If Oo-Kook is the industry incumbent for the best all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue crown, Il Cha's coming at their rack with all the innovative bravado of a brash Silicon Valley startup. Service is rough around the edges and the banchan is as forgettable as ever, and whether or not meat quality will sustain is another matter altogether. Which only means one thing: Get it while the getting is good and see if Il Cha can ride out the initial storm and remain largely intact with high quality at a semi-reasonable price.

Jang Gun (pronounced "Jahng-Goon") is quietly putting out some of the city's most prodigiously marbled beef short rib in a humble little spot south of Wilshire and Vermont. Though meats are served a la carte, they're incredibly affordable and the lunch menu looks particularly intriguing with most of their specials under $10. If you're feeling adventurous, samkyeopsal can be ordered with a kimchi stew surrounding it — the fermented bite of the kimchi is a perfect complement for the surprisingly not-so-fatty cuts of pork belly. The banchan is a little underwhelming, but for those looking for an affordable way to eat a la carte, high quality barbecue, Jang Gun definitely merits a serious look.

Jjukku Jjukku's still a specialist in seafood barbecue, but recently they added a prime all-you-can-eat menu to the menu to up the ante. Surf and turf it with some of that spicy baby octopus and prime-grade marbled meats.

Dalmaji is a South Korean import specializing in well-marbled beef and — get this — gaejang, or spicy raw marinated crab. It's not particularly representative of Daegu cuisine (it IS a barbecue after all), but you might want to look into their pork offerings and stone-pot bulgogi cooked in its own broth.

Feng Mao Lamb Kebab might technically be Chinese-Korean barbecue, but it's actually a closer analogue to Japanese robata. Skewered morsels of lamb or beef (or, you know, bull penis) are grilled on skewers are served next to Sino-Korean sides like Mapo Tofu, or pig intestines in sweet and sour sauce. You know how the saying goes: Don't knock it until you actually try the bull penis.

Mirak 2 has slightly pivoted toward being a goat stew specialist in addition to putting out the better duck barbecue experience in the city. If you order duck to be grilled atop the grill, make sure you leave room for an excellent kimchi fried rice made from rendered duck fat (It's sort of like a kimchi duck confit fried rice?). You've been warned: Mirak 2's menu has been known to scare off less adventurous Koreans, but for those who love it, they swear by it.