Authentic Korean eats on top of the city

Hoping to be the penthouse you spend the most time around since you were left alone in your buddy Chet's dad's study, Gaonnuri sits on the 39th floor of 1250 Broadway at the "entrance to Koreatown", with huge windows peering out over the Hudson and right up at the Empire State Building from two levels of mod BBQ-equipped tables and a bar lit by enormous glass flower lamps

Aside from the slick decor, you can tell you're not in one of the street-level joints thanks to the quality of ingredients (none of that grey "meat" here) and level of service (it exists!), as a focus is thrown on authentic eats (save for possible lunchtime kimchi tacos and bibimbap burgers) both prepped in the kitchen and brought to be cooked on smoke-sucking downdraft BBQs probably not designed by Billy Baldwin. The latter includes the classic short rib, plus marinated jumbo shrimp, boneless duck, and tender pork belly w/ sesame sauce, in addition to not-cooked-by-you Bo ssam (steamed pork w/ a raw oyster & spicy "special kimchi"), spicy pork casserole, sweet potato noodles w/ marinated skate, and bibimbap topped w/ sashimi and served in a china bowl, also a postseason football game that generally involves Rice

Desserts come courtesy of a Daniel/ Bouchon Bakery alum, and there'll be a full bar for happy hour plus every-hour cocktails made from soju and a Korean rice wine called makgeolli, which's as scintillating a combination of Letters as you've seen in some time.