Zzaam!: Korean Fusion Cuisine

Zzaam!: Fresh Fusion, Fresh-faced

Food, Local

Katya Beisel, Staff Writer

A relatively new addition to Charlottesville’s restaurant scene, Zzaam! Fresh Korean Grill delivers swift service, quality food, and a unique blend of flavors. Zzaam! is unique among area eateries and offers an abundance of flavor from its location on 1232 Emmett Street North. Zzaam! allows customers to personalize their order in four easy steps by their choice of meat, as well as adding an egg for extra protein, followed by four to five toppings and one of fifteen sauces, all of which are made in-house

What sets Zzaam! apart from other speedy service eateries is the freshness of the food. According to owner Sam Gang, everything served at Zzaam! is freshly made on the premises.

“Nothing is frozen. We don’t even have a microwave back there,” Gang said. The establishment prides itself on the health of its faire, as well as affordability and quick service. In short, Zzaam! functions with the lightning speed of a fast-food joint, but forgoes the greasy pre-frozen meals commonly found on the menus of other eateries, while infusing the Barracks Road shopping community with some much needed culinary color.

“We’re kind of a new concept,” Gang said. He described the restaurant’s style as more of a Korean fusion than purely Korean food, which commonly features flavors that American palettes are not generally accustomed to like garlic, ginger, and fish sauce. Instead, the menu features simple Korean favorites like Bibimbap (rice bowl), Guk-su (noodles), Kimchi (spicy marinated cabbage), and Mandoo (vegetable dumplings), alongside more recognizable foods, such as soft-shell tacos, sliders, a burger, and crab pancakes.