Lakewood is home to a remarkable culinary gem clustered in a single neighborhood along South Tacoma Way: a concentration of about 20 Korean eateries and grocery stores. But while diners in South Sound are well versed in Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai restaurants, I’ve encountered seasoned diners who consider Korean cuisine a mystery. I call it the most delightful and sometimes under-appreciated cuisine nobody talks about.

During the next four weeks, I’ll help readers explore the three-mile stretch in Lakewood that is home to Korean barbecue restaurants, soup shops, cafes, grocery stores and dessert bakeries.

To kick off this series today, I’m digging first into Korean tabletop barbecue. It’s the easiest introduction for newcomers to Korean cuisine. It’s approachable, flavorful, healthful and meant for group dining.

The tradition is transported straight from Korea. Korean restaurant cuisine isn’t Westernized for an American palate.What you eat on South Tacoma Way is what you’d find in a restaurant in Seoul. Korean tabletop barbecue is relatively new, a post-Korean war invention. It represents a time in South Korea when food became more plentiful and families gathered in restaurants to enjoy the bounty.

Whether you’re in Seoul or South Tacoma Way, the ritual is the same – there are no official courses, food is brought to the table all at once, and it’s meant to be eaten family style. The focus of the meal is the meat: chicken, pork, beef or seafood that diners cook on a tabletop gas-fueled grill. You’ll be brought lettuce leaves to wrap up with the rice, slices of garlic or jalapeno and banchan to fold and tuck into a little lettuce purse full of flavors as vivid or mild as you desire. Each meal is accompanied by shallow dishes of pickled – sweet, sour and spicy – vegetables called banchan (or mit banchan if you want to be formal). There is rice and always a cup of broth or soup.  Ready to try it? Here’s a brief look at the flavor elements of Korean cooking, and glimpses of five tabletop barbecue restaurants and what you’ll find at each:

The cuisine: The flavors of Korea

Note: Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee is the author of "Eating Korean: From barbecue to kimchi, recipes from my home." She also has a website I highly recommend visiting, littlececilia.com

The protocol: A guide to tabletop barbecue

To start: Most barbecue restaurants will start the cooking for you, using large scissors to cut the meat. After that, you’re on your own. Keep your tongs separate – one for raw, one for cooked. The same goes for scissors. Don’t cross-contaminate.What about the smoke?: Each restaurant has venting hoods, powerful vacuums that suck away the smoke – and small children, if you’re not careful.Meat: Most offer combination deals for about $30 listed for two diners, but they easily feed three-four and come with the makings for lettuce wraps and soup, rice and banchan – all served family style. Some places have all-you-can-eat for $18-$20 per person. If you’re a first-time visitor, consider going a la carte (meat and seafood priced $12-$20 per meat selection) and give two meats a try (enough for three diners). The meat is served raw on a platter. You cook it.The best grills: The grates set over open flame at Honey Pig, Palace and Cham. Flames lick the meat with flavor only direct-flame cooking can provide, but be careful of burning the meat. The metal solid surfaces at Chung Ki Wa and O-bok cook slower, but more evenly.Ask for a replacement: The marinade burns on the grill and makes the meat stick. Ask a server for a new grate or grilling plate.Don’t be shy: Ask for more banchan if you want it. Most places will give you an endless supply.Lettuce wraps: The standard protocol at Korean barbecue restaurants is to grill the meat then tuck it into lettuce leaves with other flavorful ingredients. Squares of rice paper (the texture of chewy rice noodles) or broad daikon radish slices are sometimes offered for wrapping ingredients. You’ll also get a plate of jalapenos, garlic and/or scallions for grilling with the meat, a bowl of rice, and bowl of shredded lettuce dressed with a chile vinaigrette – all to stuff in the lettuce leaves. For added flavor, you might get squeeze bottles of chili sauce or a sweetened vinaigrette and a two-sided plate of salt-and-pepper flavored oil and chili paste (gochujang). You also will get somewhere between six-eight plates of banchan (pickled appetizers) and soup for sipping.

THE RESTAURANTS:

Cham Garden Korean BBQ

O-Bok

Palace BBQ

Chung Ki Wa

Honey Pig

This is the first installment in a series on Korean dining along and around South Tacoma Way in Lakewood. The schedule:April 27: Korean barbecue, a guide for first-timersMay 4: Soup shops of South Tacoma WayMay 11: Sticky, delicious chicken and ingredient expeditionsMay 18: The sweeter side of South Tacoma Way

Our pledge to readers: Sue Kidd dines anonymously and The News Tribune pays for all meals.

This story was originally published April 26, 2012 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Korean dining guide: Barbecue restaurants on South Tacoma Way."