Kum Sung BBQ

149th Place is a short, slightly scruffy block, and it holds more good Korean cooking per foot than most of Manhattan. Kum Sung is one of its anchors: tabletop grills, a generous spread of banchan, and a menu that runs well past barbecue into soups and noodles.

The thing to order is the duck. It comes thinly sliced and goes onto the grill with kimchi and whole cloves of garlic, which slowly roast in the rendered fat while the duck crisps. Add galbi or bulgogi if you are a crowd, and a plate of pan-fried squid. For noodles, the spicy naengmyeon topped with sliced beef is the move; on a cold night, the milky seolleongtang does the opposite job.