Woorijip

Nestled among the barbecue houses of Koreatown is a great place for a quick, cheap meal: Woorijip. This small grocery-buffet offers many items which fit the bill for my Lunch Under $5 category. I stopped in the other night and came away with seaweed soup that tasted like the ocean, tricolor rice cakes, zucchini pancakes, glutinous rice with sweet red beans, delicious soy-boiled eggs, and a broiled eel bowl. Many other dishes caught my eye - a $5.50 plate of pork belly slices, a $3.50 bowl of kimchi fried rice topped with an egg, abalone porridge, and fried smelts. Not everything seemed appealing - ham and cheese sushi, anyone? But with such a large selection of low-priced dishes, I could buy and try to my heart's content. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea; their take-out bags and tables were stacked with containers.

Woorijip: 12 West 32nd St., (212) 244-1115. No rice cakes on Saturdays.

Borigogae

The transition between summer and fall can sometimes challenge one's immunity. A Korean friend told me that when she felt ill as a child, her mother would prepare her a bowl of jook, or hot rice porridge.

This comforting dish, which is similar to Japanese okayu and Chinese congee, is the specialty at Borigogae, a tiny Flushing storefront. Eight flavors are served there; my favorite is the thick, nutty black sesame, while my sweet-toothed companion favors the sweet pumpkin. We still have yet to try the pine nut and the abalone varieties. But I have to wonder if the restorative properties lie not in the porridge, but in the very spicy, garlicky homemade pickles served on the side.

When I visited Borigogae the other day, the owner not only gave me two kinds of spicy pickles to try, but she unexpectedly gifted me with a large, greaseless scallion pancake. I was glad I had no dinner plans for that evening!

Borigogae: 40-10 Union Street, Flushing, (718) 888-1644.

Pan Chan Paradise: Kunjip Restaurant

I can think of few activities as satisfying as dredging up the crunchy bits of rice at the bottom of the heated stone pot that gobdol bibimbob is served in. But one such activity is feasting on pan chan: the assortment of complimentary cold vegetable dishes one is served at a Korean restaurant. Today, my companion and I enjoyed both activities at Kunjip!

They were very generous with the pan chan, and there was a nice balance of mild and spicy. The milder dishes included garlic zucchini and potato salad, while the spicy ones included green beans in a sweet barbecue sauce, kimchi, and some type of leafy green in red pepper soy sauce.

The edge was now taken off my hunger, but I dove into the appetizer: a squid, scallion and scallop stuffed pancake that managed to be glutinous and crispy at once. Scallion soy sauce was perfect for dipping. I think this was my favorite dish of the meal.

Next came the gobdol bibimbob: stone bowls of rice with various toppings and red pepper paste. My companion ordered the ground beef bowl, while I ordered the vegetarian version. I was a bit disappointed that it didn't come with a raw egg on top, as I love to watch it cook and mix in the yolk. But the waiter noted my evident disappointment and brought me a bowl of steamed egg. It wasn't quite the same, but I appreciated the gesture. My dish did contain an ample amount of zucchini, spinach and shreds of shiitake. (My companion would have preferred more beef.)

But with all of those wonderful pan chan, it's really splitting hairs to complain.

Kunjip Restaurant: 9 West 32nd St., (212) 216-9487.

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

Noodle-soup-master Dave Chang has branched out into new starches with the opening of Momofuku Ssäm Bar. At this new, significantly larger space, he offers a simple menu of stuffed flour tortillas, rice bowls and steamed buns. As at Momofuku Noodle Bar, the ingredients are of high quality (Berkshire pork, organic chicken, Greenmarket corn), but the selections are more limited. Tortillas and rice come in three varieties: chicken, pork or shiitake. The stuffed tortillas are a healthy alternative to a burrito laden with sour cream and cheddar - they are crunchy with green soybeans and slaw, and if they're not spicy enough for you, drizzle on some of the Sriracha sauce.

Momofuku Ssäm Bar: 207 Second Ave., (212) 254-3500.