A homecoming of fire and beef at Dolsan Korean BBQ & Sushi

A childhood visit to Kim’s Restaurant on North Fifth Street sparked Craig Vogt’s fascination with the flaming tabletop grills and sizzling meats of Korean BBQ. You could say the same for many in the Philadelphia region, considering that Kim’s is one of the local pioneers of that interactive culinary tradition, and after 43 years in business, it’s still among the most essential touchstones in the genre.

For Vogt, however, the experience carried a special resonance. He came to the United States as a Korean adoptee at age 7 in 1987, along with his younger brother. The memories of his birth country faded fast as he assimilated into life as a South Jersey kid who played sports at Lenape High School, worked as a dishwasher at the Ramblewood Country Club (his house was just off the golf course’s first hole), and delivered pizza for Vincenzo’s. His adopted mother, Janet Vogt, is a skilled cook, Vogt says, who frequently cooked the boys bulgogi with ssamjang and lettuce wraps.

But there was something deeply visceral for Vogt about the sensory wave of stepping into a Korean BBQ restaurant for the first time. He still remembers the heady smell of marinated galbi short ribs caramelizing over the glowing coals and the little steel bowls of warm white rice that he devoured, scooping out one small bit at time to wrap inside crisp lettuce leaves along with hot morsels of meat and ssamjang paste: “One perfect bite!”

Vogt, now 44, has come full circle with Dolsan Korean BBQ, the sleek new barbecue hall he opened in early February 2024 in a Mount Laurel strip mall, just across the parking lot from a Korean church. This is the second Korean restaurant for Vogt, a mortgage loan broker by trade who was such a regular for the soondubu at Dolsot House in Cherry Hill that he bought it from Sammy Chon in 2014. The casual, family-friendly Dolsot House has remained a standby for its crispy Korean chicken wings, “Koagie” with spicy pork, and, of course, the hot stone bowl bibimbap that is its namesake.

Dolsan’s large menu features a full selection of Korean kitchen classics, but the restaurant is more of a night-out experience. Since the name Dolsan is a combination of the Korean words for “stone” and “mountain” (a nod to both Mount Laurel and the serene mountain range hand-painted along one wall), it’s no surprise the restaurant’s many hot stone bowl dishes are stellar. I’m especially partial to the dolsot bibimbap, which radiates the toasty perfume of sesame oil brushed inside the stone bowl as it crisps the bed of rice to a golden crunch beneath a pinwheel of veggies and excellent protein options, like the spicy pork. Chef Jae Jung’s modified gochujang sauce for that dish is noticeably punchy, balanced, and distinctive.

But tabletop grilled meats are clearly Vogt’s primary mission here. And he’s spared little expense in converting the former Dasiwa II into a contemporary space with glass-paned rooms, dangling lights shaped like clouds, and polished copper hoods that telescope down to 11 different tables, each equipped with a recessed cubby holding a cup of flavor-enhancing briquettes ringed by gas flames. It’s a bit more modern than Kim’s utilitarian orange diner space (which, no doubt, retains its own charm thanks to real charcoal) and is comparable in style to Salt BBQ in North Wales in terms of upscale ambitions.

I’m still giving the Salt a slight edge in terms of meat quality and the creative variety of its banchan — the complimentary little dishes of kimchi and salads that accompany the meal. A couple standouts in the accoutrements here at Dolsan are the perfect steamed egg that arrives tableside still puffed high like a soufflé cloud above its stone bowl. The scallion salad also adds a subtle layer of crunch and spice to any bundled meaty bite.

Dolsan’s friendly service team did an excellent job of both pacing the meal and carefully cooking the meats. If you order one of the combo platters, which I recommend for a group, the progression here is precise as the meal moves through three different cooktops, beginning with a slatted metal round for thin-sliced brisket, thick pads of pork belly, and plump marinated shrimp. Next comes a hubcap-style round grill punched with holes to catch the juices of marinated meats like bulgogi, spicy pork, and chicken. Finally there is a wire mesh grill more open to the flame for wide ribbon cuts of the marbled galbi, which are marinated for two days in a soy-based blend with Asian pear, Fuji apples, and pineapple (with no added sugar). A thick slab of prime rib eye gets roasted with an aromatic sprig of rosemary, then scissor-snipped into bites meant to be dipped in a coarse, red wine-infused Korean salt. Tasty.

