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Today I confirmed something I've long suspected. There's a white-haired gentleman who was as much a regular at JK Sweets in the Jay and Hera era as I was. I saw him there frequently on my weekly visits and noticed how they greeted him with the same sort of familiarity as they did me. Based on his age and appearance, I used to think that he must've developed a taste for Korean food while serving in the army there. Yup.
I was at the successor restaurant just starting on my lunch when he took a seat at the table next to me. After ordering the bulgogi, he expressed admiration of japchae and announced an intention to order that next time. "How do you think this place compares to the old place?" And we were off. We told about Jay and Hera--he says he saw them promoting something at Super-H Mart once and learned from the landlady that they had been deeply behind in their rent when they left, confirming another suspicion of mine.
I never would've guess his profession, however. He's a local barber. He came to Chicago from West Virginia after the war to find work and stayed, bringing his Korean wife to town three weeks before the most notorious blizzard in Chicago history. (Yes, they did live in Uptown at some stage.) I couldn't confirm his claim that his home county, McDowell, had the worst health indicators and lowest life-expectancy anywhere in the country, but this site confirms its standing as the worst in West Virginia, which is plenty bad enough.
Still, he was full of nostalgia for it, telling me all about the home cooking he grew up on, his illustrious Reb ancestor, the cousins he goes back to visit regularly, and his grandmother who was never a sick a day until she up and died at 104. It'll be interesting to see what we find to talk about next time. I'm sure he's got enough stories to fill plenty a lazy lunch hour.
I was at the successor restaurant just starting on my lunch when he took a seat at the table next to me. After ordering the bulgogi, he expressed admiration of japchae and announced an intention to order that next time. "How do you think this place compares to the old place?" And we were off. We told about Jay and Hera--he says he saw them promoting something at Super-H Mart once and learned from the landlady that they had been deeply behind in their rent when they left, confirming another suspicion of mine.
I never would've guess his profession, however. He's a local barber. He came to Chicago from West Virginia after the war to find work and stayed, bringing his Korean wife to town three weeks before the most notorious blizzard in Chicago history. (Yes, they did live in Uptown at some stage.) I couldn't confirm his claim that his home county, McDowell, had the worst health indicators and lowest life-expectancy anywhere in the country, but this site confirms its standing as the worst in West Virginia, which is plenty bad enough.
Still, he was full of nostalgia for it, telling me all about the home cooking he grew up on, his illustrious Reb ancestor, the cousins he goes back to visit regularly, and his grandmother who was never a sick a day until she up and died at 104. It'll be interesting to see what we find to talk about next time. I'm sure he's got enough stories to fill plenty a lazy lunch hour.