It’s not delivery… Written and Photographed by Jonathan Bates Pizza from the Crow's Next in Itaewon It was just another blustery and frightfully cold weeknight when I got a call from a friend to come meet him. I knew what this meant (beer and pizza) and without him even touching my rubber arm, I contently acquiesced. I had heard about some good pizza in Itaewon from a few friends about a place called The Crow’s Nest – so we said “eh, why not?” and decided to meet there. Walking up the frigid stairs to the pub, the first thing I noticed was the window in the stairwell giving the perfect glimpse into the kitchen where you could see the cooks at work. It was like the pubs rendition of the infamous Krispy Creme “tour” you could go on in the States (only you don’t get a free pizza at the end of it). Walking in, it had a very fresh feel to it. The tabletops were all painted in neon colors and the walls splashed in white and covered with various memorabilia. In my opinion, it...

Written by Jonathan Bates Photographs by Luis Carlos Cobo Paella for Two? The night started off with my friend exclaiming “I want something European, NOT Korean.” Not that she dislikes Korean, just that she was tired of the same old galbi and bibimbap. We have all been there at one time or another so I was definitely game. There was this Spanish restaurant, La Paella, I had always walked by in Hongdae and was eager to try so we quickly decided that was where we were going. The first thing we noticed once in the restaurant was that it was aesthetically warm and definitely had a Spanish air to it. It was a fairly petite restaurant in size and had some people waiting in the foyer but we were quickly seated and the hostess was quick with the water. I was impressed up to this point and was excited to have some Spanish food again, especially after finding out that the chefs were from Spain themselves (through the large window that lets you view them work as they create their dishes)....