork belly (bacon) and chicken. Once you finish that platter, you can request more of any of the meats specifically. Hands down our favorite was the juicy brisket and we requested encores of that several times. Now I myself dislike what I have dubbed "fatty" meat, but my dining companions chowed happily on the chewy pork belly. In fact, M. quipped, "Everything's better with bacon!" Condiments are graciously provided and consist of whole garlic cloves, fiery sliced chilis, crisp ssam (lettuce leaves) and a salty red bean paste. We were also armed with a pair of large tongs and heavy duty scissors to assist us with our dining adventure.

Dinner was wonderful. Our server, David, provided top notch, impeccable service. There was never a want for anything. More meat-poof, it was there! More water-poof, it's filled! Dirty dishes- poof, they're gone! We never had to ask for anything, as though he was ESP-driven David anticipated our every want. Also, since he was training to bartend David offered our table a free "house" drink each to sample if we'd take a short survey afterwards. Being the lushes that we are, we eagerly volunteered to be his guinea pigs (yeah, like you really have to twist my arm when it comes to accepting a free drink).The sample drink turned out to be a full sized cocktail that tasted like a day at the beach... seriously...it could best be described as a coconutty mojito. It was oh, so tasty and the sweetness balanced the garlic-infused meal perfectly.

Filled to the gills with a delicious meal, my only last desire was a fluffy pillow so that I could curl up and take a nice nap by the warm grill. Like a content cat, I was purring after my dining experience at Oz and dreaming of my next visit.