A RESTAURANT REVIEW:
AYCE GOGI 

Words by Marc Basil
12.23


Verse

Patience is a killer. Food being cooked right at this table offers no help. I could kill to reach the last round of this barbeque. I only came out to eat with these people because the complimentary dessert is the best off-menu item you can get. This patience does seem bearable with a fire dividing us from one another though. I’ve been here on many occasions, and on one specific one, ridden with anxiety and looking for every possible escape I could look for. I’ll fill my bladder with water and annoy the waiter with multiple visits to my table to fill my glass as I am gone to the restroom for the fifth time. Meanwhile, everyone else is finding the quickest route to get full first off all the meat being eaten. That’s the least of my worries though now, I’m not so much concerned with who gets the last bite but who will take the chunk of the bill. The escape out of here is almost nearing an end, that escape comes in the form of a small sample-size cup of one of the best-frozen yogurt desserts I could not afford without other people being present to split the bill. I can’t name one person who willingly goes to eat Korean Barbeque alone. However, the only exception I would make to go alone would be for this minuscule part of the enjoyment in my life that comes in the form of a quarter-sized sample cup of frozen yogurt dessert. And when I find out on some of my most recent visits that they are not serving this token of gratitude, especially on my “anxiety-ridden” visit, I am ready to commit arson on this whole joint that is well enough equipped for this kind of disaster. Everything in here is ready for a fire hazard, and the cute little kiosk smoke shop in the parking lot stands as an even bigger threat and motivation. There’s got to be a way out, and it’s the entrance…



Review


Chew on this. I think no matter how negative the outlook of my personal experience has narrated this restaurant, I notice there is a strong attraction for the public to have an outing.


Jerry Seinfeld - The Seinfeld Chronicles - Going out

We can enjoy a routine part of our lives for a momentary period that emphasizes the value we put towards food. We may choose a specific location or dish that brings out the excitement of our favorite cuisine that has come to life in a shared experience. It’s all the more fruitful when the people sharing a meal can recognize the same delights that have sparked this interest in going for an outing. Korean barbeque/Ayce Gogi invites the attraction of gathering to participate in the routine so vital to our health and survival which is to cook and enjoy food. Our moments of outing are so anticipated because we can participate in a world within worlds. It can almost be compared to sitting in traffic–I can’t help but feel anxious to finally get out, but I also recognize everyone else's small but very complex life sitting in each chair. There is a temporality in food, quite literally as it decomposes, but also when it is consumed. So save some room for dessert as something to end on a good note. That’s possibly why Ayce Gogi serves such a stingy amount of complimentary dessert after the meal so as to not overstuff the customers so they have some ability to finally get out. But according to my most recent visits, I have sat not wanting to leave without my most desired anticipation that still holds power over me today. I am downtrodden by how unconcerned the staff has been over my nanoscopic obsession with this frozen yogurt dessert. There is no near way back into this sample-sized cup, I may have to be more patient.