CORRECTION

An incorrect rating accompanied the review of the Seoul Garden Restaurant in the What's Up section Friday. The restaurant earned 3 stars out of 4 from critic Greg Cox.

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Calvin Trillin, noted food writer, humorist and avid fan of Chinese food, is said to carry a card in his wallet that states, in Chinese, "I'll have what the gentleman at that table is having." I've often wished I had a copy of that card. Better still, I'd like a card with that sentence printed in several languages. That way, I could easily venture beyond the universally familiar dishes and sample the lesser-known specialties favored by the natives.

Fortunately, I didn't need such a card at Seoul Garden. The waiters at the Korean restaurant, which opened in February in North Raleigh, are friendly and accommodating, and their command of English is excellent. So, when I was curious about a couple of unfamiliar dishes being enjoyed at a nearby table by a large party who obviously knew their way around a Korean menu, all I had to do was ask our server. Not only did she describe the dishes, but she also fetched the restaurant's bilingual menu and pointed them out.

Chulpan ohjingeo bokkem -- OK, it's a mouthful; just point to No. 3 under "House Specialties" -- is a large skein of thick noodles interwoven with cuttlefish (which resembles squid in appearance, taste and texture) in a fiery, brick-red sauce (it's a chilehead's dream, though the kitchen will gladly tone down the spice level if you ask).

The other dish, a spicy monkfish stew called ahgu maeuntang (No. 13 under "Dinner Special"), may be an acquired taste for some, as it contains recognizable pieces of one of the ugliest creatures in the sea. If you don't mind picking your way around bones, tailfins and rubbery black skin, you'll find that the fish indeed lives up to its nickname, "poor man's lobster."

On another occasion, a different waitress (who, it turns out, is the daughter of owner Kyung Huh) answered a question that has long vexed me: Why do some Korean restaurants offer two versions of the rice dish bibimbap, the only difference being that one is served in a heated stone bowl and the other is not? The answer, so simple and sensible it should have occurred to me, is that in hot weather, some people prefer that their bibimbap not remain piping hot throughout the entire meal. Order either version, and your reward will be a generous bowl of rice topped with an artfully arranged color wheel of carrots, zucchini, shiitakes, bean sprouts, ground beef and a fried egg. Spice it up to your taste with a squeeze or two from the bottle of chili sauce brought to your table with the dish. Stir it up, dig in, and savor one of Korea's most famous dishes.

Perhaps even more famous is Korean barbecue, which is unusually well-represented here by an offering that goes beyond the beef short rib and rib-eye basics to include brisket, chicken and - my new favorite - pork belly. Individual barbecue orders can be prepared in the kitchen, but I recommend rounding up a friend or three, and reserving one of Seoul Garden's five barbecue tables. Not only will you be able to cook your meats to your personal taste at the grill that's built into the tabletop (your server will show you the ropes), but you'll also enjoy a communal experience that is a hallmark of Korean cuisine. If you need more incentive, be advised that the only disappointment I've encountered at Seoul Garden was a lunchtime order of bulgogi (barbecued rib-eye), which was curiously soggy, presumably because it didn't go directly from grill to plate.

Otherwise, everything I've tasted has been at least above average, with haemul pa jeon (seafood pancake, No. 1 under "House Specialties") deserving special praise. But I've only scratched the surface of Seoul Garden's extensive offerings, which cover the spectrum from goat casserole to soft tofu soup with tripe. Good thing I don't need a cheat sheet in my wallet to help sort things out.

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