Best Korean Barbecue

Korean barbecue is one of those great communal experiences that bring people together and make dining fun as well as tasty, and Brother's, an unprepossessing restaurant in the Inner Richmond, does it up right. After your table's personal barbecue pit has been filled with red-hot coals, a waitress arrives with a dozen condiments and a platter of marinated beef, pork, chicken, or seafood. Then everyone picks up his chopsticks and the fun begins. The aromas of garlic, scallions, chilies, sesame oil, and pickled cabbage rise from your table as you custom-grill your morsel of choice, slip it hot and fragrant into a crisp, cool lettuce leaf, and enjoy. Korean barbecue is only as good as the condiments that accompany it, and Brother's array of jerkies, salads, pickles, and pastes is eclectic and delicious: spicy dried sardines, grated pickled radish, crisp squares of seaweed, a wonderfully garlicky kimchee, and on and on. Minimal service and décor, but who cares? (There's another Brother's at 4014 Geary, but the vibe isn't as friendly.)