Dolsan offers one cut of American wagyu skirt steak ($45 à la carte) that was a fine boost to the premium $268 combo platter for four. I liked it well enough, although the domestic version doesn’t really compare to the richness of genuine A5 Wagyu imported from Japan, which Vogt has been dabbling with in off-menu experiments. He’s still cautiously dialing in the level of luxury that works best for this location and audience. He’s aiming for a quality upgrade over most other local options, but, at a $55 per-person average for the barbecue experience, he’s still coming in considerably lower than much higher-end versions in New York and Los Angeles.

This calculus has also played out on the sushi side of menu. Late last year, Vogt briefly hired a talented sushi chef to upgrade Dolsan’s sushi game with premium imported fish and colorful combo rolls cleverly named after Korean TV shows (this bulgogi-shrimp tempura roll is the “Squid Game” you want to eat). But Vogt quickly realized his audience would not support the cost of something so ambitious. While some of that chef’s recipes have remained with the excellent scallop and hamachi carpaccio — as well as stylish rolls like the Love Alarm, a mosaic of tuna, yellowtail salmon, and mango wrapped inside pickled daikon — they are not reason alone to come.

The rest of Dolsan’s extensive Korean menu, however, offers several dishes I’d happily pursue. First on that list would be anything with a beef broth. The galbi tang is the restaurant’s most popular soup, a clear broth simmered over 48 hours topped with shredded short rib, sliced brisket, vermicelli noodles, and royal ferns. (Try it spicy!)

The bibim nengmyun brings a nest of buckwheat noodles that are so incredibly chewy — they cook for only 60 seconds before they’re chilled in an ice bath — they require scissors to snip them into shorter lengths. But it is the dish’s chilly, brisket-foward broth tanged with citrus that is the main event, in part because Dolsan uses a special $2,500 fridge to keep that liquid in slushy stage. Add some extra mustard for spice, and it’s one of the world’s most perfect warm-weather dishes.

While a chill is still in the air, however, I’ll be craving the galbijjim, a stunner of a short rib feast that can easily feed three or four. It arrives in a broad stone bowl with nearly 2½ pounds of bone-in short ribs cooked to a melting tenderness over 12 hours in a sesame-soy braise lightly sweetened with fruit. Layered into the crock over chewy tteokbokki rice cakes, carrots, potatoes, and turnips, it’s still sizzling when it appears. You have the option to gratinée it with mozzarella tableside, a popular trend in Korea right now that Vogt suggests to “make it extravagant.”

I loved the short ribs so much, I can’t imagine the extra cheese would improve them. But I did indulge in the cheese option for the budae jungol, a supersized version of “Army stew” that came bubbling tableside in a hot pot. This is a legacy dish from the Korean War, in which Koreans blended American Army rations — Spam, hot dogs, and sometimes baked beans — into the classic spicy stew known as kimchi jjigae. Dolsan’s version is impressive and bold. The tidal undertow of kelp and anchovy in its jjigae broth is enriched by the funky red spice of aged kimchi bubbling over ramyun noodles, plus a can’s worth of fanned Spam, enoki mushrooms, tofu, and a fistful of sliced Nathan’s hot dogs. The $3 addition of American cheese disappeared into the cauldron, but its molten sweetness created a blush-like creaminess that rounded out the fiery-red brew.

You’ll likely need a crisp beer to counter the glow of gochugaru heat that will be humming on your lips after that soup. Dolsan is BYOB, but there’s plenty to choose from at the Mount Laurel Wine & Spirits store right next door. It’s unclear if there will be such a convenience at the locations being scouted now for planned expansions into Central Jersey and the Philadelphia suburbs. One thing is clear: Vogt sees Dolsan as a triumphant return for a Lenape High kid to his old Mount Laurel stomping grounds — and with good reason. He’s honed an appealing formula there that balances high-quality Korean BBQ with a measure of accessibility that can be hard to find. It’s a personal homecoming in more ways than one.

3747 Church Rd., Mount Laurel Township, NJ 08054; 856-372-2751; dolsanbbq.com

Open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 10:30 p.m. Lunch menu available daily until 3 p.m.

Entrees, $16-$29.

BBQ costs average per person $50-$55 before gratuity and taxes.

Wheelchair accessible.